Human Relations Commission
Regular MeetingDeKalb, IL · September 8, 2020
Minutes
Minutes
City of DeKalb
Human Relations Commission
September 8, 2020
The Human Relations Committee (HRC) held a regular meeting on September 8, 2020, in the
Second Floor Training Room at the DeKalb Police Department.
A. ROLL CALL
The following members of the HRC were present: Larry Apperson (Chair), John Walker,
Norden Gilbert, Nadine Franklin, Lisa King, and Joe Gastiger.
No members were absent
Other City officials/staff present: Alderman Scott McAdams, City Manager Bill Nicklas,
Assistant City Manager Josh Boldt, Interim Police Chief Bob Redel, Information Technology
Department Jeremy Alexander, and Management Analyst Jason Blumenthal.
B. Approval of Agenda – Additions/Deletions
Motion to approve the agenda was made by Mr. Gastiger and seconded by Mr. Norden with an
amendment to the agenda by adding review of housing issues as the first item under old business.
Motion was approved by a unanimous voice vote.
C. Approval of Minutes – July 7, 2020 Regular Meeting
Motion to approve the minutes of July 7, 2020 was made by Mr. Gastiger and seconded by Mr.
Norden. Minutes were approved by a unanimous voice vote.
D. Public Participation
Management Analyst Jason Blumenthal read an email from resident Herb Rubin from the fifth
ward in relation to police-community relations in our community to the HRC. The email can be
found as an addendum.
E. Old Business
1. Police-Community Relations/Building a Better Community
i. Review of Housing Issues
The HRC discussed the ongoing housing issues such as the common lease, and landlords that
have not been complying with the City’s building code, that are seen as landlords who put their
renters at risk due to safety hazards and violations that have not been fixed over a duration of
time.
Chair Apperson also said that he has received a letter from Jacob of the DeKalb Tenant
Association explaining the issues that have been seen over time.
ii. Updates on Community and Human Relations Commission
Recommendations. – City Manager Bill Nicklas
Chair Apperson asked City Manager Bill Nicklas to speak on this item. Mr. Nicklas first wanted
to agree with Mr. Rubin from his email that was read for public participation. He said that the
DeKalb Police Department (DPD) has made progress, but they still have a lot to do. The largest
issue is how to have Police Officers and residents engage each other to create a tighter knit
community based on trust and familiarity. This can not happen from one person alone, but
everyone as community members need to commit to this by working together and by engaging
each other. Mr. Nicklas continued to say that the DPD has committed to support the protesters by
kneeling with them and marching with them against police brutality. He went on to say that the
City is two weeks from buying police body cams which will increase the amount of
accountability for Police Officers.
Mr. Nicklas also mentioned that the City is improving its hiring practices. He mentioned that the
City has hired a Social Worker that is working within the Police Department. Chair Apperson
asked for clarification from Mr. Nicklas to what extent would the Social Worker be involved in
non-violent situations. Mr. Nicklas responded with that there has been good dialogue between
the Police Officers and the Social Worker and that the department is still testing out this new
structure and trying to feel out the Social Workers capabilities within the Police Department.
Chief Redel noted that the Social Worker is not handling calls, she is handling individuals that
need mental health assistance. Ms. King asked if Police Officers will be able to utilize the Social
Worker as someone they can talk to after they have experienced an intense situation. Chief Redel
answered that the department has started talking internally about how to go forward with the
social worker position, and how officers will be able to utilize this position for their own mental
health. Redel continued by saying the department is incentivizing officers to see counselors by
giving them bonuses if they go and talk to a counselor. Mr. Nicklas continued by stating the City
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is working on reorganizing the Police Department. He continued by saying they are in the
process of raising fines for landlords who do not make attempts to fix their properties and to
comply with City policies. In regards to this topic, the City Council as well as City
Administration have been working on acquiring properties in the Annie Glidden North
neighborhood which they have succeeded to do which will hopefully allow them to work on
decreasing the amount of gang activity that is seen in that area.
Mr. Gastiger wanted to revisit the social worker quickly, and he asked if the City pays for that
contractual work. Mr. Nicklas answered that the City does pay for that contractual social worker.
