Council to vote on resolution on equality

When Madison Village Council gathers for its next meeting on Oct. 26, it will consider passing a resolution reaffirming the village’s commitment to eliminating racial and social disparities and promoting equality for everyone.

Council heard a second reading of the measure at its Oct. 13 meeting.

The resolution is intended to reiterate council’s dedication to eradicating racial and social disparities and to fair treatment for all people.

Council President Mark Vest had proposed the resolution as a way for village government to make a public statement about where it stands on the issues of racial and social justice.

“I just thought it was important to endorse that we don’t

favor anything except what is supposed to be,” Vest said. “It’s an endorsement of the Civil Rights Act and that all people should be treated properly, and (Madison Village) isn’t a place where hatred should exist.”

Protests demanding racial and social justice have taken place around the country following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man, during his arrest by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other similar legislative reforms, “racial and social disparities nevertheless continue to exist across key indicators of success locally and nationally, including health, education, criminal justice, the environment, employment and the economy,” according to the resolution.

In addition, the measure states that Village Council re-emphasizes “the village’s ongoing commitment to utilize all available tools to assist in the elimination of racial and social disparities; that it denounces racism and hatred against persons; and that it supports and is committed to the promotion of equity within the village and equality for all.”

Councilman Robert Lee had asked that the declaration be given three readings, rather than approved immediately on an emergency basis.

“I feel this is an important resolution,” Lee said, at council’s Sept. 28 meeting

“I think this should go three readings so that anybody in the village who has a question or a comment, they can make it.”