City Council Meeting 10/26/2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxNzlL9ki6Q
Automatic captions; not audio-verified.

[5:45] I'd like to call to order the city council meeting for the city of Highland Park, Illinois. Today is October 26th, 2026. Will the clerk please call the role?

[5:54] Council member Center, Council Member Buckman here. Council member Ross, Council Member Tapia. Council member Little here. Council member Bloomberg here.

[6:01] Mayor Roing here. We have a quorum. Everyone, please rise for the pledge of allegiance.

[6:06] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation

[6:15] under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[6:22] May I have a motion to approve the minutes of the regular city council meeting held October 13th, 2026? Some moved. Second.

[6:29] All in favor say I. Thank you. Those minutes are approved.

[6:33] I have a motion to approve the warrant list. Some moved. Second.

[6:36] Any comments or questions on the warrant list?

[6:38] No. Hearing none, will the clerk please call the vote?

[6:41] Council member I. Council member I. Council member Little. I. Council member Bloomberg. I. Mayor Roing.

[6:48] I. Five eyes, no nays. The warrant list is approved. Our next item is the report of the mayor. I have no appointments this evening. We do have two proclamations this evening.

[6:59] This year we celebrate uh Diwali awareness day on November 8th. The 5-day festival of Diwali separates the victory

[7:09] celebrates the victory of light over darkness and is marked by beloved traditions including family gatherings

[7:15] and festive lights among Hindu Jane Sik and certain Buddhist communities. I'll read the proclamation.

[7:26] Whereas Diwali, a festival of great significance, is celebrated annually by millions of Hindus, Siks, Jains, and

[7:33] Buddhists throughout the United States and across the globe. And whereas the Hindu, Sik, Jane, and Buddhist communities, which are comprised of

[7:40] mostly Indian and South Asian-Americans, as well as other diverse races and ethnicities, constitute a vital part of Highland Park's diverse ethnic and

[7:48] social fabric, and whose languages, cultures, and religious beliefs have enriched our communities. And whereas the word Diwali is a shortened version

[7:57] of the Sanskrit term deepavali which means a row of lamps. And whereas Diwali is a festival of lights during which

[8:04] celebrants light small oil lamps, place them around the home and pray for knowledge, peace and universal well-being. And whereas the rose of

[8:13] lamps symbolize the light of knowledge and truth within the individual that signifies the destruction of all negative qualities, violence, anger,

[8:22] jealousy, ignorance, greed, fear or suffering. In other words, Diwali separates or celebrates the victory of

[8:30] good over evil. And whereas Diwali is celebrated by Hindus as a day of thanksgiving for the homecoming of Lord Rama and the beginning of the new year

[8:39] for many Hindus. Whereas first six Diwali is the day that the sixth founding sik guru or revered teacher

[8:47] Guru Harabind was released from captivity by the Mugal emperor Jahager.

[8:53] Whereas for James Dwali marks the anniversary of the attainment of moka or liberation by the Mahaviraa the last of

[9:00] the turances at the end of his life in 527 BC. And whereas for Buddhists, especially Noir Buddhists, Diwali is

[9:08] commemorated as Ashuk Vijay Desashami, the day the great emperor Ashoka embraced Buddhism as his faith.

[9:15] Therefore, I, Nancy Roering, mayor of the city of Highland Park and the city council of the city of Highland Park, do hereby designate November 8th as Diwali

[9:24] awareness day. We wish all who are celebrating a very happy and bright Dwali and good fortune in the new year.

[9:31] I don't think our guests are able to join us this evening. going to be here in 2 minutes.

[9:35] Okay. Um at some point in the next few minutes, we will be inviting Suku and Najit Kalera, owners of Indis Progressive Indian Restaurant in

[9:43] downtown Highland Park to accept the proclamation. So we will pause our comments regarding Diwali until they are

[9:50] able to join us. Next, we would like to recognize November as Native American Heritage Month. For nearly 40 years,

[9:59] communities nationwide have celebrated the contributions of Native people during the month of November. From the arts to business to national security,

[10:07] we are honored to celebrate the many languages, cultures, and achievements of Native Americans with a proclamation this evening.

