Human Relations Commission — Skokie, IL
Date: 2024-03-25

Human Relations Commission
 Monday, March 25, 2024
 6:30pm

Location: Village Hall, 5127 Oakton Street – Conference Room D & E (2nd Floor)

 AGENDA

I. Call to Order


II. Approval of Agenda


III. Approval of Minutes of February 26, 2024


IV. Committee Reports

 A. Neighbor Engagement Committee
 1. Block Parties, Block Party Forum
 2. Know your Neighbor
 3. 4th of July Parade

 B. Housing Committee Updates
 1. Housing Subcommittee
 2. Fair Housing Ordinance

 C. Equity and Diversity Committee Updates
 1. Early Intervention Hate/Bias Incidence
 2. Black History Month
 3. Unite Against Racism w/ YWCA
 4. Skokie Festival of Cultures
 5. Skokie Juneteenth
 6. Skokie Pride
 7. SEED Training


V. Other Items of Business
 A. Village Seal Redesign
 B. Skokie Police Use of Force Review Board


VI. Adjourn



Next Meeting: April 29, 2024, 6:30pm at Village Hall 5127 Oakton Street, Skokie IL. 60077

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


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 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.



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 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




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