Naperville City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to convert the Housing Advisory Commission into the Human Rights and Fair Housing Commission and to decommission the Downtown Advisory Commission.
The Human Rights and Fair Housing Commission has been given an expanded scope that lets members deal with topics beyond housing issues. It will be responsible for assessing discrimination complaints and issuing judgments, advising the city on human rights and affordable housing issues, and performing community outreach and engagement.
One of the tasks to be assigned to the diversity, equity and inclusion manager being hired by the city in 2021 will be to work with the commission.
Council members were to vote on the new commission last month but table the matter so there would be more time to review proposal.
“This (concept of the commission) does not provide any new rights that don’t already exist for residents in our community,” City Attorney Michael DiSanto said.
“What it does provide is some local ability to handle some of these issues as they arise within the city of Naperville. Instead of having our residents go to the courts or to the state or county agencies, they’ll be able to have some of these issues handled internally,” he said.
City staff worked with council members, the Cook County Human Rights Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and local attorneys to map out a plan for the commission and looked at regulations governing similar commissions in other communities, DiSanto said.
The council also moved forward with decommissioning the Downtown Advisory Commission.
The advisory group requested the council to disband it as members were often in violation of the state’s open meetings laws when they attended business-related functions and meetings.
It will be replaced by a private citizen task force so is no longer has to comply with the rules that govern city commissions.
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Formed in 2008, the commission was made up of business professionals, residents and city officials who offered input on infrastructure development, zoning regulations and downtown issues.