[10:14] Whereas during the month of November, the city of Highland Park recognizes the first people of this land and the invaluable contributions of native

[10:23] peoples that have shaped both our country and our community. And whereas Highland Park further recognizes that the land upon which the present city of

[10:30] Highland Park is situated belonged originally to the Padawatami and they use the land for hunting and trade routes, the Padawatami are part of the

[10:38] council of the Three Fires Alliance with the Odawa or Atawa and Ojiway or Chipoa nations. And whereas the state of

[10:46] Illinois is named after Illino, a confederation of tribes that included the Padawatami and others like the

[10:52] Peoria, Cascasia, and Cahokia. Other native groups with ancestral ties to the region include the Miami Ho Chunk or

[11:00] Wnebago, Monomony, Sack, and Fox. And whereas native communities have passed down rich cultures, knowledge, traditions, and ways of life, but

[11:09] throughout our history, native people's cultures, identities, and governments were not always seen as part of this nation, but sadly as a threat to it. And

[11:18] whereas native people were pressured to assimilate, banned from practicing their traditions and sacred ceremonies, forced from their homes and ancestral

[11:27] homelands, the violence and devastation cost countless lives, tore families apart, and caused lasting damage to

[11:34] tribal communities and institutions. And whereas despite centuries of violence and oppression, Native peoples remain resilient and proud, today, Native

[11:43] Americans are essential to the fabric of the United States. They serve in the United States armed forces at higher rates than any other ethnic group. They

[11:51] continue to steward so many of our great lands. Their contributions to science, humanities, arts, public service, and more have brought prosperity to all of

[11:59] us. Their diverse cultures and communities continue to thrive and lead us forward. Now, therefore, I, Nancy Roering, mayor of the city of Highland

[12:08] Park and the city council of Highland Park, do hereby proclaim the month of November as Native American Heritage Month. and we encourage all residents to

[12:16] learn more about the heritage and contributions of Native Americans. A great place to start is the Highland Park Public Library, which offers a

[12:24] display of books for all ages in the main lobby honoring Native American Heritage Month. And so at this time, I

[12:32] would like to welcome Ashby Beasley to the podium to accept the proclamation and to share information about the outstanding programs she has partnered

[12:40] with with local businesses to present during Native American Heritage Month. Welcome.

[12:52] Am I giving this to shaking hands? Thank you.

[12:58] Thank you. Do you want to go join your mom now? Okay. Thank you.

[13:08] Um, we did not plan things like we did last year, but we will do something really big next year. Um, I just want to say

[13:17] esquali, that's how we say thank you in Hopi. Um, thank you for this proclamation. As a Hopi woman, I come

[13:24] from people whose history on this continent stretches back thousands of years. And I think that's that there's something pretty incredible about that.

[13:32] The world has changed beyond our ancestors, beyond anything our ancestors could have ever imagined. But the stories they told and the traditions

[13:41] that they practiced and the values they lived by are still being passed down.

[13:45] That's the power of heritage. It connects people who lived centuries ago to children who haven't even been born yet. And that's what I hope we celebrate

[13:53] this month. Not just the history of native people, but the extraordinary fact that our cultures are alive, evolving, and helping to shape the

[14:01] future. Because we aren't just descendants of an incredible history.

[14:05] We're the ancestors of an incredible future. I love that. Thank you. Thank you.

[14:16] Thank you, Ashby. And we invite everyone to take time this month to learn about and celebrate the history and achievements of Native Americans.

[14:24] There's, like I said, no better place to start than at the Highland Park Public Library, where readers of all ages will discover books, movies, documentaries,

[14:33] and resources about Native American history and culture. So, thank you for joining us this evening. Kaleras are in

[14:40] the house. Thank you for joining us. We had a proclamation that we just provided about Diwali awareness that I would be

[14:48] pleased to give to you. Um we would like to invite you if you have a minute to um accept the proclamation and also uh

[14:56] would love to talk with you briefly about what Diwali is. Uh so I don't know if you're comfortable coming forward to the podium, but suffice it to say uh we

[15:05] had a nice conversation about um the holiday that is just about to begin. So, I will recognize the two of you as the

[15:14] owners of Indis Progressive Indian Restaurant in downtown Highland Park. So, great to see you always.

[15:21] Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[15:29] I think we're going to take a quick photo. Amanda, if you don't mind, team, let's stand.

[15:52] Thank you so so much. This is such an honor and uh we're just um so grateful

[15:59] for the recognition of Diwali. Um obviously uh you know such such a celebratory time of the year um and

[16:08] Diwali is the third most celebrated holiday in the world by sheer population size and it's such a joy that we get to

[16:17] call Highland Park home that invites that culture to be part of its own tapestry and its own fabric. And so that is that can never be appreciated enough.