Mr. Gastiger asked for a thought to be considered which is since the City works so closely with
Northwestern Medicine, this organization should contribute to offering social worker services to
the City. Mr. Nicklas said this was a good consideration.
Mr. Nicklas went back to recommendations that were provided by residents of DeKalb and the
HRC. Mr. Nicklas stated that the City already has some form of citizen control since all
decisions go through City Council, and City Council is elected by the public. It is an aspect the
City can continue to work on.
Mr. Gastiger and Mr. Norden commended Mr. Nicklas, Chief Redel, and other City Staff for the
work they have been doing to begin implementing these recommendations to create a better
community for everyone. Mr. Walker agreed and stated that this is a great start, but we need to
strive to further these relationships between Police and residents. Mr. Walker furthered saying
that residents also need to understand that a lot of the Police Brutality that is going on is not in
our community. DPD Officers do not kill people, and residents need to recognize this. He also
noted that the Police need to take a vested interest in residents lives to show that the Police do
care about them. Mr. Apperson piggybacked off Mr. Walker by saying this is why he asked
about the scope of the Social Worker because if the Social Worker takes some of the work load
from the Police Officers, they could conduct more foot patrol directly in neighborhoods which
could lead to increased police-community relationships. If residents knew police officers on a
first name basis, this would lead to more trust in the community. Mr. Nicklas agreed this would
be a god step for the future. Mr. Walker said one thing to think about though is Police safety,
especially in the Annie Glidden North (AGN) neighborhood. These areas are the worst he has
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ever seen them in the 23 years he has worked in this area. It is a good idea, but Police need to
proceed with caution in these areas.
Ms. Franklin asked Chief Redel about the issue of parking restrictions in these areas, which are
forcing people to park on streets such as sleepy hollow, and the residents of this area have safety
concerns for the amount of people that are parking in this neighborhood. Chief Redel said they
have never had any complaints about this issue. Mr. Nicklas said this was brought to their
attention about one year ago, as well as other areas in the community facing the same issues. He
continued saying that there was just as many people that did not want to establish any parking
restrictions, as there were people who did want them, so no changes were made. If the feelings
change in regard of what residents want to do, they could recommend addressing this issue once
again.
Mr. Nicklas continued saying that the City is also looking at redeveloping the AGN area which
will create more long-term, higher paying jobs, than those residents currently have access to. Mr.
Walker agreed with Mr. Nicklas that this is what this area needs, and hopefully this is a good
start to cleaning it up. Ms. King agreed with these sentiments and added that we need to start
prioritizing these neighborhoods as much, if not more than we prioritize other neighborhoods in
the DeKalb community. She also thinks there should be more of a distinction between NIU
Police and DPD because it seems like there is not a clear distinction.
Ms. King then asked about required training for Officers. Chief Redel answered that DPD
Officers go well above the required training. Officers are required to be involved in one training
per month. They are currently sending officers to Racial Intelligence Training & Engagement
(RITE). COVID-19 has made training more difficult, but regardless of it, the Police Department
is mandated to reach a certain amount of training for its officers annually. The DeKalb Police
Department does not aim for the minimum requirements though. Ms. King said she does not
doubt they reach the mandated training. Her point is that DeKalb population is seeing a change
in demographics. With the change in demographics, the DPD Officers need to interact more
effectively with the changing population. What she thinks is that all Police Departments are not
proactive in cultural training and implicit bias. This needs to be one of the DPD’s top priorities.
Chief Redel said that he agreed. He said that after the trainings, it needs to be the responsibility
of Sergeants and other officers to keep each other accountable. A part of the job is learning on
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the job and understanding what works and what does not work when speaking to a suspect or a
victim. But it is also on Sergeants and other Officers to keep each other accountable by saying to
each other that you did not speak to that person in the right way, and that the specific individual
can do better. Ms.King reiterated that diversity and implicit bias training needs to be made a
priority for the DPD. Mr. Nicklas agreed with Ms. King and continued saying that a lot of the
issue he thinks also is that Officers do not have familiarity with these populations, and have not
had many interactions which he feels contributes to a lot of the police brutality being seen across
the country. We need to create opportunities where Police Officers can make these interactions
with the community.
