Citizen Commissions and Advisory Groups

Why It’s Important

Many municipalities utilize volunteer citizen commissions, committees, or advisory boards to bring fresh perspectives to the municipality on a wide array of topics. These groups can support municipalities by:

• Fostering new leadership within the community
• Introducing important new ideas and topics that the community had considered previously
• Acting as a conduit to partnership groups and the broader community
• Serving as the conscience of the community by creating accountability between the government and its residents, and
• Adding volunteer capacity to get things done.

Many municipalities in the Chicago region have established citizen advisory bodies to address topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. These groups may focus on a specific demographic group; events celebrating culture, heritage, or diversity; social services; discrimination complaints; or community relations generally.

Strategies

Creating a commission or advisory group to focus on diversity and equity can pose some challenges, including:

• Identifying Productive Goals for the Commission: Most of the time, commissions must determine their goals and objectives. Some strategies that help with this are aligning objectives with the municipality’s mission and strategic goal, surveying community members; and establishing a process to review what was done well and plan for the upcoming year.
• Recruiting Representative Participants: It is important for commissions to represent the communities that they serve, but it can be a challenge to recruit diverse members of the community, especially when they have busy family or work lives. These strategies can help:
  • Host meetings and events in different neighborhoods;
  • Conduct targeted outreach to members of different groups, such as houses of worship, seniors, or youth from local schools;
  • Seek out liaisons with other partners such as the library, school district, and park district;
  • Leverage other engagement events or programs within the community to identify new people that may be interested in joining a commission.
  • Create opportunities for residents to learn about what commissions do in the community, such as Park Forest’s Civic Leadership Academy.
• Maintaining Productive Engagement with Participants: Maintaining productive engagement with commissioners can be difficult. Due to the Open Meetings Act, municipalities may cancel meetings that do not meet a quorum. These strategies may help keep people engaged:
  • Institute limited terms, such as 2-year appointments, and strict participation rules.
  • Train commissioners on responsibilities and expectations before they join.
  • Ensure that each meeting has actionable requests of the commission;
  • Keep commission membership small to keep the group productive; and
  • Ensure that there is a staff liaison to help implement commission decisions.

Community Profile – Village of Wilmette

In fall 2020, in response to community interest, the Village decided to reinvigorate its Human Relations Commission (HRC), which had been dormant since 2016. To do this, the Village did the following:

Determined the Commission Structure: The Wilmette HRC is made up of nine commissioners, two of which are students with full voting and participation rights. The Village sought diverse participation in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, and religious affiliation. Openings for the commission were initially advertised though the Village’s standard communication methods. Interested residents submitted a questionnaire which was reviewed by the Village President in consultation with the incumbent HRC C. In the future, the HRC plans to leverage their personal networks to expand recruitment to a broader audience.

Identified a Mission & Goals: Village staff researched similar boards and commissions in neighboring communities and met with the Northern Illinois University’s Division of Academic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for guidance on best practices. Staff presented this research to the HRC to review. The HRC used this information to develop its goals and mission statement.

Developed a Workplan: After developing shared goals, the HRC set out to develop a work plan. This process took about six months and outlined the commission’s proposed activities:

• Heritage Celebrations and Forums: The Village uses federal and state recognized heritage celebrations and holidays to celebrate diversity and educate residents. The Village utilizes this calendar to structure its civic engagement according to the following platform: Awareness (proclamations, signage, and social media), Education (podcasts, reading lists, lectures, and panels), Social (food and festivals), Cultural (art and music), and Business (encouraging patronage).
• Community Outreach: The HRC utilizes the Village’s current communication channels — including social media, email outreach, in-person events, and the business community – to promote updates, initiatives and content.
• Community Focus Groups: Wilmette HRC will oversee focus groups which will seek suggestions on how the community can improve and evaluate people’s perceptions of the Village, including why people choose or choose not to live in Wilmette.
• Metrics: The HRC will measure DEI efforts in several key areas including program and event participation, community attitudes, and public engagement efforts.

In Wilmette, the reinvigoration of the Human Relations Commission has set the stage for future action. In the future, the HRC will assist the Village in incorporating DEI into its comprehensive planning process, hosting joint discussions with the Village’s Housing Commission to assess the community’s housing stock, and implementing a minority-owned business assistance program.

Lessons Learned

• It is helpful to research commissions in similar communities rather than reinventing the wheel.
• It is important to have support of the Village Board.
• Recognize your goals but also your limitations as a volunteer citizen commission. It is important to set an appropriate scope for what can be accomplished.
• Developing a clear workplan with specific, narrow targets can help keep a group focused and moving forward on larger goals and objectives. The small wins will build momentum for long-term strategic planning.
• Set ground rules early on to ensure that everyone in the commission is willing to engage in open and honest conversation. An HRC may require open dialogue about difficult topics and big ideas. It is important that everyone has an opportunity to participate.

Learn More

Erik Hallgren
Assistant Village Manager
Village of Wilmette
hallgrene@wilmette.com
(847) 853-7638

Resources

• U.S. Department of Justice Guidelines for Effective Human Relations Commissions
• MMC Citizen Commission Directory
• Village of Wilmette Human Relations Commission Workplan
• City of Aurora Commission Member Guide
• City of Aurora Staff Liaison Guide
• City of Aurora Boards and Commissions Ordinances