Human Relations Advisory Group

Regular Meeting

Highland Park, IL · December 11, 2025

Minutes

MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY GROUP OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS MEETING DATE: December 11, 2025 MEETING LOCATION: Highland Park Police Department 1677 Old Deerfield Road, Highland Park, IL CALL TO ORDER: At 5:00 PM, Chair Tiersky called the Human Relations Advisory Group (HRAG) regular meeting to order and Staff Liaison Earle called the roll. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Chair Tiersky, Vice-Chair Canchester, Advisors Buzard, Fishman, Lugar, Lynch, Flores- Weisskopf Members Absent: Advisors Jasenof, Gottesman, Harris Also Present: Council Liaison Lidawer, North Shore School District 112 Representative Fink, Student Liaison Rosenblatt, Staff Liaison Earle, Alternate Staff Liaison Ford Chair Tiersky declared a quorum was present. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES (a) Approval of the October 9, 2025 Regular Meeting Minutes Member Buzard moved to adopt the minutes. Member Lugar seconded the motion. Voice vote, unanimous. Chair Tiersky declared the motion passed. COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED None. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC None. Prospective member observed meeting. OLD BUSINESS (a) 2026 MLK Event Discussion (WP1) Chair Tiersky invited Staff Liaison Earle to give an update on the service project committee. Set up will begin on Sunday the 18th at 5 PM and is expected to take about two hours. Members should arrive at the event at 8:30 AM and vendors will arrive at 9 AM. Member Flores Weisskopf to follow up with the Rotary Club on the donation drop off. Chair Tiersky invited Vice-Chair Canchester to give an update on the entertainment committee. The dancers are booked and instructed to arrive before start time to allow for flexibility and a possible start time before noon. Performance is available for up to 45 minutes and the group decided plan for 20 to 30 minutes of performance depending on the needs of the event day-of. The timeline and tasks of the event were reviewed. Staff Liaison Earle reviewed proposed service projects and affirmed that it will be helpful to have dancers ready for when people are done with projects. Group consensus was reached to keep opening statements and speeches short. Service project participation was discussed and Chair Tiersky recommended investigation into decreased engagement and why groups that have participated in the past have not returned. Group to split past participant list and call those that have not reached out about 2026, as well as contact any further organizations they think may have interest. Members to update Christina on who is contacted. It was discussed that the existing list and contact script was established over time in past meetings. Donation drop off will occur at the East side Senior Services entrance, with vendors entering at the Park Fitness entrance. Senior Center volunteers will be present to assist and count attendance. Advisors are requested to stay and help break down event materials. (b) 2026 HP Awards Discussion (WP2) Staff Liaison Earle reported that the event is set for April 23rd from 6:30 to around 8 PM. Public awards close on December 31 and Character Counts close mid-February. Staff Liaison Earle reported nominations for awards are low and an email request for more nominations will be going out. Letters have already been sent to past award winners. Member Fishman to call past winners to request nominations. Calls were also requested for past nominees that did not win. Upon discussion it was established that District 113 is included in the awards through Character Counts. The group ended discussion with the request for additional printed programs for the ceremony. Other Business (a) City Staff Update Staff Liaison Earle thanked Chair Tiersky and members Fishman and Gottesman for their service. She reported that the MLK “I Have a Dream” speech rights was submitted for and staff is awaiting update. Humanitarian Award plaque was finalized and ready to be ordered. (b) Chairman Update Chair Tiersky stated that it was a pleasure to serve as chair and thanked all members and Christina for their service to the group. (c) Advisor Comments Members Fishman – Thanked the group. Flores-Weisskopf – Called for a revamp of MLK Day of Service and service projects. Lugar – Thanked members who are moving on from service. Community Liaisons Student Liaison Rosenblatt - Discussed service project idea including: goodie bags for first responders or senior homes with card, sock stuffing to Moraine Township with a card, and thank you cards to teachers. Discussion was held on funding for making donation bags and suggestion was made for groups that do not have a project to donate items or funds to the project. Member Lugar suggested making “Know Your Rights” whistle kits. District 112 Representative Fink to ask Girl Scouts about working a table for the event. Council Liaison Lidawer – Expressed appreciation to the group for their work. ADJOURNMENT Chair Tiersky entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. A motion was made by member Fishman and seconded by Member Buzard. The motion passed with a unanimous vote of the advisors present. The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 PM. --- Respectfully submitted, Parker Ford Administrative Program Specialist

