DuPage residents honored by Citizen Advocacy Center

Four people, including three from DuPage County, have received the 2015 Citizen Initiative Award from the Elmhurst-based Citizen Advocacy Center.

The Citizen Advocacy Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, community-based legal organization with a mission to build democracy for the 21st century. Since 1997, the group has recognized residents who are catalysts for democratic participation and use civic, legal and community organizing tools to advocate for a self-identified issue of public concern.

"Recipients of the Citizen Initiative Awards are those that have identified an issue of public concern and have taken it upon themselves to organize, advocate and make a difference in their communities," said Maryam Judar, CAC's executive director. "They care about their communities and are engaged."

The presentation of this year's awards happened Tuesday, Dec. 8, at the center's office in Elmhurst. The 2015 Citizen Initiative Award recipients are Paulina Jimenez of Villa Park, Paul DeMichele of Bensenville, Gaby Hernández Chico of Glendale Heights and Ben Avery of Oak Park.

• Paulina Jimenez was recognized for her outstanding watchdog and community organizing efforts in Villa Park.

The Villa Park resident first became civically engaged when she became concerned about a marijuana dispensary proposed in Villa Park. With the center's assistance, Jimenez waded through multiple zoning applications, learned how to read the village's zoning code, acquainted herself with the nuts and bolts of the zoning relief application process, learned how to use public databases, gave public comment, petitioned her elected officials with questions and concerns, and advocated her stance on the application.

Jimenez flagged inconsistencies between the proposed application and the village's zoning code on issues such as proximity of the proposed business to a day-care facility and property ownership.

After a long process, the Villa Park village board narrowly voted down the application, with the deciding vote being cast by the village president. Jimenez's advocacy made the difference.

Jimenez also is involved in creating an Art Center in Villa Park. She was part of a group that identified a need for an arts center in downtown Villa Park. She and other activists started a nonprofit entity to promote the arts in Villa Park.

In the process of lobbying their local government to convert a former post office to the Arts Center, the group has used the Illinois and Federal Freedom of Information Acts to obtain documents to try to pursue the Arts Center.

Despite the many obstacles before Jimenez and her group, she has been persistent and continues to work tirelessly to help bring art and culture to Villa Park and surrounding communities.

• Paul DeMichele of Bensenville was recognized for his long-term civic engagement and continued efforts in monitoring local government entities throughout DuPage County.

During his early years of being civically engaged, DeMichele collected 6,600 signatures in two weeks to place a question for referendum on the ballot to save a junior high school that was on the chopping block. The community showed overwhelming support to save the school, and the school still stands.

DeMichele has been a trustee with the Elmhurst Unit District 205 school board, with Addison Township and with Bensenville Fire Protection District, as well as a monitor of activities within the DuPage County Board, DuPage County Forest Preserve, and Bensenville village hall.

DeMichele also has been actively engaged in organizing Red Ribbon breakfasts in Elmhurst to promote the need for a drug-free community, as well as having served as a director within the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce and a director of the nonprofit Life Education Center that focuses on substance abuse prevention training for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

One of DeMichele's passions is financial accountability of the entities he monitors. DeMichele has extensively used the Freedom of Information Act to determine how public dollars are spent and has questioned public expenditures when he has identified issues of concern.

DeMichele also rallies other citizens to various causes by using community organizing tools and reaches out to individuals to invite them to be more civically engaged. Through the years, the center has been a constant source of support for DeMichele's civic activities.

• Gaby Hernández Chico was recognized for her continued dedication to organizing parents to advocate for children's education.

The Glendale Heights resident contacted the center about her involvement with Marquardt Elementary District 15's Parent Advisory Board. The board is an entity created to represent the interests of minority parents in the district with respect to transitional bilingual education, and Chico was appointed due to being an active parent volunteer.

Chico questioned the process around the application for waiver/modification relating to transitional bilingual education, whether children were receiving the bilingual education they were entitled to, and the limited scope of the board to participate in district decisions from the onset.

An outspoken advocate, Chico raised issues of the inability of board members to place items on the agenda and her concern that board members were appointed primarily to support district decisions. Chico also attended meetings for the application for waiver/modification related to transitional bilingual education, spoke out about concerns related to the limited public participation in meetings and at a public hearing, and also questioned how the public was informed of their rights to participate.

Many parents she talked with who were also concerned about bilingual education were not aware they had a right to speak at meetings or how to get involved. To educate parents about their rights and how to get involved, Chico took the initiative and, in conjunction with Immigrant Solidarity DuPage, organized a forum at the library to inform parents about their children's educational right to bilingual education.

The center assisted Chico by speaking about the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and the protections provided by the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Additionally, the center assisted Chico with Illinois FOIA requests.

• Ben Avery of Oak Park was recognized for his efforts to implement policy changes affecting government contractors at the state level. Specifically, Avery has promoted equality for disadvantaged businesses in the construction and professional service sectors of Illinois through changes in policy.

Avery identified a problem with the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise payment system of the Illinois Department of Transportation. Avery found that second-tier subcontractors were not being paid through state contracts, and there was no process for second-tier subcontractors to seek recovery.

He contacted the center for assistance in drafting the legislation needed to institute change. Avery successfully lobbied a state representative to sponsor a subcontractor equality bill so that subcontractors would be included and receive payments directly. A bill based on Avery's policy change was introduced in the spring 2015 General Assembly legislative session.

Avery conducted outreach to persuade others - including minority, women's and general contractor groups, community organizations, and other officials - to speak out to IDOT on the effects of discrimination on opportunities for DBEs and the efforts to establish a level playing field for DBE participants.