Consultation

Local officials in Naperville, Illinois, requested CRS assistance in November 2019 to address growing tensions following allegations of racial discrimination that involved staff at a restaurant repeatedly asking a party of mostly Black parents and children to move to different seats because a frequent white customer did not want to sit next to them. The incident went viral, and the restaurant chain faced a national public backlash. After an internal investigation, the restaurant terminated the employees involved and banned the customer who made the complaint from all its restaurants. The restaurant leadership also issued a statement pledging to conduct enhanced sensitivity training at the restaurants and working with city officials and community leaders to provide input and counsel in response to the incident. In another incident earlier that month, local prosecutors charged a white Naperville high school student with two counts of committing a hate crime and one count of disorderly conduct after publishing an advertisement online depicting a Black student as a “slave for sale.” As a result of the escalating community tension, CRS provided consultation services throughout 2020 to support the city’s development of a human rights commission and the enactment of a nondiscrimination resolution.

In December 2019, CRS met with the Naperville mayor, city manager, and other city staff to discuss community concerns. The city had planned to convert its Housing Advisory Commission into a Human Rights Commission. CRS shared guidance and best practices with the city manager about establishing human rights commissions and connected Naperville officials with officials from other existing commissions in Illinois and Indiana. The city council, based on consultation with CRS, revised Naperville’s new equity-centered mission statement to include language focused on the city’s commitment to inclusivity and diversity and drafted ordinances in support of the new commission.

The Naperville City Council unanimously passed in May 2020 a nondiscrimination resolution emphasizing the importance of diversity and inclusion. Community members had demanded the resolution, citing the two anti-Black incidents the prior November, as well as more recent incidents of anti-Asian bias related to the COVID-19 pandemic and derogatory language used against Asians at a council meeting. In July 2020, the council approved an ordinance to establish a human rights commission through expanding the Housing Advisory Commission, adding to its role the tasks of community outreach and education related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. CRS will continue to provide consultation and support to the commission, as needed.

In June 2020, CRS received a request from a city in Southern California to address community members’ concerns about perceived bias-based incidents against Black residents. Earlier that month, after several protesters allegedly threw objects at the police, police fired pepper balls at peaceful protesters demonstrating in solidarity in response to national calls for police accountability in the death of George Floyd. In city council meetings in June and July, Black community members expressed concerns about neighbors allegedly calling the police, without reason, on Black people occupying public spaces.

In response, an elected city official pledged to conduct a community dialogue and work with law enforcement to review their use-of-force policy. CRS provided consultation services to city officials to help determine the appropriate actions to engage residents and address their concerns. CRS led calls with city officials throughout June, July, and August to share information about CRS services and methods that other cities used to address similar issues. CRS also helped the city identify goals to shape its approach, offered input on how to format a community dialogue, and shared guiding questions for conducting a productive review of law enforcement policies. Based on CRS’s consultation, the city conducted two virtual community dialogues in September 2020, led by an outside facilitator, with the recording later posted publicly on the city’s website. During the dialogue, community members discussed their personal experiences with racial discrimination and shared ideas for improving inclusivity. Participants suggested diversity and inclusion training for city staff, violence prevention programs for youth, and a city commission on equity for listening to community concerns. The city created a new council subcommittee on equity and inclusion that met quarterly, with meeting attendance open to the public to offer their input and recommendations on improving equity and inclusivity in the city. The city also began working with law enforcement to review its use-of-force policy. CRS continues to provide consultation services to the city as needed.