Rock Island Today

City of Moline Human Rights Commission met Oct. 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

PRESENT: Jose Castro

Diokel Gning

Sue Normoyle

Adrian Ritchie

Matt Stoefen

Angelica Villarreal

Betsy Zmuda-Swanson

ABSENT: N/A

STAFF: Amy Saunders, Paralegal

Rhonda Bartz, Legal Services Specialist

K. J. Whitley, Community Development Manager

OTHER: Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel (remote attendance) Jim Maloney, Visitor

Call to Order

Human Rights Commission Chair, Betsy Zmuda-Swanson, called the meeting to order at 5:38 p.m., in the Gold Room, at the Moline Public Library, after some technical difficulties were remedied.

Oaths of Office

Amy Saunders, Paralegal, and as a Deputy City Clerk for the City of Moline, administered Sue Normoyle and Angelica Villarreal’s Oaths of Office. Sue and Angelica are new Human Rights Commission members.

Approval of Minutes

Diokel Gning made a motion to approve the August 12, 2024 Minutes; seconded by Jose Castro. Motion passed unanimously.

Presentation

Elana Kahn, Executive Director of the Illinois Commission on Discrimination & Hate Crimes (CDHC), gave a presentation concerning “Illinois v. Hate”, whose name was changed to “Help Stop Hate.”

The CDHC is a governor-appointed position housed in the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR). The CDHC is comprised of 21 seats that represent the entire State of Illinois, and they are a work in progress. Help Stop Hate is the key project. Help Stop Hate is a helpline to report acts of hate and to get people connected with resources. The CDHC is also working on a State study to gather data about where hate is happening, who is affected by it, etc. They would also like to determine the assets that exist in the state. For example, if someone is targeted, what resources are available to them across the state? They are finalizing an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the University of Illinois and working on a mandate for hate crimes education for law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers need to know how to recognize and report hate crimes. Help Stop Hate’s website is located at ILStopHate.org.

Hate crimes and civil rights violations are hateful, but legal. This gives people the legal right to walk down the street and call people names. As such, there is a need to work on neighborhood relationships and advocacy.

The CDHC and IDHR are coordinating a state-wide response to hate crimes. The number is (877) 458-HATE. The CDHC is not affiliated with law enforcement, and information gathered is not subject to FOIA. Online reports may be made in seven (7) different languages and via phone in any language. It is a free, confidential service that provides meaningful support to assist victims and witnesses of hate crimes in reporting said crimes and connecting them and their communities with vital resources.

There was discussion between Elana and the HRC concerning the types of hate experienced in Moline. There was also discussion about co-branding CDHC projects with the HRC. Elana will send more information for the HRC’s review to better acquaint the HRC with the program. Elana recommended setting a date to come to Moline. The HRC advised that they will discuss this collaboration and respond to Elana.

Public Comment

There was no public comment at this time. K.J. Whitley, Community Development Manager, asked about the November 4, 2024 meeting date. Amy Saunders, Paralegal, replied that this meeting was scheduled in late 2023, because of the Veterans’ Day holiday on November 11, 2024.

Questions on the Agenda

There were no questions.

Agenda Items

1. 2025 Meetings Calendar. Amy Saunders, Paralegal, shared that the Human Rights Commission (“HRC”) needs to set the 2025 HRC meetings calendar. There was discussion. Matt Stoefen made a motion to continue holding the HRC meetings on the second Monday of each month in 2025; seconded by Diokel Gning. Motion passed unanimously. As such, the 2025 HRC meeting dates are as follows:

January 13, 2025

February 10, 2025

March 10, 2025

April 14, 2025

May 12, 2025

June 9, 2025

July 14, 2025

August 11, 2025

September 8, 2025

October 13, 2025

November 10, 2025

December 8, 2025

Amy will submit said dates to the City Clerk for approval by the Moline City Council and reserve the meeting room space at the Moline Public Library.

2. Social Infrastructure Task Force – Follow Up after 9/26/24 Meeting. Betsy Zmuda Swanson shared that she could not attend this meeting. However, she shared that the task force reviewed the budget and talked about the Good Gatherings dinners. The Good Gatherings dinners have been going well for two years. They have an ongoing goal to increase the social presence of the Good Gatherings events. They are generally held on Sundays. This month, the gathering was going to be held at the mosque in Moline. However, the Imam was absent, so a new date will be selected. The HRC could be more involved with these gatherings. Per Betsy, we could send one HRC member at a time to the gatherings to keep up with what is going on with these events. The task force is also working on a dementia-friendly committee and dementia-friendly City designation. They are currently working on a tri-fold informational pamphlet.

