The Lake County Board saw a somewhat surprising and lengthy debate during Tuesday’s meeting over “DEI” and language usage, as national politics reared its head in local government.
Conversations began when District 5 Board Member J. Kevin Hunter asked to remove a $100,000 contract with Carter Development Group for an “employment engagement organizational assessment,” under the county’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, from the consent agenda for more discussion.
In a prepared statement, Hunter lambasted the previous presidential administration’s “forced illegal discrimination programs going by the name of diversity, equity and inclusion,” and voiced his opposition to the contract.
“The citizens of Lake County, I feel, deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect and spending precious tax dollars only on Lake County to be a better place to live, work and recreate,” Hunter said.
Proponents argued it was a relatively small financial investment into the county’s workforce that would help attract employees in a tight labor market. It would help address issues of accessibility, including everyone from those with disabilities and veterans to women and those in the LGBTQ community.
“We want to be an employer of choice, we want to have operational excellence,” said County Administrator Patrice Sutton.
District 17 Board Member Michael Danforth, who is on the DEI committee, questioned the need for the assessment, arguing there were federal-level laws addressing the discrimination concerns raised, and that the county had not seen any complaints regarding employment discrimination.
“I think we’re way ahead of ourselves as far as how we employ and how we try to make ourselves attractive to the workforce,” Danforth said. “Is the juice really worth the squeeze?”
He also raised concerns of an overcorrection by other DEI programs, causing cases of “reverse discrimination” that could draw federal attention and become a liability for the county.
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After the meeting, Hunter also voiced concerns of federal attention.
“The government is now either penalizing vendors or penalizing people that have active DEI brokers. I don’t want to be the one penalized,” Hunter said.
Other members debated the risks of using what could now be considered inflammatory language. District 3 Board Member Ann Maine, while in support of the assessment’s goal, questioned if different terminology could be used for the same result to avoid undue attention from the national level.
Board Chair Sandy Hart said that while the contract falls under the DEI Committee, it’s an organizational assessment making sure the county is welcoming to everybody. While Hart did not share concerns about legal attention, “anybody can sue, we know this.”
“We feel confident that we are doing what’s right for our employees here in Lake County,” Hart said. “Diversity, equity, inclusion, these are not bad words.”
After the lengthy discussion, Hunter spoke again.
“Well, I’m glad I took it off the consent agenda,” he said, drawing a laugh from his fellow board members. “I truly am, I thought it was an important issue to talk about in this body … to have it buried in the consent agenda was unfair.”
While he understood his challenge would be unsuccessful, Hunter said his opposition was not necessarily personal, but a reflection of concerns seen in his constituents.
“I know my constituents and the people I represent, and I know how they feel,” Hunter said. “Not every decision and everything I have to say is from Kevin Hunter, it’s from the people who put my butt in this chair.”
It was a good-natured end to a somewhat tense discussion, and the contract ultimately passed despite nay-votes from members Danforth, Hunter and Linda Pedersen. But the debate reflects a national political shift.
The use of the acronym “DEI” has become a critique in some circles, with the Trump administration pushing a crackdown on related diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the country, including in Illinois.
Hart didn’t seem to give much credence to the criticisms. She noted accessibility improvements the county has previously made for those with physical disabilities.
“Are ADA improvements not part of equity and inclusion?” Hart said. “We’re not veering away from our values that we want to provide outstanding government services for everybody in Lake County.”
She recalled the accessibility barriers women faced in county government less than a decade ago.
“When I became chair of the board, the place where nursing mothers went was this empty, almost storage closet,” Hart said. “We were behind on that … These are things people forget about.”