Community Relations Commission

COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES November 8, 2012 Present: Steven Gorski - Chair Absent: Trustee Jim Hynes – Ex Officio Mary Marusek Cathy Spadoni - Secretary Bob Thomas Mayor Robert Callero George Van Geem – Village Manager Marian Honel – Manager, Fair Housing Division, Illinois Department of Human Rights Viki Rivkin – Director of Fair Housing, Open Communities (formerly called Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs) Commissioner Gorski called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. I. Presentation Ms. Honel stated that the Illinois Department of Human Rights conducts investigations of approximately 400 housing discrimination cases per year. Her presentation focused on the processes and procedures of human relations commissions. She advised that when we get a report of discrimination, we first need to investigate both sides of the complaint. If no resolution is reached, we should contact the village attorney for guidance. If the dispute still cannot be resolved, we should contact Open Communities and/or the Illinois Department of Human Rights. Ms. Rivkin noted that our website is open and welcoming. She offered assistance in creating a fair housing brochure for the Village of Niles and suggested that we post it on our website and make it available to all realtors and condo associations in the Village of Niles. She will also provide a sample of a complaint form. Commissioner Gorski will contact Ms. Rivkin next week to discuss the brochure. Ms. Honel provided a resource sheet and Ms. Rivkin provided Open Communities’ new fair housing brochures and her business cards. (At the end of the presentation, Commissioner Thomas excused himself.) II. Approval of Minutes Commissioner Marusek made a motion to approve the minutes of the July 26, 2012 meeting; Commissioner Spadoni seconded the motion. The motion carried. III. Reported Citizen Comments / Complaints a) Police Department Commissioner Gorski reported that the Police Department has not received any complaints. b) Other Village of Niles Departments Commissioner Spadoni reported that no complaints were received from other departments. c) Telephone Hotline Commissioner Spadoni reported that a complaint was received via the phone hotline. A man called to report a “hate crime.” He stated that a wi-fi router at Panera Bread at 7023 W. Dempster was offensively named. The Village of Niles MIS Department was able to locate the source; the owner has cooperated in removing the offensive name. Mr. Van Geem stated that it was extremely important to have it removed because it reflected poorly on the Village. d) Email Hotline Commissioner Spadoni reported that no complaints were received via the email hotline. e) Other Commissioner Gorski stated that he received an email from Kim Shine, Masters Candidate at the Medill School of Journalism, who is conducting research on race and ethnicity within the North Shore communities. Commissioner Spadoni will follow-up on her request for information. IV. Report from the Commissioners Discussion of Community Relations Commission Flyer/Brochure Commissioner Gorski stated that he has received input from Commissioners Marusek and Spadoni regarding the fair housing brochures from Wilmette, Morton Grove and Evanston. He will combine the best features of these brochures to make a good product for the Village of Niles. He would like our brochure to have two purposes: 1) to promote the Village of Niles and 2) to publicize the law. He will contact George Van Geem for final approval of the brochure and determination of its circulation. As discussed in the presentation earlier in the meeting, the complaint forms will be kept at the Village Hall main lobby front desk. Open Meetings Act Training Commissioner Gorski stated that he has completed the Open Meetings Act training, as have Commissioners Marusek and Spadoni. Each has submitted their Certificates of Completion which will be kept on file in the Village Clerk’s office. Commissioner Gorski will contact Bob Thomas regarding this mandatory training. V. New Business Change to Website Article Commissioner Spadoni suggested we change the word “hotline” to “reporting line” on our website to more accurately convey the nature of the line. She will contact the MIS Director to see if these calls can be sent directly to her phone and/or have the message light flash on her phone. We will provide a link to the brochure when it is ready for publication. VI. Next Meeting The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. VII. Adjournment There being no official complaints or further business to come before the Community Relations Commission, Commissioner Gorski made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Marusek. The meeting adjourned at 5:06 p.m. __________________________ Catherine Spadoni, Secretary Community Relations Commission