After months of residents criticizing the failures of the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB), and amidst a barrage of Urbana Police misconduct allegations following a violent arrest video which went viral on social media, a new Chair was quietly assigned to the CPRB. Previously chaired by Grace Mitchell, who has been on the board since its founding, the board will now be under the leadership of Mikhail Lyubansky.
Mayor Marlin made no official announcement about Mitchell’s departure or Lyubansky’s new assignment, which raises questions about the mechanism of the change. Residents only become aware of the change after Mayor Marlin made a posting on May 5th, 2020 about accepting applications for an empty seat on the CPRB. It would not be unreasonable to conclude that Mitchell was told to leave. She had not been attending most meetings and the board was in a state of decay under her guidance. Mitchell even pushed the board to stop reviewing Taser usage incidents, even though the CPRB is required by law to review all Taser usages.
Due to Mitchell’s frequent absence, Lyubansky is already familiar with playing the role of Chair at meetings.
Mikhail Lyubansky may also be uniquely qualified for the position. He is an associate professor at the University of Illinois in the Department of Psychology, and he specializes in restorative justice and racial/ethnic group relations.
Still, residents engaged in the CPRB are holding back any optimism. The seven member board is still the same group that allowed the CPRB to reach a level of dysfunction that founding member Scott Dossett described as “negligent”.
Only time will tell if Lyubansky is the cure for Urbana’s police review board problems. As always, CU-Underground will be watching closely.