Human Relations Commission

Human Relations Commission Monday, March 25, 2024 6:30pm Location: Village Hall, 5127 Oakton Street – Conference Room D & E (2nd Floor) In Attendance: Commissioners: Anthony Agee, Sheryl Bloom Basile, Alex Chaparro, Sheila Crumrine (vice-chair), David Donegan, Krishna Goyal, Jonathan Lavin, Joseph Meyers, Maria Monastero Bueno (chair), Karen Sherman; Skokie Staff Liaison: Amanda Sabri Not in Attendance: Deborah Arnold (E), Marcos Levy, Swarupa Pahan (E), Jeremy Segal (E), Swarupa Pahan (E), James Specker (E), Mayha Syed (E), Trustee Khem Khoeun I. Call to Order: 6:40pm II. Approval of Agenda A. Sheryl Bloom Basile motioned to approve the agenda, motion seconded by Karen Sherman. III. Approval of Minutes of February 26, 2024 A. Karen Sherman motioned to approve the minutes as written, motion seconded by Sheila Crumrine. IV. Committee Reports A. Neighbor Engagement Committee 1. Block Party Forum: Maria Monastero Bueno and the commission thanked Alex Chaparro, whose hard work led to a successful Block Party Forum. Alex reported that it was a well-attended event and all those who attended were very engaged with the presentations and speaker panel. It was agreed that in coming years it will be important to ensure that anyone attending there to learn about block parties and not to solicit business, as this seemed to be the case for one attendee. 2. Know your Neighbor: Karen Sherman reported that Ann Tennes, former Village of Skokie Communications Director, connected her with the former Northbrook Communications Director to discuss Flamingo Fridays. Northbrook’s event started with a kick-off event at Village Hall for new residents and also involves tracking events through GIS and a board at Village Hall. It was suggested that a soft-start may work better for Skokie since a big kick-off event would be difficult to plan before Summer. Karen Sherman agreed to do research to bring definition to the event, and draft a flyer 1  to bring to the next meeting. Amanda Sabri will look into storage options for the yard signs at Village Hall. 3. 4th of July Parade: no updates. B. Housing Committee Updates 1. Housing Subcommittee: Jon Lavin reported that the subcommittee’s March meeting was canceled because they did not have a quorum. However, a draft of the Housing Chapter 6 of the Village’s Comprehensive Plan was provided to the committee. Jon reviewed several key points, including the vision statement and themes. A copy of the draft will be emailed to commissioners and is also available on https://www.skokie.org/AgendaCenter. Commissioners had a discussion about affordable housing, including the definition of affordable housing, and what role affordable housing plays in the housing chapter. 2. Fair Housing Ordinance: no updates C. Equity and Diversity Committee Updates 1. Early Intervention Hate/Bias Incidence: no updates 2. Black History Month: no updates 3. Unite Against Racism w/ YWCA: Sheila Crumrine stated that she expects to receive an update from Heather Sweeney at the YWCA after their April board meeting regarding whether the commission can play a role in the Unite Against Racism panel discussion. 4. Skokie Festival of Cultures: Amanda Sabri reported that the she has submitted an application to Pamela Zeid at the Skokie Park District for the Human Relations Commission to have a table at the Community Resource Fair section of the Festival of Cultures. Application decision letters will be mailed out in April. Commissioners discussed options for what to hand out at the event. Some options included flag stickers, bracelets, and pinwheels. Joseph Meyers will research some options for bracelets and email them to Amanda Sabri. 5. Skokie Juneteenth: Sheila Crumrine updated the commission on the planning progress of the Fair Housing Program the commission is co-sponsoring with the Skokie Library and the Skokie Heritage Museum. Staff at the Skokie Library have located several members of the first Black families who moved to Skokie in the 1960s and they are interested in participating in the program. One family member will be traveling to the program from New York. Sheila motioned to approve $300 for an honorarium or stipend to assist with his travel costs. Motion approved by David Donegan and all members in attendance also voted to approve the motion. David Donegan has agreed to help moderate the event and Alex Chaparro will be speaking on the panel about past and present real estate practices. The event will take place Tuesday, June 11, from 6- 8pm in the Radmacher Room at Skokie Library. 6. Skokie Pride: Miniature Pride flags and pinwheels were assembled at the meeting and members of the commission also agreed to take some supplies home to assemble and bring back to the April meeting. 2  7. SEED Training: David Donegan reported that the last session for this cohort will take place in June. He welcomed any feedback that he can provide to Niles Township Special Education District. V. Other Items of Business A. Village Seal Redesign: Maria Monastero Bueno provided an update that the committee has met with both artists/firms for second interviews and the committee will meet one more time before making a final decision to move forward with the selected individual/firm. There will then be a process of the individual/firm providing several design options followed by a set of revisions. B. Skokie Police Use of Force Review Board: Anthony Agee will be joining this board as the Human Relations Commission representative, Karen Sherman will be stepping down from this role. C. Niles Township Supervisor Bonnie Kahn Ognisanti will be joining the commission’s April meeting to discuss the work that Niles Township Government is doing to support Skokie Residents. VI. Adjourn 3