Gurnee makes a push for diversity

One suburban mayor is trying to make a diversity initiative go beyond an effort to add minorities to a mostly white municipal work force.

In Gurnee, members of elected and appointed boards -- about 20 in all -- went through diversity training this week. While such courses have been provided to employees of some towns, it's believed uncommon for those who serve on boards.

Mayor Kristina Kovarik said it was only proper for village board trustees and other officials to get a primer on the benefits of diversity.

"To me, everybody goes through it," Kovarik said, "because the only way it'll work is if it starts at the top and is pushed down."

As Gurnee's minority population grows, Kovarik said, the diversity training should help various boards be more prepared to work with residents or business owners from other cultures.

Diversity issues aren't confined to Gurnee. A lack of minority employees in the North and Northwest suburban municipal work force was the focus of a report by the Arlington Heights-based Illinois Commission on Diversity and Human Relations.

Figures from the most recent report issued by the commission in 2005 showed minorities accounted for 8 percent of 5,415 local government workers, excluding police and fire departments, in that area. The Rev. Clyde Brooks, who heads the commission, said an updated report for comparison will be released next year.

Brooks said his organization's recommendations to the suburbs two years ago included making department heads and village managers more accountable if minority hiring doesn't improve.

In Gurnee, the diversity sessions for the elected and appointed officials were partially a result of a controversy that arose in late 2005. That's when some village board members criticized how the village had no blacks and only two Hispanics on its full-time work force of 206 employees.

One black and 13 Hispanics are now among 211 full-time employees, according to a village report issued in June. Kovarik said the village must do more to attract minorities and reflect the population.

Brooks said he hasn't noticed other suburbs offering diversity training to elected and appointed board members. He praised Gurnee for its effort, but said the village should form a solid plan on how to attract minorities and have employees understand why diversity is important.

"It's not something you just have in an hour and a half," Brooks said. "It has to be a business practice."

Steve Rossetti, of VMC Behavioral Healthcare Services, led Gurnee's diversity training sessions. Those in attendance learned they should challenge themselves to think differently, identify biases and prejudices, and pause before speaking and acting in the workplace.

Rossetti said municipal leaders who embrace diversity and encourage learning about other cultures can gain a competitive advantage. For example, towns known for diversity might attract minority-owned businesses.

"I think the message is, 'We're open to all,' " he said.

Trustee David Ohanian said the class was worthwhile.

"I think this gives a clear message to the people who work for the community that we're interested in diversity," Ohanian said.

Some skepticism about the training has surfaced. Two employees in an anonymous village survey wrote they considered the class they attended a "waste of time" and "all political."

Gurnee's lone black full-time employee, administrative assistant/deputy clerk Donna Brown Dallas, said she was pleased with the training effort. She said it demonstrates Gurnee is serious about creating a more diverse work force.

"Everybody has to be on board," she said.