The City of Evanston announced a 60-day plan to investigate and correct workplace issues after a survey of Black employees detailed alleged discrimination last month.
“The issues raised are core to (Evanston’s) mission and values, and we have a responsibility to resolve them in order to be the organization our community expects and deserves,” City Manager Luke Stowe said. “We are committed to ensuring an inclusive, equitable and healthy work environment for all of our employees.”
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The city’s plan includes investigation of human resources practices, increasing professional development initiatives, and overhauling diversity, equity and inclusion training. However, it did not address some of the key concerns outlined by the City of Evanston Black Employee Action Group — including hiring an agency to investigate the actions of former Director of Public Works Dave Stoneback and former Human Resources Manager Jennifer Lin and releasing the complete results of the 2019 Employee Satisfaction Survey and unredacted Logan Report.
Steps outlined in the city’s 60-day plan include creating an email address for staff to report retaliation concerns; hiring an outside consultant to review city personnel policies, and adding positions such as the manager of equity and organizational performance and a recruitment and retention specialist.
If the city follows through, it would meet several goals outlined in the employee group’s original action plan. Long term items that were not addressed include implementing an affirmative action plan, creating a pay equity ordinance and ensuring all job openings are publicly posted — something the employees said should have happened during the recent police chief search. Instead, the city used a referral-based recruitment process.
Evanston also failed to share its action plan and implementation status on the city’s social media outlets by the action group’s Nov. 8 deadline.
The city’s 60-day road map can be found on its website along with the employee action group’s initial letter and report.
The plan states that the city’s end goal is, “the implementation of policies, procedures, and accountability measures that create an equitable work climate in all City of Evanston Departments.”
In the Nov. 1 letter and report sent to Mayor Daniel Biss, City Council and city administrators, 25 of the 33 participating staff members say they have been discriminated against or treated differently due to their race.
Only one of the 33 employees included in the report’s data pool said they believe the city offers a racially equitable workplace. Additionally, 84.4% of the employees said they have experienced or witnessed Black employees receive lackluster support, 78.1% experienced or witnessed lacking transparency and 71.9% experienced or witnessed microaggressions. Nearly all of the report’s categories outlining pain points were experienced or witnessed by at least half of its participants.
When the City of Evanston Black Employee Action Group wrote its initial letter and report highlighting unfair human resources practices, disproportionate pay, microaggressions, lacking upward mobility and other limitations specifically impacting the city’s Black employees, the group provided the city with 20 action items it deemed crucial to repairing damages and creating a more equitable workplace.
“Simply implement that very reasonable action plan the employees have provided to you, not an action plan you develop,” Community Alliance for Better Government President Lesley Williams said on behalf of the employees at the Nov. 12 City Council meeting. “Black employees are no longer interested in the City of Evanston figuring things out as history has shown us that does not work well.”
While the employee action group has not provided a public statement, members met with City Manager Luke Stow and Councilmember Krissie Harris on Nov. 29 to discuss the report and Evanston’s road map.
The employees raising these concerns haven’t spoken on the record regarding workplace culture fearing retaliation from their employer and instead have had community advocates, such as Williams, speak on their behalf. The city has faced several discrimination-based lawsuits for firing Black employees after they expressed concerns over the city’s treatment toward Black employees and residents, including former Community Services Manager Kevin Brown and former Public Works Director Suzette Robinson.
“I … support the Black employees here at the City of Evanston who submitted their report regarding systemic racial discrimination at the city, which has been happening for decades,” Brown said at the Nov. 14 City Council meeting. “I was really quite saddened by the report and even sadder after meeting with some of these employees (and heard) about their fear of retaliation.”
Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.