Mr. Walker spoke up and asked about the hiring process within the DPD. He said that he notices
there is a lack of diversity on the DPD, and that this should also be addressed. Chief Redel said
that they do recruit, that the Human Resources Department is responsible for this. A lot of times
the HR Department tries to recruit students in Law Enforcement programs from Illinois
Universities and Colleges. Chief Redel continued saying that he wants to start doing targeted
recruitment from the black community in DeKalb. Mr. Walker said that this is a good start. He
said that one of the larger issues in his perspective is that racism is a generational issue. He is not
putting blame on anybody, but racism stems from how someone is raised. Mr. Gastiger said that
if the Police Department wants to make a commitment to improving police relations in the
community, the department needs to hire black police officers and to begin having conversations
with these individuals. Mr. Walker added to this saying they do not necessarily need to be black
police officers, they need to be good officers that have a tie to the community, and someone the
community is able to trust.
Ms. Franklin said that she would like to start to have more discussions amongst the community
to show where and how racism begins amongst individuals. Mr. Nicklas agreed with what she
said and added that they have started having these conversations in the community and are
planning to continue them going forward, but they also need to be enduring and more regular. He
believes that familiarity will be able to begin the process of residents knowing each other, and
this will lead to residents trusting each other. Ms. King asked if the DPD will continue the
Officer Friendly program. Mr. Nicklas said yes, the department is still involved with that
program. Ms. King continued saying that Chief Grady of NIU operated this program and that it
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seemed quite successful. NIU Police were engaging students in positive interactions. She said
she knows it still must be difficult within the city, but that it would be a valuable program. Mr.
Nicklas said he agreed but the only problem is that the campus is more densely populated
whereas the city is more of a suburb, and it is more difficult to engage with residents. Ms. King
said there are times where there are groups of people standing around that the Police could
engage in. Mr. Nicklas said he agrees with her, the department needs to find the best
opportunities for these types of situations though. Mr. Walker inserted that Police still need to be
careful in these areas though, because it is still a dangerous area. The bottom line is to get
residents to build trust with police in a safe environment for Police and residents.
Chief Redel stated that he agreed with Mr. Walker and added that the department has a new
black female officer from Chicago and she has said that she gets more disrespect in DeKalb than
she did in Chicago. The abuse Officers are taking is at an all time high. It is also hard to compare
the NIU Police Department to the DPD because at any time the DPD may have 60 open cases
while NIU will only have 2. He continued saying that the only way to move forward is to have a
mutual respect on both sides so that trust can be created between DPD and residents. Ms. King
said that she gets Chief Redel’s point but that Black people are the individuals that are facing
discrimination and that have historically been at a disadvantage and it is going to take more than
that to establish mutual trust. Police need to be more honest with residents and put a more
conscious effort in engaging residents outside of Police calls. One example she specifically
mentioned is that no one is standing out in front of Jewel, but there are people that stand out in
front of Rocky’s the entire day. Police need to be able to engage these people. She says she
thinks that the DPD needs to try some knew approaches and that it would not cost that much. Mr.
Walker said that he thinks the Police get blamed for a lot of the issues in this town, but the fact is
that this type of lifestyle is embedded in these peoples life’s because that is how they have been
living their entire life. He thinks that Officer friendly would be a great program within that area
if it is conducted in an effective manner.
Chair Apperson said with everything in consideration it was a good time to wrap the meeting up
and going forward with more action regarding what they spoke of that evening. Mr. Gastiger said
before they wrapped up, he wanted just to add that maybe they should have a way to recruit
volunteers for the areas that they know people are hanging out in front of. Maybe it is not fair to
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put all of this on the DPD. Possibly consider the thought of having one Police Officer with
volunteers from various community service groups engage these audiences and have positive
interactions with them trying to create familiarity. Chief Redel did say that they usually do have
Officers near that area Ms. King spoke of in their squad cars doing various things, but the
department is trying to push Officers to get out of their cars and to engage the public more. That
is a repeated thing that they keep on hearing is that Officers need to be engaged with the
community, and this is something that they are trying to do more of. He continued saying that
they need more good ideas to try to build trust within these neighborhoods. He said since he is
been apart of the HRC, the conversation has been better, and that he feels enlightened by all of
the ideas that have been communicated because they are great steps in making a more close-knit
community. He also said that they do have volunteers that volunteer their time to learn more
about the DPD and what they do, but also learn about opportunities where they can help Officers.
