Chambana Sun

City of Champaign Human Relations Commission met August 7.

Here is the minutes provided by the Commission:

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

Present: Commissioner Bressner, Commissioner Willie Comer, Commissioner Elmore, Commissioner Felty, Commissioner Greene, Commissioner Turner (joined at 5:32), Chairperson Young

Absent: Commissioner Creighton Comer, Commissioner Midden

III. Approval of Meeting Minutes

a. June 5, 2017 Regular Meeting

i. Corrections: None

ii. Motion: Elmore

iii. Second: W. Comer

iv. Minutes Approved as Written

IV. Staff Reports - Rachel Joy, Community Relations Manager/Compliance Officer

a. Community Relations Office Monthly Activity Reports

i. Since the June 5 HRC Meeting, there have been 2 cases closed for insufficient evidence. Currently, there are 2 cases open. Also 1 case was referred to the Illinois Department of Labor.

ii. Police closed 2 cases, and have 1 case remaining open.

b. Hiring Report

i. 5 white males, 1 black males hired by the City in June 2017.

ii. 2 white males hired by the City in July 2017.

V. Correspondence/Announcements

a. Introduction of Youth Commissioner Valena Greene – Alissia Young, Chair

i. Chairperson Young welcomed the new Youth Commissioner, Valena Greene. She is a Commissioner at Centennial High School, and is excited to be here.

VI. Audience Participation

a.No audience participation.

VII. Citizen Review Subcommittee

a. Council Bill #2017-172 – Rachel Joy, Community Relations Manager & Compliance Officer

i. Ms. Joy gave an update on the subcommittee, now that it has been adopted.

ii. Chairperson Young met with the Working Group that conceived this plan for the subcommittee.

iii. The Subcommittee has had some changes since last discussion, including the mandate that one member of the panel must be from the HRC and that the panel is now a five-member panel, instead of three.

iv. Members of the HRC who wish to serve on that committee may email Mayor Feinen to express their interest.

v. Questions:

1. Elmore: Just confirming, HRC members do not have to file an application?

a. Given that you already have applications on file, you are only being asked to submit an email of interest.

2. Felty: Had a question about the ordinance – a possible contradiction.

a. There are some parts of the subcommittee that are written to be in public session and others that will be in closed session. Will this ever conflict?

i. There will be other parts of the subcommittee’s meetings to discuss outreach and reporting, so it’s important to note that the group will have agenda items to be put forth in public, along with their sessions to see cases.

b. In part C on page 3, the Council Bill states that the committee can request subpoenas, but later it says that all reviews must be completed within a single meeting. How can they complete a subpoena within one meeting if they still need to call witnesses?

i. If a case still has pending items in discovery, they would not present it until everything has cleared that process. They hope to ensure that the committee will routinely convene and not have to hold over cases as much as possible.

c. Page 4, part E discusses conflicts of interest. If all of the material comes to the members without the complainant and those involved, how would they know the conflicts of interest?

i. This question also applies to witnesses or people involved. It could be the case that a case occurs where someone works or something they witnessed prior.

d. Page 5 references the information put forth by the Board, should it not say “subcommittee”?

i. This is correct. It should not be referred to as a board.

3. Rachel also thanked the Chair for her efforts on this.

4. Chair Young also thanked Ms. Joy for her hard work.

VIII. Nominating Committee Presentation of Slate of Officers

a. Commissioner Kenton Elmore & Commissioner Demario Turner

i. Commissioners Elmore & Turner were tasked to gather nominations.

ii. The slate presented was:

1. Chair: Alissia Young

2. Vice Chair: Kenton Elmore

3. Secretary: DeMario Turner

iii. Motion to accept the slate: W. Comer

iv. Second: Turner

v. The motion carries. The slate is adopted.

IX. Committee Reports

a. 2017 Action Plan

i. Commissioner Willie Comer – Marketing Materials

1. Had a few meetings with high school students to discuss the potential of materials and considered making brochures for placement in the high school. These students said that it would be a waste of paper for people their age.

2. They recommended that the Commission make a brief video to be played on screens throughout the high school

3. Suggestions included a music video to gather attention. This was met with laughter from several members.

4. A three-minute video would be a good way to put together something that doesn’t require continued cost or upkeep.

5. Questions:

a. Commissioner Felty: Would Commissioner Greene be in the video?

i. Commissioner W. Comer: Absolutely. She could play a big part in the creation of the video and in shaping it.

b. D. Turner: Are there screens already in place in the schools that they use?

i. There are screens in place that are regularly used in the high schools and the middle schools.

c. Would the school administration need to approve this?

i. Most likely, but we would hope that this is not a problem, as it is advertising

d. Suggestion: Animated videos to use in lieu of everyone’s face.

6. Elmore: Do the campuses still have open lunches?

a. Greene: Juniors and Seniors have open lunch, but there are opportunities during English classes where videos can be shown for everyone to see.

7. Bressner: During lunch, there is generally a lot of noise, so it may be better played during class time.

8. Turner: Do they have speakers in the cafeteria?

a. They’ve never actually played anything with audio in there, so English class is generally where they get the informational videos with audio.

9. Young: Getting the word about the HRC out as early as possible is the best thing.

b. 2017 CUIHA – Commissioner Kenton Elmore (Back-up Commissioner Barbara Bressner)

i. The CUIHA will be merging with the CU Welcome Awards, and there is a meeting this Friday to determine details.

ii. Questions:

1. Felty: Is that the International YMCA program happening in September on campus? That’s nice.

c. 2018 MLK – Commissioner Amy Felty (Back-up Commissioner Demario Turner)

i. Another meeting is coming up soon and items are currently being discussed by the committee, including venue.

X. Old Business

a. There was no old business.

XI. New Business

a. There was no new business.

XII. Audience Participation

a. There was no audience participation.

XIII. Commissioners’ Comments

a. Commissioner Felty: It’s coming up on time to get a new Commission photo to include the newest member. Would that be possible for the next meeting?

b. Commissioner Willie Comer: Will be reaching out to the Commission to determine what to do with the video that was discussed.

i. Would animation be a worthwhile idea?

1. Commissioner Greene: Animation could be more attention grabbing for the younger generation.

c. Commissioner Turner: There was an email earlier about the Community Coalition meeting this Wednesday, August 9 from 3:30 to 5 pm at the Champaign Public Library.

d. Commissioner Elmore: No comments.

e. Commissioner Greene: Thanks to the Commission for the card, and the video sounds promising. Also, a question about the contact information on the Commission. Do they have social media contact?

f. Commissioner Bressner: No comments.

g. Chairperson Young: No comments.

XIV. Adjournment

a. Motion: Elmore

Second: Turner

Adjourned: 6:34 pm

http://documents.ci.champaign.il.us/v/0BwyGnHue8C6RS2lkOEZyZXdSTjQ