Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiatives

The Village of Hanover Park strives to be a welcoming and inclusive place for all. Hanover Park is committed to diversity, equity & inclusion in all forms and is respectful and welcoming to all individuals and families regardless of religion, gender, sexuality, age, culture and race.

Hanover Park has been a leader in cultural diversity since 2008 when Mayor Rodney S. Craig and the Village Board established the Cultural Inclusion & Diversity Committee to foster and promote understanding, mutual respect, cooperation, and positive relations between and among all residents of the Village by creating a sense of shared community and affirming the value of each resident. 

In 2017, Hanover Park further signaled its commitment with a new brand identity which features a logo that represents the 80 different nationalities and 30 languages spoken in Hanover Park and the new tagline of "Americas Global Village." The new brand, which brings together that diversity around a new graphic identity – Hanover Park USA – which features a logo that represents diversity, inclusion and unity. The logo is a multicolored globe that represents the cultures of the people living and working in Hanover Park, while emphasizing that in the U.S., we all come together as Americans. 

Springtime street banners greet all residents and travelers as they move through the Village with a message of diversity and inclusion. 

The Village Board’s 3-Year 2022 Strategic Plan made Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) a priority in the Hanover Park. Read what DEI actions will be taken here.

In February of 2023, the Village Board approved an ordinance reaffirming the commitment to equal, respectful, and dignified treatment, regardless of their immigration status, and being a welcoming community for all people. The ordinance originated with a recommendation from the Cultural Inclusion & Diversity Committee. View the Signed Welcoming Ordinance

VILLAGE OF HANOVER PARK WELCOMING ORDINANCE

WHEREAS, the residents of the Village of Hanover Park represent a diverse community of color, immigrants, and refugees and their census is growing. The US Census estimates that 32% of the Village’s residents are foreign-born and 66% are of color; and 

WHEREAS, the Village in serving the public is uniquely positioned to address unconscious bias, first by recognizing and acknowledging bias, and secondly by working to reduce bias, both externally and within the government unit itself; and

WHEREAS, conscious proactive efforts to knowingly address unconscious bias should result in advancing harmony by strengthening the relationship between and among all departments, elected officials, and boards and commissions of the Village of Hanover Park and their interaction with members of our diverse community, thereby improving the Village’s delivery of municipal service and creating a positive outlook for Village residents; and

WHEREAS, the Village recognizes the need to eliminate any objectively unreasonable disparities based on race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, English language proficiency, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, socio-economic status, source of income, geographic location of residence, familial status, disability, neurodiversity, age, and other relevant factors; and

WHEREAS, the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Hanover Park recognize our collective responsibility to advance community diversity, equity, and inclusion; and

 WHEREAS, achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion requires the intentional examination of policies, procedures, and practices that, even if they have the appearance of fairness, may nonetheless marginalize individuals or groups, and perpetuate disparities or injustices; and

WHEREAS, achieving equity also requires commitment and collaboration, clear and transparent communication that serve as the primary structures for managing how resources are allocated and how public services are provided; and

WHEREAS, the Village will reasonably search for and identify, when found, disparities within the Village of Hanover Park and shall reasonably work to implement policies and practices to address the findings with the goal and intent to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion; and 

WHEREAS, diversity, equity and inclusion will be key priorities both internally within the organization, and externally within the community at large, which priorities shall elicit participation with partners in government, private businesses entities, vendors, organizations, academia and community members; and

WHEREAS, in recognizing the Village’s diversity, on April 3, 2008, the Corporate Authorities established Section 2-551 of Chapter 2 of the Municipal Code to create the Cultural Inclusion and Diversity Committee whose mission is “… to foster and promote understanding, mutual respect, cooperation, and positive relations between and among all residents of the Village and to create a sense of shared community among residents and to affirm the value of each resident.”; and

WHEREAS, this ordinance originated with a recommendation from the Cultural Inclusion & Diversity Committee; now, therefore, 

BE IT ORDAINED by the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Hanover Park, a home rule municipality, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, as follows:

SECTION 1: That diversity, equity, and inclusion will be incorporated into Village strategic goals and budgetary planning; incorporating those findings in an equity and inclusion report to the corporate authorities; and all departments, elected officials, and appointed committee and commission members will be required to complete cultural competency training. Progress shall be provided as part of the regularly scheduled Strategic Planning updates. The Village of Hanover Park will commit to the intentional examination of policies, procedures, and practices that, even if they have the appearance of fairness, may nonetheless marginalize individuals or groups, and perpetuate disparities or injustices; and

SECTION 2: That the Village of Hanover Park will uphold the Illinois Trust Act, Keep Illinois Families Together Act, Voices (Voices of Immigrant Communities Empowering Survivors) Act, Private Detention Facility Moratorium Act, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order (60) 13166, Americans with Disabilities Act, Older Americans Act, Anti-Registry Program Act, Illinois Way Forward Act and other state and federal laws applicable to the Village.

SECTION 3: That the Village Clerk be and is hereby directed to publish this ordinance in pamphlet form.

SECTION 4: This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval and publication in the manner and form required by law.