The head of the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes said every community is different, so she travels the state to learn about the challenges each faces in regard to bias and hate.
Those travels recently brought her to western Illinois.
“I want to know what’s happening in Macomb, what’s happening at Western (Illinois University). Where are the tensions, where are the strengths, what are people experiencing?” said Executive Director Elana Kahn during an interview with TSPR.
Kahn said while in Macomb, she found people were committed to their community and committed to making things work.
“As opposed to sort of sitting back and folding their arms and judging. Everybody’s like, oh, this is an opportunity to talk about something together. It’s like every conversation has been co-created. That’s a really nice reflection on the community. That doesn’t always happen,” Kahn said.
Restoring power to individuals and communities
Kahn said the commission is actively building and growing.
“Our work is to strengthen responses to hate in the state,” Kahn said.
That includes training law officers and prosecutors so that when a hate crime is reported, they have the knowledge to aid with the investigation and prosecution.
“If they can prosecute something as a hate crime, there’s more of a chance that someone gets justice, and that a community doesn’t get disenfranchised essentially,” Kahn said. “And it’s also a way for a community to communicate its values.”
The commission has launched a helpline and website, Help Stop Hate, where acts of hate and bias can be reported.
Kahn said it’s important for individuals and communities to talk about it when they experience hate-fueled violence or acts of bias.
“Talking about it restores power to the individual, but also to the community,” Kahn said.
“I guess my biggest message is that we have power. Each of us, individually, we have power to work on how we show up, how we deal with people who say things that really offend us.”
Kahn said people have the power to manage their anger, determine how they communicate with others, and decide what they can do collectively.
“We are not just victims of the times. We also have the ability to make a difference,” Kahn said.
She also said it’s meaningful when community leaders stand with someone who’s experienced hate. She said that can prevent future such acts. She said not reporting acts of hate is to meet them with silence.
Three categories of hate
Kahn said acts of hate occur when people are targeted because of essential parts of their identity, such as race, religion, or disability.
She said the commission has defined three categories of hate: hate crimes, bias-motivated civil rights violations, and lawful acts of hate. She said the lawful acts of hate are the most challenging.
“We call them awful but lawful,” Kahn said.
“It is perfectly legal to be totally offensive. It is legal to stand in the street and say horrible things about people, as long as you’re not threatening or intimidating them.”
She said the commission can help someone find the right course of action in response to a lawful act of hate. Those responses vary depending on what type of act of hate occurred and where it happened, and what local resources are available.
Commission formed, disbanded, then brought back
Kahn said the commission was created in 1999 by executive action. She said it fell apart a few years later because of conflicts among commissioners.
“It was dormant for like 12 years. And then Governor Pritzker, when he took office and he appointed Jim Bennett to be director of the Department of Human Rights, they together decided, let’s do this, let’s activate this commission,” Kahn said.
The panel was then put back into place by state law and was reactivated in 2021 as part of the Illinois Department of Human Rights.
Kahn said the commission does not prosecute cases, Instead, it was formed to provide a comprehensive response to hate.
“Our work is to strengthen responses to hate in the state,” she said. “We’re one of the few states in the country that has a commission like this.”
She calls it an ambitious young commission that they hope to develop into a rapid-response support and consultation group.
The commission has no enforcement powers. It meets a minimum of four times a year to discuss policy, resources, and more.
They also have committees. The newest one, which was just recently created, is the prevention, data, & research committee.
“That’s exciting because part of our role is to be the subject matter experts of the state. If we’re going to be of use to the city of Macomb or Western Illinois University, we better know our stuff,” Kahn said.
She said the group will learn about data-driven, evidence-informed preventions.
The commission consists of 21 members, who are volunteers and are appointed by the governor.
Kahn is its only full-time employee.
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