Plans to convert the city’s Housing Advisory Commission into to a Human Rights Commission were debated by the Naperville City Council this week as members consider how much involvement they should have in case decisions.
An ordinance creating the new commission was presented to the council at its Tuesday meeting. As currently written, commissioners would assess discrimination complaints and issue judgments, advise the city on human rights and affordable housing issues, and perform community outreach and engagement on human rights and fair and affordable housing.
But several council members raised concerns that the ordinance excludes the council from being involved in some commission actions.
City Attorney Michael DiSanto said under the proposed ordinance, a human rights or fair housing complaint would go to the commission, which would determine if the complaint has the legal grounds to be pursued.
If it does vote to get involved in a case, the commission and staff would try to resolve the issue amicably through an informal process, DiSanto said. Complaints not resolved informally would go to a formal hearing before and administrative law judge or a hearing officer, he said.
Each mediation or hearing is expected to cost between $500 and $1,000.
DiSanto said violation findings would go to the Human Rights Commission to decide the appropriate penalty.
“Under the model that has been proposed, council would not have any involvement,” DiSanto said.
The city’s existing fair housing ordinance has a process similar to what is proposed other than at the conclusion of the commission’s review, the council has the option, but not the obligation, to review it, he said. The council can either affirm or reverse the decision.
Under both the old or new ordinance, any decision by the commission or council can be appealed to the circuit court, DiSanto said.
In the last five years, complaints have been either dismissed or resolved informally without going to a hearing, he said.
Councilwoman Patty Gustin said she’d like to see the city council be given the option, not the obligation, to review decisions as stated in the old ordinance.
Fellow council member John Krummen agreed. “I would not want to abdicate any authority. The people voted for us to represent them,” he said.
The city’s ordinance is modeled after what the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and the U.S. Department of Justice determined were best practices, City Manager Doug Krieger said.
Before the city makes any changes, Councilman Benny White said he’d like to get input from the other agencies on the matter.
Krieger said staff will gather information to present to the council before a vote is taken. Right now it’s scheduled for final action on Nov. 4.
Once the ordinance is place, the mayor would present appointments for the new seats on the expanded commission.
The current commission consists of nine members, two of whom have either expired terms or will not be renewed for an additional term. The proposed ordinance temporarily expands the commission to 11 members, which will be reduced to nine as terms expire.
Commissioners would have experience in the various aspects of the duties of the new commission, be broadly representative of the city’s population, and include members of Naperville’s minority communities, according to the pending ordinance.
To assist the commission, the city is in the process of hiring of a new full-time diversity, equity and inclusion manager.
The impetus for creating a Human Rights Commission comes out of the council’s decision last year to expand its mission statement to include language on inclusivity and diversity.
City Council members in May adopted a resolution denouncing racism and commending diversity following attacks on Asian Americans, some of which were tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
There have been other cases of alleged racism in the city as well over the last two years. Among them were incidents in which a group of restaurant diners were asked to move because a patron didn’t wanted be seated near African Americans, a gas station clerk told a group of Latina girls and women that they should return to their home country, and a Naperville high school student posted a social media ad with a black student’s photo and the words “Slave for Sale.”
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