[16:28] And we are so so grateful for being here in Highland Park, for having amazing leaders like yourselves who uh invest in

[16:37] their community, even the smallest groups of us, and we're just so thrilled for this

[16:44] incredible recognition. Thank you. Thank you.

[16:46] Thank you. We wish everybody happy Diwali. Happy Diwali.

[16:49] Wonderful. And do you have like a special menu? You had a sold out I believe uh third annual dinner and dance

[16:58] right we we do uh a fun event it's just to bring the community together more so than anything else but our third annual

[17:07] Diwali dinner and dance is this Friday and it is as as usual a soldout event so yes we have a special menu for every event that we do just like this one

[17:16] and so if people miss their chance they can come in next week and try your 2.0 0 menu and all of the delicious dishes

[17:24] all week long and we'll have some, you know, special treats to share with everybody. So, it'll be a celebration all week long. Wonderful. Wonderful.

[17:31] And it's great to see that uh the attendees of this event that we've had every year has people from all cultural

[17:40] backgrounds, Indian and non-Indian, just coming together to enjoy the festivities and the celebrations around Diwali. It's awesome.

[17:48] Beautiful. Wonderful. Wishing you all a wonderful Dvali. Thank you.

[17:58] Um, okay. We have a few other items of other business. The next general election is next Tuesday, November 3rd, but with

[18:07] early voting already underway throughout the county, there is no time like the present to make your voice heard in this election. Information about the election

[18:14] is available on the front page of the city's website and includes early voting locations, dropbox locations for mail and ballots and links to Lake Voter

[18:24] Power, which is Lake County's resource for voters. Through Lake Voter Power, you can access a preview of your ballot, find nearby polling places, and check

[18:32] your voter registration status. Grace period voter registration is available at all early voting locations and on

[18:39] election day. Please visit Lake County's website to learn more about the requirements for grace period voter registration. Links to all of these

[18:46] resources are of course available at city hpil.com/election.

[18:52] On your ballot is a public question or referendum asking Highland Park voters to consider the question of whether to implement term limits on the local

[19:01] elected offices of mayor and council member. The city can only provide impartial information about this binding

[19:08] measure. Visit cityhil.com for information about the referendum, including the official notice with the

[19:15] question as it will appear on your ballot. There is o also a helpful Q&A responding to frequently asked

[19:21] questions. Uh without that I or with that I can say get out there and vote.

[19:26] As we look ahead to November and Veterans Day, please remember voting is a constitutional right. So, honor the service of the brave men and women who

[19:34] have defended our constitution throughout our history by exercising your right to vote. Thank you. That is it for the report of the mayor. Is there any business from the council?

[19:45] No.

[19:45] Okay. Hearing none, I will ask city manager Newkerk for a report from staff.

[19:51] Great. Thank you, Mayor. Um, just want to identify we have three staff reports on the omnibus agenda. All include um information on behalf of our staff. All

[20:00] are recommended for approval. And then also just want to identify that we have the third quarter major project report also referenced on um in the staff

[20:09] report on the agenda. Um we have identified 123 major projects. These are major

[20:16] initiatives outside of our day-to-day operation. Um we include highlights every quarter. Um, and individuals can

[20:23] go to the city's website and review all the initiatives by either priority of the city breakdown by department or by

[20:31] topic um, or by progress. And so you can see an overview that pie chart there shows the core priorities of the city

[20:38] and how it's broken down and then the progress of each. Um, so I won't go through all 123. Um, but I will just

[20:46] give a couple of quick highlights. Um, so the city's comprehensive plan update is underway. Um we have a steering committee made up of um representatives

[20:54] from appointed um we've elected officials and certainly staff and we're going to be doing a significant amount of public engagement as part of that

[21:02] important project. Um we had a series of business spotlight videos that highlight six outstanding destination business districts throughout our community.

[21:13] We've identified um a new public safety cadet program which gives young adults leadership development and unique insight into public safety careers

[21:21] through a mix of training and hands-on participation uh supporting the police department at community events. And then uh we have

[21:28] efforts to promote public education in the area of historic preservation including our annual historic preservation walking tours, landmark

[21:36] plaque program, and our new interactive local landmark database. And there's just so much more. So, I encourage individuals to um go to the staff report

[21:45] or go directly to the website to see all the list of major projects. Um just special appreciation to Amanda Bennett, our communications manager who manages

[21:53] the voluminous list. Um and then all of our department certainly for um their work on all these initiatives as well as the progress reports.