3. Joint Meeting with Rock Island Human Rights Commission. Amy Saunders, Paralegal, explained that she was contacted by Ashley Allen Smith, Secretary of the Rock Island Human Rights Commission. They are interested in a joint meeting of the Rock Island and Moline HRC’s. There was discussion. The HRC agreed to schedule a joint meeting. Amy will coordinate dates with the HRC members once she receives some dates from the Rock Island HRC.

4. “Nurturing Queer Joy” Seminar. Adrian Ritchie shared that due to low registration, this seminar was rescheduled to October 23, 2024, from 6-8 p.m., at The Project, located at 4101 John Deere Road, in Moline. It is a free seminar, and there is an option for virtual attendance. The purpose of the panel is to celebrate the good things that are happening in the LGBTQIA+ community. No RSVP is necessary. Vaminda Shafer, Project Coordinator for The Project, does an awesome job with these events. Everyone may bring snacks or food, since there is not enough time for them to plan a dinner.

5. Race Discrimination Complaint - New. Amy Saunders, Paralegal, shared that she received a discrimination complaint from a third business in downtown Moline. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson read the letter to the HRC members. After some discussion, Betsy shared that she is going to reach out to the complainant and report back to the HRC at the November HRC meeting.

6. HRC Website – Follow Up. Diokel Gning shared that the website is up and going. David Rowatt formed the HRC website on the City’s website. The Mayor added some items to the website, as well, (i.e., the 2023 Annual Report). Diokel provided an overview of what is currently on the website and suggested moving the resources section to the top of the webpage. The HRC members agreed. Diokel gave kudos to former HRC member, Natividad Keim, for helping him start the website. Diokel asked the HRC about keeping track of complaints on the website. Angelica Villarreal thinks the HRC should track complaints internally within the HRC.

7. Strategic Planning/Goal Setting – Quarterly Follow Up. Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel, mentioned that with the new year approaching, it would be beneficial for the HRC to do some goal setting to identify projects that it will focus on in 2025. Mayor Rayapati suggested getting involved with the Rental Housing Program. It is a program to register, inspect, force repair and upkeep of rental housing in the City, and to address landlords that may take advantage of lower-income individuals without means or understanding of their rights as tenants. The main goal is to improve the housing stock in the City. The HRC could also get more deeply involved in other projects, such as pursuing adjudication of claims and being involved with the Help Stop Hate state campaign that was introduced earlier in the evening by Elana Kahn. Margaret suggested utilizing the bulk of next month’s HRC meeting to discuss these matters. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson agreed. She suggested that the HRC could educate tenants about their rights and advise them as to whom to call at the City of Moline if they have housing issues, landlord issues or substandard living conditions. The HRC could decide that other projects are more relevant to the HRC. Jose Castro would like ideas about communication and the types of training the HRC could assist with. Elana Kahn is going to send more information to Amy Saunders. K.J. Whitley, Community Development Manager, said that her department is on the verge of receiving the analysis to impediments and housing survey results. She will forward the information to Amy upon receipt. Per Margaret, the official Compass Card launch is November 1, 2024.

Diokel Gning left the meeting at 7:03 p.m.

8. Miscellaneous Business. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson mentioned that the HRC has talked in the past about meeting with Kristy Kumar, from Madison, Wisconsin, concerning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training. Kristy is unable to attend an HRC meeting due to having young kids. Kristy did not think the GARE Program was applicable for the HRC. Matt Stoefen shared that he would rather work with someone in our State like Elana Kahn. After some discussion, the HRC agreed to set up a time with Kristy and two HRC members.

Betsy Zmuda-Swanson read a letter that the HRC received from Rochelle “Ro” Krueger Carlin containing an update on the Handy-at-Home series and future plans for this program. Ro thanked the HRC for its generous donation that helped the Moline Community Development Corporation (MCDC) to train 50 community members; 30 of which live in Moline. She said that this program will run again from January to June 2025. The goal is to take this program into the neighborhoods. Renew will be assuming leadership of the program without Ro, who is leaving the MCDC in November 2024.

Public Comment

There was no public comment at this time.

Next Meeting

The next regularly scheduled HRC meeting is on November 4, 2024.

Adjournment

On motion of Jose Castro, seconded by Angelica Villarreal, and approved unanimously by the HRC, the HRC meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.

http://www.moline.il.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/10479