Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Embracing a Culture of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Village of Arlington Heights strives to be a welcoming and inclusive place for all. One of the Village Board’s Strategic Priorities since 2019 is to find new ways to embrace diversity within the Community and Village Government.

Finding New Ways to Embrace Diversity Within the Community & Village Government
The Kaleidoscope group was hired by the Village in 2020 in an effort to meet one of the Village Board’s Strategic Priorities of “Find new ways to embrace diversity within the Community and Village Government.” The Group conducted employee surveys, employee and resident focus groups, interviews, a town hall style listening session, and a review of current policies and practices over the past several months. 

This study is focused on the Village Government as an employer and as a service provider. It was not designed to address the broader issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the community at large. While those issues should be addressed, the goal of this study was the focus on the areas over which the Village has the most control. This report is just one part of the Village’s broader effort to address DEI issues within the community and organization.

At its March 1, 2021 meeting, the Village Board unanimously voted to approve a diversity, equity and inclusion position statement that was part of a report submitted by The Kaleidoscope Group. Review the full Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report from The Kaleidoscope Group.

The Village's Position Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion reads:
The Village of Arlington Heights supports a welcoming environment for all by fostering an inclusive work force, providing fair and equitable access to, and delivery of, all government services to all community members of Arlington Heights, and developing opportunities for employees and community members to reach their full human potential to the greatest, appreciable extent. Embracing diversity in Arlington Heights is recognized as leveraging the differences and similarities of all people, respecting those differences, and valuing an inclusive environment to live, work, and visit.

Diversity in Arlington Heights means respecting and welcoming all individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and cultures to include (but not limited to) each individual’s culture, nation of origin, race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and ability. This commitment to diversity is the foundation for building and maintaining a high-quality workforce, government operations, and community inclusion in these processes. Diversity and inclusion are core values and strategic imperatives that build and support the strength of the Village of Arlington Heights as a community and government.
 
All members of the Village, including employees, leadership, and community members have responsibilities to work collaboratively with one another to foster an environment where all employees and members of the community who engage with government feel included, valued, and respected. The Village of Arlington Heights’ diversity initiatives are applicable, but not limited, to policies and strategies on government operations, employee recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, and professional development and training. These practices are the benchmark of doing the work of government in Arlington Heights and encourage fair and equitable practices in support of respectful communication, collaboration, teamwork, achieving work/life balance, and continual efforts that promote greater understanding and respect for each other and the community we serve.

The Kaleidoscope Group was hired by the Village in 2020 in an effort to meet one of the Village Board’s Strategic Priorities of “Find new ways to embrace diversity within the Community and Village Government.” The role of the consultants was to focus on the Village Government as an employer and as a service provider.
 
The consultant’s report includes 15 recommendations for the Village to consider that could help improve Village policies and procedures. This report is just one part of the Village’s broader effort to address diversity, equity and inclusion issues within the community and organization.


Village's Current Practices
Strategic Priorities:
Every two years the Village Board works together in completing a list of Strategic Priorities. Since 2019, the Board’s priorities include “Find new ways to embrace diversity within the Community and Village Government.” These priorities are the framework of the Village’s Business Plan where staff members are held to these goals.

Ongoing Employee Training:
Unconscious-bias training was held for all managers with additional training currently underway for all employees. Additional training may be recommended as part of the Action Plan to ensure that the Village Government maintains an inclusive and equitable culture for its employees, customers, and other stakeholders.
 
Bias Free Policing:
The Arlington Heights Police Department values impartial and unbiased policing and view it as a critical cornerstone for upholding professional ethics in law enforcement. All persons having contact with any member of the Department shall be treated in a fair, equitable, and objective manner, in accordance with the law, and without consideration of their race, ethnic background, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, or any other identifiable group as defined by Department policy.
 
Police Response to Resistance Policy:
The preservation of human life is the highest value the Arlington Heights Police Department has. Our officers are trained on an annual basis to use de-escalation techniques whenever possible to reach an outcome that does not involve the use of force. As a nationally accredited agency through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), our policies are reviewed on an annual basis and held to a high standard. For more information, please review the Police Department's Response to Resistance Policy.

Policing policies:
Learn more about the Arlington Heights Police Department policies by viewing this summary presentation on Policing that was presented to the Village Board in June, 2020.

Police Officer Recruitment:
The Village is working with 6 other area communities and Harper College to increase the number candidates for open law enforcement positions within our organizations with a special emphasis on the attraction of more female and minority candidates.  The Arlington Heights Police Department continues to make ongoing efforts of recruitment by hosting recruitment events at various locations including universities, community colleges, military events and more. 

Disability Accommodation Assessment:
The Human Resources Department completed an assessment with the Health and Human Services Department to review the Village’s current recruitment practices to identify opportunities to eliminate barriers to employment for individuals with disabilities who are qualified for Village positions. 
 
Village Employee Demographics Compared to Community Demographics as of March 2024

  Community Village Staff  as of 1/1/2019 New Hire Demographics 1/1/19 through 3/13/24
White Alone 77.1% 92.2% 80.3%
Black or African American Alone 2.4% 0.7% 3.6%
Native American and Alaska Native Alone 0.10% 0.2% 0.0%
Asian Alone 10.3% 0.9% 4.4%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Alone 0.1% 0.2% 0.0%
Two or More Races 3.9% 2.8% 1.5%
Hispanic or Latino 8.2% 3.1% 10.2%
See the Village's Proclamations Celebrating Our Community's Diversity 
Categories always sorted by seq (sub-categories sorted within each category)
Documents sorted by SEQ in Descending Order within category
2023 Proclamations
2023 Black History Month Proclamation
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February
2023 Women's History Month Proclamation
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March
2023 Cook County United Against Hate Proclamation
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April
2023 Child Abuse Prevention Proclamation
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April
2023 Asian American & Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Month
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May
2023 Older Americans Month
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May
2023 Jewish Heritage Month
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May
2023 Neurofibromatosis Awareness Proclamation
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May
2023 Apraxia Awareness Day
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May
2023 Pride Month Proclamation
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June
2023 Juneteenth Proclamation
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June
2023 Widow's Day Proclamation
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June
2023 Constitution Proclamation
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September
2023 Hispanic Heritage Month
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September 15 - October 15
2023 Payroll Week Proclamation
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September
2023 Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
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September
2023 Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
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September
2022 Proclamations
2021 Proclamations