The small cities and towns that dot northern Illinois need to become more inclusive in their decision making.
Take notice next time a hiring committee, advisory board, or focus group is formed in your community. It’s more likely than not to be filled with lawyers, bankers, accountants, and owners of the community’s largest businesses. You are much less likely to see artists, factory workers, retail employees, and restaurant workers in such groups. This all means that the voices from all sectors of the community are not being heard.
Community input should especially be valued for organizations that deal with tourism, economic development, and redevelopment efforts. Unfortunately, too many of these decision-making bodies dismiss outside help and ideas.
It’s very bad policy for city organizations to be exclusive, because citizens from all sectors of a town have some great ideas. So, instead of instantly trashing a new idea -- or unique idea -- given by a member of the community, it should be respected at least enough for brainstorming.
Another way that community groups and decision-making organizations exclude citizens is by not returning messages. If someone from the community has taken the time to call or stop by and request a meeting with the organization’s leadership, a reply is most certainly deserved.
Decision-making bodies certainly would come up with more creative ideas, plans, and possibilities if they included more input from the citizens.
Cliques are common in middle schools and high schools. They should not be accepted as common with our community’s decision-making processes.
I’m Phillip Lefevre, and that’s my perspective