Ms. Franklin brought up law enforcement programs through Kish and the local High schools and
trying to utilize those more. Mr. Nicklas said that these individuals shadowed County Officers to
get an experience of the job they do. He said they were also involved in learning more about the
profession.
Chair Apperson concluded the meeting said there was great discussion and that it takes a lot of
discussion for changes to be made. He said they will look more at the housing issues next time,
and more updates on the police community relations. He said this crime incident review board
seems like it is the next stage of this process and that the HRC is willing to help with this matter
if they can. Mr. Nicklas said that they can, he said it is still a raw idea, but he would like the
HRC’s thoughts on it.
F. New Business
1. None
G. Adjournment
Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Gilbert and seconded by Ms. King. Minutes were approved
by a unanimous voice vote.
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*PLEASE NOTE* That in addition to these minutes are all public comments that were
submitted to the HRC for public comment. This includes the chat feature of the Zoom
meeting, as well the link to the video of the HRC meeting at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K572sFy5hxM&t=1s.
_____________________________________________
Jason Blumenthal, Management Analyst
Minutes approved by the Human Relations Commission on:
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Agenda
AGENDA
Human Relations Commission Meeting
September 8, 2020
6:30 p.m.
DeKalb Police Department
700 W. Lincoln Highway
2nd Floor Training Room
DeKalb, Illinois 60115
Having reached Phase 4 of the State of Illinois reopening plan, the September 8, 2020 Human
Relations Commission (HRC) meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Training Room of the City
of DeKalb Police Department. Community attendees will have seating set-up for social distancing
and be required to wear face masks. If you would like to make a public comment but will not be
available on the day of the meeting, please send an e-mail to jason.blumenthal@cityofdekalb.com
by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting and those comments will be given to the commission.
Zoom Meeting Information.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86800852505?pwd=ZTlXclBZdXlDSmtOVks1Z2ZVQmIrQT09
Meeting ID: 868 0085 2505
Passcode: 353405
If you don’t have a computer, please dial the following number, Meeting ID, and password:
+13126266799,,86800852505#,,,,,,0#,,353405# US (Chicago)
A. Roll Call
B. Approval of Agenda – Additions/Deletions
C. Approval of Minutes – July 7, 2020 Regular Meeting
D. Public Participation
E. Old Business
1. Updates on Community and Human Relations Commission Recommendations by City
Manager Bill Nicklas
F. New Business
None
G. Adjournment
For questions regarding this agenda, please contact Jason Blumenthal by phone at 815-748-2396
or via email at jason.blumenthal@cityofdekalb.com.
MINUTES
CITY OF DEKALB
Human Relations Commission
July 7, 2020
The Human Relations Committee (HRC) held a regular meeting on July 7, 2020, in the Second
Floor Training Room at the DeKalb Police Department.
Chair Larry Apperson called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m.
Before roll call was taken, Chair Apperson, announced he appreciated the public turnout for
such an important meeting. Some residents were not able to make it, and from requests made by
the public, audio and visual were recorded.
A. ROLL CALL
The following members of the HRC were present: Larry Apperson (Chair), David Barrow, Nadine
Franklin, Joe Gastiger, Norden Gilbert, and Lisa King.
Members absent were: Tyrus Wright.
Other City officials/staff present: Alderman Scott McAdams, Alderman Carolyn Morris, City
Manager Bill Nicklas, Community Services Coordinator Joanne Rouse, Commander Jason
Leverton, Management Analyst Jason Blumenthal, and Management Intern Adam Grubbs.
B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA – ADDITIONS / DELETIONS
Motion to approve the agenda was made by Mr. Gastiger and seconded by Ms. King. Motion
was approved by a unanimous voice vote.
C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion to approve the minutes of March 3, 2020 was made by Mr. Gastiger and seconded by Mr.
