Cook County Commission on Social Innovation

Politics

Thursday, May 5, 2022
4:00 p.m. CDT

Remote

This is a remote assignment. To access the meeting, go to the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cookcountymission.

The live stream should appear at that link, at the top of the feed, though it may not appear until at or a few minutes after the scheduled start time. If you don’t see it right away, wait a few moments and try refreshing the page.

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Mihir Garud

Pilot reparations program in Illinois, Evanston's Housing Reparations Program, and reparations best practices

View notes

Live reporting by William Garcia

Pilot reparations program in Illinois, Evanston's Housing Reparations Program, and reparations best practices

Bill Garcia @BillGDocumenter

Hi, I'll be live-tweeting this afternoon's @CookCountyBoard Commission on Social Innovation meeting for @CHIdocumenters #CHIdocumenters

03:11 PM May 5, 2022 CDT

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Today's 4:00pm meeting will be held virtually: facebook.com/cookcountymiss…

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Agenda (source: cook-county.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&…) https://t.co/iAObanY4Oh

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Just waiting for the livestream to become active.

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We'll hear from Daniel Biss, the Mayor of Evanston, the 1st US city to have enacted reparations legislation and Robin Rue Simmons, the Executive Director of FirstRepair, who will offer their actionable policy recommendations about how Cook County might approach reparations.

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Video is up: facebook.com/cookcountymiss…

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The meeting began just before 4:10pm. Roll is called.

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There is no public testimony.

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Approval of minutes is being tabled until quorum.

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There are no updates from the Chair and Vice Chair.

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Marc Lane introduces Daniel Biss and Robin Rue Simmons by discussing their backgrounds and experience https://t.co/p3mOL5fQMJ

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Robin Rue Simmons presents first, providing some background regarding reparations and Evanston's initiatives https://t.co/QnfK00XHkd

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Simmons discusses Evanston's reparations timeline, highlighting community engagement and stakeholder empowerment https://t.co/8xK8OBv525

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Current timeline and partnerships (more info: firstrepair.org) https://t.co/TvKKvPN8V8

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Dan Biss discusses the importance of historians in reparations initiatives and the need for cities to take responsibility for their part in exacerbating health, life expectancy, and wealth disparities. https://t.co/fD1sHaWJme

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Biss wants other municipalities to help create frameworks and best practices for reparations.

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Biss says that by distributing smaller amounts of funds early, Evanston can try different things in order to learn and determine best practices.

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Audio/video are out of sync, but we fight on

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Lane mentions how emailing too many commissioners triggers the Open Meetings Act.

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Sol Anderson talks about his experience discussing reparations with philanthropists and highlights Simmons's influence and experience. https://t.co/XkqGUIUvwO

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Simmons is asked how they handled public outreach. She says in informal community meetings they asked folks:
- what forms of reparations would you like to see
- how reparations could be funded
- who should qualify for reparations
engaged in churches, barber and beauty shops https://t.co/0ZlFgfM8HB

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Simmons says that reparations should come with financial guidance in how recipients can best take advantage and acknowledges Evanston can do much more in providing wraparound services.

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Simmons discussed ideas for generating revenue for reparations
- cannabis tax
- real estate tax for highly valued properties
Anderson chimed in and talked about opportunities for philanthropists

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It seems Dan Biss had to leave the meeting, so Simmons is answering all questions.

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Howard Males asked about potential challenges and pushback regarding reparations.
Simmons says there can be legal challenges saying issuing reparations is fiscally irresponsible and claims of reverse racism. She says challenges have come to them from outside the state as well.

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Simmons recommends working with the National African American Reparations Commission in learning about reparations best practices (reparationscomm.org).

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Simmons is asked for her opinion regarding California's recent decisions regarding eligibility for reparations (see here: calmatters.org/california-div…).
Simmons disagreed with CA's conditions for reparations qualifications.

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Moving on to the other business of the meeting, committee reports are next.

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There is no longer a quorum in this meeting (and Commissioner Anaya has to leave), so previous meeting minutes will be approved in the next meeting.

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Christyn Freemon talks about the Urban Real Estate conference and highlights their need for additional resources regarding program design and implementation, community input, and connections to and support from local government. https://t.co/s889Jw4iij

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Lane invites the commissioners to share their ideas regarding experts they'd like to invite and topics that can be discussed during their future meetings.

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The meeting adjourns at 5:42pm.

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This concludes my coverage for @CHIdocumenters. #CHIDocumenters

Please see cookcountyil.gov for more information. Reply to this thread or DM me with any questions.

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Attachments

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By Mihir Garud 5/5/2022

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By Mihir Garud 5/5/2022

Agency Information

Cook County Board of Commissioners

www.cookcountyil.gov

(312) 443-5500

webmaster@cookcountyil.gov

@CookCountyBoard

See Documenters reporting

County Commissioners are elected officials who oversee county activities and work to ensure that citizen concerns are met, federal and state requirements are fulfilled, and county operations run smoothly. The Cook County Board of Commissioners is the governing board and legislative body of the county. It is comprised of 17 Commissioners, each serving a four-year term and is elected from single member districts. Each district represents approximately 300,000 residents. The Board also operates approximately 40 committees and subcommittees chaired by members of Board of Commissioners.

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