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Record of Proceedings

DEI Committee Meeting Summary - October 20, 2025

Committee Meetings — Tuesday, October 28, 2025
BodyLake County, Illinois
SessionCommittee Meetings
DateTuesday, October 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 20:00

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0:13

Good afternoon.

0:15

Today's Tuesday, October 20, 2025.

0:20

And I call it diverse inclusion, inclusion committed order at one o'clock.

0:27

May we stand for the pledge, please.

0:37

And to the republic for which it stands.

0:40

One nation.

0:46

Amen.

0:49

Okay.

0:50

Roll call, please.

0:53

Plaster Campos?

0:54

Here.

0:54

Chair Cunningham?

0:55

Here.

0:56

Member Dan Forth is absent.

0:59

Member Hewitt.

1:00

Member Kyle.

1:04

Okay.

1:04

We have a physical quo.

1:07

There's an addendit.

1:10

No addenda to the agenda.

1:12

Any public comments.

1:13

No public comments.

1:16

Chair remarks.

1:18

At this time, chair don't hear no remarks.

1:21

Unfinished business.

1:22

No unfinished business.

1:25

I need a motion to consent agenda 8.1 for this is the May 2025 minutes.

1:33

Motion.

1:34

Motion by memo.

1:37

Second by memo.

1:40

Okay.

1:43

Regular gym 8.2.

1:50

Okay.

1:51

It was uh Paul Frank was joining us online.

1:54

Oh.

1:59

And we have a system count administration presentation.

2:05

And that's Ruth Ian.

2:07

Thank you so much.

2:11

So today I'm going to give you an update on a couple of ongoing initiatives that this committee has approved previously, our ADA transition plan and our organizational assessment.

2:22

Okay.

2:23

So for start first with the ADA transition plan.

2:27

In October of 2024, the county board approved a contract with Kimley Horn to complete the comprehensive ADA transition plan.

2:34

It builds on work that Lake County did back in 2016 and 2018, which focused on a review of our public rights of way and buildings.

2:43

The goal of this plan is to improve accessibility and connectivity for everyone in the community.

2:48

And the project has two major components gathering public input and conducting a third-party review of our county facilities, public rights of ways, our policies, practices, and services of the county.

3:00

The final product is going to be a countywide master plan for accessibility, a roadmap to guide improvements for existing affiliate facilities and ensure future projects meet ADA standards and best practices.

3:19

One of the first steps in launching it was identifying the county's ADA coordinator, which is myself, and establishing our grievance procedures.

3:28

Both were completed as part of the project kickoff and are posted online on the county's website for transparency.

3:34

Next, the consultant reviewed our previous work that we did in 2016 and 2018, which I said earlier focused on our public rights of way and county facilities.

3:45

Throughout the project, the county has sought feedback from the public through online surveys, an interactive mapping tool, and a public meeting.

4:34

And this phase expanded on the 2018 work and included reviews of over a thousand pedestrian crossings, 95 miles of sidewalk corridors, and 89 signalized intersections.

4:46

All the field data and photos were synced with ARCIS, and it's going to be transferred to LC DOT once we've completed the plan.

4:56

The consultant is now focusing on the review of public service areas.

5:00

This is a new component that we've not done before, and that's what really makes us truly a comprehensive ADA transition plan.

5:08

It looks at every county department's programs, services, and activities.

5:13

The data was gathered through surveys, web content reviews, and staff interviews to evaluate the current ADA compliance.

5:21

As we shared in the prior DEI committee, one of the um major deadlines that the county is facing coming up in 2026 is a requirement to make sure that the county's web content is.

5:50

And communications has been working with our consultant.

5:53

And a shout out to Chris Cell, who's here as well as Alex Carr.

5:57

They've been doing a lot of work to make sure that the county is going to be able to meet that goal.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Workforce Development███████████████████████████████████35%
Procedural██████████████████████████26%
Governance████████████████████████24%
Disability Rights█████████9%
Technology and Innovation██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

DEI Committee Meeting Summary - October 20, 2025

The Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DEI) Committee convened on October 20, 2025, to review ongoing accessibility and organizational initiatives, examine current workforce demographics against census data, and approve meeting minutes. The meeting featured presentations from County Administration and HR leadership regarding compliance deadlines and future data collection via the Workday system.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The Committee approved the May 2025 minutes (Action 8.1) via a motion and second, resulting in a unanimous vote with no oppositions noted.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • The Chair explicitly called for public comments and stated, "No public comments" were received.