Barrow. Minutes were approved by a unanimous voice vote.
D. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Chair Apperson called for public comment and stated that anyone who would like to speak will
have the chance to.
Vivian Meade was the first member of the public who spoke first. Ms. Meade said the meeting
should have taken place on a zoom call. She continued by saying that the HRC meeting should
not have been hosted at the Police Department. She finished by saying that she and other
members of the community felt uncomfortable to attend the meeting because it was at the Police
Department, and instead it should be hosted at a bipartisan community center.
Chair Apperson responded to her by stating that the Second Floor Training Room at the Police
Department is the city’s largest space that they are able to utilize. This was important because of
COVID-19 guidelines. He said the point is well taken though.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 2 of 8
Next to speak was Bessie Chronopoulos. Ms. Chronopoulos began by presenting a document that
was a policing program involving mental health from CNN. She talked about how public
participation has been difficult with the city, and that the meeting should have been hosted on
zoom due to COVID-19 concerns and because many individuals wanted to participate but could
not be there.
Alderman Carolyn Morris agreed the HRC meeting should have been hosted on zoom. Ms.
Morris continued by saying that all meetings should be hosted on zoom at this point of the level
of technology seen today. There also should be another space. She thinks the Library is just as
big
Amber Quitno echoed that the HRC meeting should have been hosted on zoom. Ms. Quitno
finished by saying that holding a meeting at the Police Department is intimidating for community
members.
Erin McNeal said that she wants to push leadership to do the right thing. Ms. McNeal continued
by saying the issues that they have been seeing in the city are not new, and it seems to be caused
by a lack of leadership. This seems to be a lack of leadership. She finished by saying these issues
should have been resolved a long time ago.
Ms. Emily said she is tired of hearing excuses that the room was not big enough. Community
members wanted to attend, but they felt uncomfortable, and were not sure if there were warrants
out for their arrest. She finished by saying the meeting should not have been at the police
department.
E. OLD BUSINESS
1. Police-Community Relations/Building a Better Community
i. Review of Community Recommendations
Chair Apperson began by looking at the recommendations. He said that the commission wanted
to compile all recommendations from the community forums, town hall meetings, the DeKalb,
IL Black Lives Matter (BLM) demands, City Council meetings, and the HRC meeting into the
City Council packet and provide it to the DeKalb Aldermen. He continued by saying that the
compilation of these documents are just the beginning and they will be continually edited to and
added upon to best fit the needs of Dekalb residents. He said that they began by making
categories for the recommendations, and that the committee used the categories created by the
organization Campaign Zero. The committee liked the Campaign Zero categories because it was
a comprehensive list and fit well with the recommendations they have seen from our community
members. Chair Apperson then began by listing some of the recommendations the committee
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June 16, 2020
Page 3 of 8
had heard from community members. These recommendations included but are not limited to the
reallocation of police department funds to incorporate social work, police brutality, the
demilitarization of police, use of force limits, increased training, increased oversight from
residents on Police business, more representation in positions of power, investing more in social
services, a common lease, and job creation. A large issue that the committee discussed was the
unjust incarceration rate, department of justice policies, criminal justice systems. These issues
may be on the county, state, and federal level. These are being addressed, but the committee may
also need to address these on the city level. The committee now has a comprehensive exhaustive
list of recommendations that they are now ready to present to City Council at the next Committee
of the Whole (COW) City Council meeting on July 13th at 5:00 P.M.
Ms. Meade asked how similar the recommendations were to Campaign Zero
Chair Apperson answered that Campaign Zero was just a starting point, but the themes the
committee saw were like campaign zero
Ms. Meade said that the committee did not include banning stop and frisk as a recommendation.
Chair Apperson said he did not notice this
Ms. Franklin said that it was on the document she created. Chair Apperson said he would be
correct this error. He continued saying that as soon as the recommendations were created, the
committee received recommendations by email from the DeKalb County Jewish Committee for
Social Justice and the former Mayor John Rey.
Chair Apperson read the DeKalb County Jewish Committee for Social Justice recommendations.