Agenda

Packet

Human Relations Advisory Group Meeting Highland Park Police Department December 11, 2025 5:00 PM Agenda PUBLIC NOTICE In accordance with the Statutes of the State of Illinois and the Ordinances of the City of Highland Park, a Regular Meeting of the Human Relations Advisory Group of the City of Highland Park is scheduled to be held at the hour of 5:00 PM on Thursday, December 11, 2025 at the Highland Park Police Department, 1677 Old Deerfield Road, Highland Park, Illinois during which it is anticipated there will be a discussion. Individuals with questions or feedback about an agenda item can address the Advisory Group in the following ways: 1. Emails for the Record. Email Christina Earle, the Human Relations Advisory Group staff liaison. If you wish to have your comments read into the record, limit your communication to 200 words or less. Public comments received by 3:00 PM the day of the meeting will be read under Business from the Public. Public comments should contain the following information: o • In the subject line, identify, “HRAG Meeting – Read into the Record” o • Name • City • Address (optional) • Phone (optional) • Organization, agency representing, if applicable • Topic or agenda item number of interest 2. Emails with Unlimited Information. Individuals who do not wish to have their comments read into the record can email Christina Earle an unlimited number of words. Emails will be forwarded to the Human Relations Advisory Group if requested. 3. Telephone. Individuals with no access to email may leave a message with Staff Liaison Christina Earle at 847.926.1861 by 3:00PM the day of the meeting. 4. Live Comments. Individuals are able to address the Advisory Group during the meeting. Questions/comments are limited to written testimony into the record or spoken comments, not both. Comments should be limited to three minutes or less. I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Approval of Minutes A. October 9, 2025 Regular Meeting Minutes IV. Business from the Public (Individuals wishing to be heard regarding items not listed on this agenda) V. Old Business A. 2026 MLK Day of Service Updates (WP1) B. 2026 HP Awards Discussion (WP2) VI. New Business VII. Other Business A. City Staff Update B. Chairman Update C. Advisor Comments VIII. Adjournment MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY GROUP OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS MEETING DATE: October 9, 2025 MEETING LOCATION: Highland Park Police Department 1677 Old Deerfield Road, Highland Park, IL CALL TO ORDER: At 5:05 PM, Chair Tiersky called the Human Relations Advisory Group (HRAG) regular meeting to order and Staff Liaison Earle called the roll. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Chair Tiersky, Vice-Chair Canchester, Advisors Buzard, Fishman, Gottesman, Jasenof, Lynch, Flores-Weisskopf Members Absent: Advisors Lugar, Harris Also Present: Council Liaison Lidawer, Park District Liaison Pierce, Student Liaison Rosenblatt, Staff Liaison Earle, Alternate Staff Liaison Ford, Assistant City Manager Jason Chair Tiersky declared a quorum was present. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES (a) Approval of the May 15, 2025 Regular Meeting Minutes Member Buzzard moved to adopt the minutes. Vice-Chair Canchester seconded the motion. Voice vote, unanimous. Chair Tiersky declared the motion passed. (b) Approval of the August 7, 2025 Regular Meeting Minutes Member Gottesman moved to adopt the minutes. Vice-Chair Canchester seconded the motion. Voice vote, unanimous. Chair Tiersky declared the motion passed. COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED None. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC None. OLD BUSINESS (a) 2026 MLK Event Discussion (WP1) Chair Tiersky invited Staff Liaison Earle to give an update on the service project committee. Earle reported that the application was updated and sent out to 2025 and 2025 participants with 8 responses at the time of the meeting. The cutoff date for response is November 15. Vice-Chair Canchester and Advisor Gottesman gave an update from the Entertainment Committee. They reported that they would not be moving forward with the previous dance group and recommend a dance group named “The Roots of Black Dance in America” who have a total fee of $740 due to an MLK Day upcharge. The advisors discussed the options of expanding the performance time from 20 to 30 minutes, having performances on the side throughout the event, as well as the impact on the focus on service projects versus the draw of entertainment. The Entertainment Committee will get more information on the time restraints and opportunities of the dance group after reviewing the schedule of the past year’s event. Staff Liaison Earle set the next meeting for December 11 where the group is to finalize the entertainment and schedule for the event. Earle confirmed the marketing plan is underway with new digital signs. Vice-Chair Canchester volunteered to confirm service project details with respondents. Glencoe GCIC will not partner on event for this year but is open for future years. The group expresses desire to include them meaningfully in the future and to start planning sooner. (b) 2026 HP Awards Discussion (WP2) Chair Tiersky stated that award nominations open November 1 and close December 31, with Character Counts nominations through mid-February. Staff Liaison Earle reports she is working with the Marketing Coordinator for the event and plans to reach out to previous participates again. Earle presented a number of ceremony dates and is waiting to confirm availability with the venue. (c) CommUNITY Conversations Update (WP1) Advisor Fishman provided an update that it the project is planned to be rolled out after MLK Day and expressed a desire to have conversations in a variety of locations with different groups. NEW BUSINESS (a) 2026 Meeting Resolution Approval Member Lynch moved to adopt the resolution. Advisor Fishman seconded the motion. Voice vote, unanimous. Chair Tiersky declared the motion passed. (b) 2026 Work Plan Discussion & Approval Council Liaison Lidawer and Assistant City Manager Jason gave background and an overview of an addition to the work plan to review the City statement against hate and definition of anti- Semitism to see if there are additional groups and definitions that should be created. The group will be obtaining new representatives from the Park District and Moraine Township. Member Fishman moved to adopt the Work Plan. Advisor Gottesman seconded the motion. Voice vote, unanimous. Chair Tiersky declared the motion passed. OTHER BUSINESS (a) City Staff Update Assistant City Manager Jason reported that the City will be participating in America 250 and notes interest in incorporating this into other 2026 events. (b) Chairman Update Chair Tiersky did not have an updates. (c) Advisor Comments Members Gottesman – Stated that HRAG is not the group to make an ICE statement for the City but HRAG could support the messaging as it becomes a large concern in the community. Flores-Weisskopf - Noted the idea of including Latino populations in statement of hate review. Community Liaisons Student Liaison Rosenblatt- Rosenblatt participates in Tech Tutors, who help seniors with technology. They are reaching out to senior centers and are looking for meeting places considering the school hours. Suggested location included Sunset Foods, library, faith centers, yacht club, and senior homes. Rosenblatt also reports that the Park District ceramics studio is being cut due to lack of funding/ space. Park District is still looking for solutions but they request for ideas for alternative spaces. ADJOURNMENT Chair Tiersky entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. A motion was made by Advisor Jasenof and seconded by Advisor Fishman. The motion passed with a unanimous vote of the advisors present. The meeting was adjourned at 6:33 PM. --- Respectfully submitted, Parker Ford Administrative Program Specialist