[22:01] Great. Thank you. Any questions for the city manager? Nope. Okay. Thank you so much. Um, assistant to the city manager

[22:09] Pelitzka, if you could please introduce the next item on our agenda, which is business from the public.

[22:14] Thank you, mayor. The next item on the agenda is business from the public. This is an opportunity for members of the public to address the city council on a

[22:22] topic that is within this council's purview and jurisdiction, but is not listed in another location on the agenda. If you would like to speak about

[22:30] a matter that is listed on the agenda, we ask that you wait until that agenda item is called and we will give you an opportunity to speak then. If your

[22:38] matter is on the omnibus consent agenda, please let us know if you'd like us to remove that matter from the consolidated list so that you can speak about it.

[22:46] Please be aware that business from the public is not intended to be a form for open dialogue or engagement with members of the city council. Rather, it is

[22:53] intended as an opportunity to make comments to the city council. Please do not expect a response from anyone tonight. If appropriate, we may direct

[23:02] the city manager or other staff to respond to questions or issues raised at a later date. All comments should be directed to the city council. All speakers will be limited to 3 minutes.

[23:11] We request that the public not applaud or make other comments after any speaker. We ask that everyone be respectful, civil, and non-repetitive.

[23:19] Thank you. Good evening.

[23:22] Thank you. Good. Good evening. This is Carl Lambert. I've been a member of Highland Park since 1970.

[23:30] Now, you see this bag?

[23:35] There's a threat that we're going to have a bag tax in this community. I don't know if it's true or not, but we don't need more taxes.

[23:44] This is not something that's necessary.

[23:48] We make I donate plastic bags like this one and others to charities and to the

[23:56] people in Chicago that we know so they don't have to spend their money on a bag. They spend it on food instead.

[24:05] Gasoline taxes.

[24:09] The gasoline taxes. Typically, I buy all my gasoline in Wisconsin, right across

[24:15] the border. Half the cars are Illinois cars. Highland Park has a 2cent tax.

[24:24] The county has a 4 cent tax, which is rather recent.

[24:30] And the state has a huge tax. They doubled it a few years ago under Pritsker.

[24:36] That's my problem with back tax. The second one we have to recognize

[24:44] is that uh the state of Florida has 20 school districts and 20 million people.

[24:53] The state of Indiana has 200 school districts and 7 million people. The state of of

[25:02] Illinois has 12 million people and 850 school districts. Some of them with only 250

[25:11] kids that ever left the Catholic Church. The number of schools they have one

[25:18] superintendent were effectively the school population of Lake County.

[25:26] I think this has to be corrected. And a mild comment maybe these meetings that you're having

[25:34] every couple of weeks, which is not true because in vacation times they're not fun couple of weeks. They could be once a month. Thank you for your time.

[25:47] Thank you very much. Okay.

[25:49] Any other members of the public wishing to be heard?

[25:52] Seeing none, we'll continue on with our scheduled business. Under our omnibus agenda, items one through three have been grouped together for consideration.

[26:00] May I have a motion to approve items one through three? So move. Second.

[26:05] Any comments or questions about items one through three? Any from the public?

[26:10] Seeing none, will the clerk call the vote, please?

[26:12] Council member Buffman, I.

[26:14] Council member Tapia, I.

[26:17] Council member Little, I.

[26:19] Council member Bloomberg, I.

[26:20] Mayor Roing, I. That's five eyes, no nays. Items one through three have been approved. I'm now seeking a motion to go into close session. So moved.

[26:28] Do do I do I need to review the uh yes item? Okay. Uh move to go into close session to discuss purchase and lease of

[26:36] property setting price for sale or lease of property to discuss probable litigation and to discuss security. All pursuant to five.

[26:46] We don't need security. We don't need security.

[26:47] Okay, we're finished with that. uh pursuant to ILC 5 ILCS 120/2C

[26:55] uh five six and 11 respectively. Is there a second? Second.

[27:03] Will the clerk please call the vote? I council member Tapia. Hi. Council member Little. Council member Bloomberg.

[27:11] Hi. Mayor Roing.

[27:12] I. Five eyes, no nazs. We will go into close session. Thank you everyone for joining us this evening.

[27:19] You said