A summary of the recommendations are as follows: Now is the time to act. The community
needs swift and effective change. It is now time for Black Indigenous Persons Of Color (BIPOC)
to be protected by our community. The community needs to craft policies proposed by BLM and
implement them. The City Council, BLM, and police should meet over these policies and discuss
them.
Ms. Franklin thought it was a great document, Ms. King and Mr. Gastiger agreed with Ms.
Franklin. Ms. King thought it was great citizens met together to craft these recommendations.
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June 16, 2020
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Chair Apperson said that the document is like the recommendations they have crafted, but the
wording may be better.
Chair Apperson then read the recommendations that Mr. Rey submitted by email. Chair
Apperson read off the recommendations. Chair Apperson liked that Mr. Rey focused on the
criminal justice system. Chair Apperson commented that these recommendations are similar to
what the HRC had discussed previously, that there needs to be change within the criminal justice
system.
Ms. King then said that the document Ms. Chronopoulos provided was great and that the HRC
should include this with the other documents that they would give to the city council. Chair
Apperson said if there was no objection, he favored the idea. Ms. King liked this document
because it offered a great model to follow and it is clear to understand. Mr. Blumenthal said that
he will include this document to the city council packet and will also be found within the minutes
of this July 7, 2020 meeting along with all the other recommendations and documents. Chair
Apperson confirmed that it would be good to accept all these additional recommendations,
models, and information. He said it is good to go on record and say that the document is not
static, and it will be continually be changed. Mr. Nicklas reiterated that anything presented at the
meeting will be submitted to the city council. Mr. Nicklas also said that all documents can be
found on the City of DeKalb website (https://www.cityofdekalb.com/) and also the city council
packet.
Mr. Barrow gave mention to Chair Apperson that he had put in a lot of time and effort in a short
amount of time to put all these documents together. Barrow explained that the HRC members
could not meet to work on the recommendations because it violates the Open Meetings Act
(OMA). Mr. Barrow continue by saying the HRC had collected recommendations from the
community, and they tried to be comprehensive. Mr. Barrow stated the committee are not just
collators, but also very passionate individuals who also want change for this community. Mr.
Barrow then asked if it was acceptable for him to read the introduction he prepared for the city
council at the next council meeting before they submit they review the recommendations.
Mr. Gasiger then motioned to change the agenda so that Mr. Barrow could read his introduction,
and Ms. King Seconded the motion, all HRC members voted unanimously to pass the motion.
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June 16, 2020
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Mr. Barrow read the introduction of the presentation to the room. Chair Apperson thanked Mr.
Barrow and said it was a great reflection on how the commission feels. He continued by saying
that they needed to now put together the HRC recommendation to given to the city council.
Mr. Nicklas said that there will be a summary provided to council, which will include resolution
and ordinances. It is a large document, but this is just the beginning and there will be more
change to come. Chair Apperson was pleased that the city has started to implement some of the
recommendations the community has suggested. Mr. Gastiger wanted to highlight some of the
changes such as the banning of choke holds, policies of punishment of excessive force and for
not intervening in the case of excessive force, cultural biased and diversity training, elimination
of no knock warrants, contracting a social worker for certain police calls, reorganizing the police
department, and a leasing policy. Mr. Gastiger wanted the public to know that the city has
already made some steps to address the issues seen.
Chair Apperson then read off the HRC recommendations that they wanted to pass on to the city
council. He said that Campaign Zero will be provided to be referenced. There also needs to be an
examination of Illinois Statues and lobby to change the statues that the community does not
agree with.
Chair Apperson noted that not all these compiled recommendations are possible to be
implemented immediately, but they will work to get them implemented as quickly as possible.
Mr. Gastiger furthered this by stating to the public that there are two phases. Some of these
recommendations will take time to research, but some of them can happen tomorrow. There
needs to be research to find the best solution. He reiterated that some changes would happen
now, but some will take longer to make a decision. Mr. Barrow suggested the recommendations
and a timeline should be made public. Public member suggested to give the city a recommended
timeline, so they have structure to implement the recommendations on a timely basis. Mr.
Norden said we can commit to the recommendations now, but some will still take time to
implement. Mr. Barrow said that the recommendations and a timeline need to be made public.
