AGENDA and MINUTES - Pillar 4 Subcommittee Meeting March 7, 2025

Commission on Poverty Elimination and Economic Security

Subcommittee on Pillar 4: Address Barriers to Paid Work, Education, and Advancement

Meeting Agenda and Minutes

Friday, March 7, 2025, 12:00-1:00 PM

Recording

Agenda:

1. Welcome/Roll Call
   1. Introduction of new member
      1. Ms. Isabel Velez-Diez
2. Public Comment - subject to written comment in advance
3. Approval of Meeting Minutes: December 11, 2024
4. Policy update: Current status of changes in Education
5. Policy update: DEI and Civil Rights enforcement - Bob Glaves and John Bouman
6. Next steps
   1. Next meeting - Friday, June 6, 2025, 12-1 PM
7. Adjournment

Subcommittee Members in attendance:

1. Crystal Bush - Subcommittee chair
2. Kimberly Tate - Office of Senator Kimberly Lightford, Commission member
3. Hon. Freddrenna Lyle - Commission member
4. Rev. Dwight Ford - Commission member
5. Anna Koeppel - IWGP member
6. Carrie Thomas - IWGP member
7. Erion Malasi - public member
8. Matt Bruce - public member
9. John Bouman - public member
10. Bob Glaves - public member
11. Charles Hopkins - IDHS-SME

Administrator: Priya Khatkhate, IDHS-Chief Policy Officer

Facilitators:

1. Kaitlin Devaney - Institute of Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP)

Guests:

1. Jacquelyn Bonavia - Illinois Coordinating Committee for the Poor People's Campaign

Minutes:

1. Welcome/Roll Call - 11 members were present out of 19. Quorum was declared.
2. Public Comment - subject to written comment in advance; none received.
3. Approval of Meeting Minutes: December 11, 2024 - Anna Koeppel moved to approve the December 11, 2024 meeting minutes seconded by Erion Malasi. The group unanimously approved the December 11, 2024 meeting minutes.
4. Policy update: Current status of changes in Education - Chair Bush, Illinois Education Association
   • The Illinois Education Association (IEA) is the largest labor unit in Illinois and is affiliation with the National Education Association (NEA).
   • Both the IEA and NEA are deeply concerned about the threat of dismantling of the Department of Education and IEA is monitoring it closely.
   • Technically speaking, the Department cannot be dismantled except by Congress.
   • Some of the things that IEA are looking at:
     1. A new form for DEI reporting found at the Department of Education's website
     2. Student loan - the possibility of the student loan portfolio being shifted to another department; not having federal student loans available to students
     3. Funding issue - a part of funding comes from the federal government and some programs are sponsored by the federal government such as student lunches
5. Policy update: DEI and Civil Rights enforcement - Bob Glaves and John Bouman
   • The latest in the slew of executive orders (EOs) and related enforcement actions coming out of the new administration around DEI is that they are going after large law firms who appear to be being targeted whether they have filed suits probono against any of the various EOs.
   • The administration is going after organizations for what would be perceived as the illegal DEI which has not been defined yet by the administration. Most of the pressure is coming through organizations with federal contracts.
   • The attorney generals put some guidance around DEI in general, that there is nothing wrong with DEI programs that are helping to provide training or increase chances of getting a diverse pool of people to choose from whether for employment or other things.
   • The government is targeting the high-profile public ones, law firms and bar associations who have spoken out publicly, sued the government and non-profits with federal contracts.
   • The Chicago Bar Foundation is recommending/trying to put together a non-profit hub for the state where people can get information about these issues and be able to talk to lawyers who can counsel about particular DEI programs and make sure everybody keeps doing the good work they're doing but also being mindful of how it's communicated publicly particularly in the world wide web because it's the other target area for DOGE.
   • The Foundation is hoping to put up running a skeleton version of the hub in the next week or two.
   • The budget that the federal government passed would also require deep cuts to other programs including Medicaid.
   • The Foundation recommends looking at the issue soberly and with a clear eye instead of panicking and use the guide that the Attorney Generals issued.
   • Links shared: Multi-State Guidance Concerning Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Employment Initiatives
   • Unpacking the Trump Administration's DEI Orders and Actions - FAQs and Action Plans
6. Policy bill/updates: Employment Social Enterprises - Matt Bruce
   • Policy coalition on employment, social enterprises which are businesses that are attached to a workforce organization such as Kara Cleanslate; a lot of these businesses are DCEO-funded or WIOA-funded
   • Employment social enterprises cannot always access same kind of business supports because many of them are owned by non-profits but they serve the minority and poverty communities
   • Employment Social Enterprises DCEO OE3 Bill will allow DCEO to serve employment social enterprises.
   • Employment Social Enterprises Procurement Bill will allow states to procure from these businesses.
   • Chicago Women in Trades Challenges Executive Orders Threatening Workforce Development Programs
7. Next steps
   1. Next meeting - Friday, June 6, 2025, 12-1 PM
8. Adjournment - Mr. Bouman moved to adjourn the meeting seconded by Ms. Thomas. The group unanimously agreed to adjourn the meeting at 12:59 PM.