City of Aurora Human Relations Commission met May 11.
Here is the minutes as provided by the commission:
Call to Order and Roll Call
Meeting was called to order by Chairperson Mae Smith at 5:31 PM.
Ryan Maley took roll call and Chairperson Smith noted that a quorum was present.
Alex Voigt from the City of Aurora was also present.
Ms. Gray moved the minutes from the April 13, 2017 meeting be approved. Mr. Martinez
seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Agenda Change
Chairperson Smith noted that Mr. Nelson could not attend and the presentation from the Dept of
Property Standards was rescheduled for the June meeting.
Chairperson Smith propsed the Commission not meet in July. Commissioners were in agreement.
The Commission will not meet in July.
Open Meetings Act and Call In
Ms. Voigt discussed the Open Meetings Act and the opportunity to participate in Commission
meetings by electronic means. She has consulted with City’s Counsel and developed this
language:
Attendance by a means other than physical presence.
(a) If a quorum of the members of the public body is physically present as required by
Section 2.01, a majority of the public body may allow a member of that body to attend
the meeting by other means if the member is prevented from physically attending because
of: (i) personal illness or disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the
public body; or (iii) a family or other emergency. "Other means" is by video or audio
conference.
(b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means, the member must notify the
recording secretary or clerk of the public body before the meeting unless advance notice
is impractical.
(c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to attend a meeting by other
means only in accordance with and to the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public
body. The rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of this Section, may
further limit the extent to which attendance by other means is allowed, and may provide
for the giving of additional notice to the public or further facilitate public access to
meetings.
Mr. Lundquist moved the language be included in Commission bylaws. Ms. Sosa Bachmeier
seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
IDHR 2016 Annual Report
The Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) recently published their 2016 Annual Report.
Mr. Maley had requested the data specific to Aurora. He discussed some of the data. There were
26 complaints from Aurora were filed in 2016, 19 of which related to employment. The
Commission had received only three complaints in 2016. The largest categories of complaints
were in the categories of sex, physical disabilities and retaliation.
Email Communication to Community Groups
Ms. Voigt reported that she has obtained mailing lists to community and faith groups. Mr. Rick
Guzman has a new position in the administration and his current department had the list. He sent
his apologies for the delay to the Commission.
Mr. Maley suggested the previously developed emails be sent as soon as possible. Chairperson
Smith felt the emails needed to be reviewed since it had been some time since the Commission
approved them. Mr. Maley proposed sending the mails for Commissioners to review and, if there
are objections to the content, delay sending until they can be discussed in the June meeting, If
there are no objections, the mails can be sent sooner. After discussion, this was agreed upon. Mr.
Maley will send the messages for review.
Other Business
Chairperson Smith discussed an upcoming event on May 25th which will address the topic of
understanding implicit bias. She noted that school superintendents, city personnel, and other
community leaders have been or will be invited. The event is sponsored by several alderman of
the City. She will speak briefly at the event to raise awareness of the Commission and its
mission. The event will present data on the topic of bias and Chief Ziman will also make
remarks. Commissioners will receive an invitation.
Next Meeting
Chairperson Smith reminded Commissioners that the next meeting would be held June 8, 2017.
There will be no meeting in July.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent at 5:55 pm.
https://www.aurora-il.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_06082017-1050
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