Discussion Items

  • ADA Transition Plan Update (Presented by Ruth Ian):

    • Project Scope: The project, contracted to Kimley Horn in October 2024, expands on previous 2016/2018 work to include a countywide master plan. It involves reviewing over 1,000 pedestrian crossings, 95 miles of sidewalks, and 89 signalized intersections, plus a new component reviewing public service areas across all departments.
    • Compliance Deadline: A state ruling requires all web content and communications created or primarily accessed after April 24, 2026, to meet ADA standards. Content created prior to this date is exempt unless it is a "primary and active document" (e.g., the current budget).
    • Current Status: The ADA coordinator has been identified, grievance procedures established, and an online scanning tool by vendor Civic Plus is in place to identify non-compliant pages. The consultant is currently reviewing public service areas via surveys and staff interviews.
    • Timeline: The final transition plan, including cost estimates and implementation schedules, is scheduled for presentation to the committee in February 2026.

  • Operational Assessment Update (Presented by Ruth Ian):

    • Project Scope: Contracted to Carter Development Group in June 2025, this initiative aims to analyze employee demographics, perspectives, and organizational culture.
    • Current Status: The consultant has reviewed employee policies, procedures, and communications strategies. An anonymous employee survey is scheduled to begin in November 2025.
    • Timeline: The final comprehensive report and implementation roadmap are due to county administration in July 2026.

  • Workforce Demographics Report (Presented by Darcy and Crystal Adams, HR):

    • Overview: HR staff compared current Lake County employee data against 2020 Census data. The workforce generally mirrors county demographics.
    • Specific Findings:
      • Management Demographics: The percentage of white managers decreased by 5% (from 72% to 67%).
      • Unknown Demographics: The category of "unknown" demographics increased by 7% (from 12% to 19%), attributed to self-identification choices.
      • Job Categories: The top three EEO categories are professionals, administrative support, and protective service workers. Females predominantly hold administrative roles, while males hold protective service and skilled maintenance roles.
      • Age & Tenure: The majority of managers are ages 45–54, with over 60% of managers having more than 10 years of service with the county.
    • Future Data Collection: HR expressed optimism that the upcoming 2026 implementation of the Workday system will allow for more accurate, voluntary collection of education, certification, and diverse demographic data to track unconscious bias and inform equitable professional development.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approved: The May 2025 minutes were unanimously approved.
  • Next Meeting Scheduled: The next meeting is set for February 24, 2026.
  • No further action items or votes were recorded for the ADA or Operational Assessment updates, as they remain in the data collection and consulting phases.
  • No executive session was held, and no additional reports were delivered due to scheduling constraints regarding training updates.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. Today's Tuesday, October 20, 2025. And I call it diverse inclusion, inclusion committed order at one o'clock. May we stand for the pledge, please. And to the republic for which it stands. One nation. Amen. Okay. Roll call, please. Plaster Campos? Here. Chair Cunningham? Here. Member Dan Forth is absent. Member Hewitt. Member Kyle. Okay. We have a physical quo. There's an addendit. No addenda to the agenda. Any public comments. No public comments. Chair remarks. At this time, chair don't hear no remarks. Unfinished business. No unfinished business. I need a motion to consent agenda 8.1 for this is the May 2025 minutes. Motion. Motion by memo. Second by memo. Okay. Regular gym 8.2. Okay. It was uh Paul Frank was joining us online. Oh. And we have a system count administration presentation. And that's Ruth Ian. Thank you so much. So today I'm going to give you an update on a couple of ongoing initiatives that this committee has approved previously, our ADA transition plan and our organizational assessment. Okay. So for start first with the ADA transition plan. In October of 2024, the county board approved a contract with Kimley Horn to complete the comprehensive ADA transition plan. It builds on work that Lake County did back in 2016 and 2018, which focused on a review of our public rights of way and buildings. The goal of this plan is to improve accessibility and connectivity for everyone in the community. And the project has two major components gathering public input and conducting a third-party review of our county facilities, public rights of ways, our policies, practices, and services of the county. The final product is going to be a countywide master plan for accessibility, a roadmap to guide improvements for existing affiliate facilities and ensure future projects meet ADA standards and best practices. One of the first steps in launching it was identifying the county's ADA coordinator, which is myself, and establishing our grievance procedures. Both were completed as part of the project kickoff and are posted online on the county's website for transparency. Next, the consultant reviewed our previous work that we did in 2016 and 2018, which I said earlier focused on our public rights of way and county facilities. Throughout the project, the county has sought feedback from the public through online surveys, an interactive mapping tool, and a public meeting.

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