Mr. Gastiger noted that the city council can make many changes, but other changes happen from
policy changes by the City Manager and the Police Chief. Ms. Chronopoulos stated that all these
recommendations and policy changes need to be made more public. She mentioned that the
media was in attendance and that the media needs to commit to making these things public. Mr.
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June 16, 2020
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Gastiger agreed with Ms. Chronopoulos. Ms. Chronopoulos said there needs to be another way
to get the information out there to residents besides the internet.
Member of the public Maurice McDavid said that there needs to be more communication. He
continued by saying the city started a diversity plan when he was a senior in high school, it took
12 years for this to be passed. The community have waited for action for a long time, and the
Dekalb community will not be happy until things really change. He said it needs to happen, and
it needs to happen in good time.
Ms. McNeal said the culture of the community needs to change. One way to do this is by
publicizing the recommendations and policies to show the entire community what the priorities
are, and hopefully the culture will change.
Mr. Nicklas stated he remembers what Mr. McDavid said at the Hopkins Park Townhall
Meeting. Mr. Nicklas agrees that it is time for action. Mr. Nicklas met with Chief Redel and
Police command staff and there is an agenda piece on this. He provided a draft for
recommendations, and he tried to address what he can do in his authority, and he will give
what’s not in his authority to the city council. The reorganization of the Police Department is no
small feat, but they will do it with regards to the budget process. All changes happen within the
budget, one of the budget changes will be Police reorganization. This is the start of action, and it
will hopefully lead to more action. Nicklas said the city council meeting will be focused on the
compiled documents of recommendations and other information. Mr. Nicklas finished by saying
they will begin to create monthly police reports. The DeKalb Police are trying to do their job, but
he also wants to keep everyone accountable.
Chair Apperson said in the interest in time is there other recommendations the commission wants
to make at this time. Mr. Norden made the motion to incorporate item F. to provide transparent
and thorough background checks for police hiring and item G. to assure accountability for officer
misconduct and particular use for excessive force to recommendation #3. Mr. Gastiger seconded
the motion. There was an unanimous vote to pass the motion.
Chair Apperson asked if anything else should be included. Ms. King said the abolitionist and
campaign zero should be available for the public to see. Ms. King stated there is no reference to
these groups, they should include the reference.
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June 16, 2020
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Mr. Blumenthal clarified that all documents will be available on the City of DeKalb’s website
and will be provided in the city council packet.
Mr. Gastiger said we should pass along all recommendations, though he did not think that social
workers should go to domestic abuse cases, which was a recommendation from the public.
People from across the country have worked hard to have police recognize the seriousness in
these cases. Mr. Barrow countered saying that the recommendations from the public should be
unfiltered and that the city council needs to make the decision on this. Mr. Gastiger said as long
as his concern was heard, he has no objection.
ii. HRC Recommendations
The HRC, led by Chair Apperson, then went through and revised the HRC recommendations to
make them clearer.
Mr. Norden Motioned to approve the HRC recommendations and to submit them to the city
council. Mr. Gastiger seconded the motion. There was an unanimous vote to pass the motion.
Ms. King wanted to add that the HRC should start making every meeting zoom compatible. She
said residents should still have access even if they can’t physically attend the meeting, and this
will also alleviate the issue of the venue being at the Police Department. Residents will be more
comfortable to attend online through zoom. Ms. King said they should accommodate the public
comments the committee heard that night. Mr. Blumenthal said he will talk to the City Manager
and the IT department about this accommodation.
The HRC decided that Mr. Barrow with read his introduction to the HRC presentation of the
recommendations at the COW city council meeting on July 13th.
Chair Apperson announced he may not be around in August due to his wife’s extensive surgery
F. NEW BUSINESS
None.
G. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:49 p.m. Motion by Mr. Gastiger, seconded by Chair Apperson.
Motion approved by a unanimous voice vote.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 8 of 8
*PLEASE NOTE* That in addition to these minutes are all public comments that were
submitted to the HRC for public comment. This includes the chat feature of the Zoom
meeting, as well the link to the video of the HRC meeting at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K572sFy5hxM&t=1s.
_____________________________________________
Jason Blumenthal, Management Analyst
Minutes approved by the Human Relations Commission on: