Hinsdale Police Deemed Friendly To People of Color

HINSDALE, IL — An Arlington Heights-based civil rights group takes nominations of suburban police departments that are deemed "friendly to people of color." A few have received that designation from the group. Among them are Hinsdale and Burr Ridge.

The Illinois Commission on Diversity and Human Relations has been compiling a "Who's Who" list of police departments it considers friendly to people of color. Its chairman, the Rev. Clyde Brooks, told Patch it is important for people of color to feel comfortable with their local police departments.

Hinsdale is noted for its work with people of color. "Hinsdale is a great community. We have not received any negatives about Hinsdale. They have a diversified workforce. We are not saying they are perfect. We say they stand out above others," Brooks said.

In an email to Patch, Simon Guevara, an associate pastor at the Evangelical Covenant Church of Hinsdale, said he is the first Latino pastor called to serve in the area at a historically Anglo church. He said he finds Hinsdale welcoming.

"I can say that I've been received and embraced in my first year at Hinsdale Covenant Church as well as in the community," Guevara said.

Brooks singled out Burr Ridge Police Chief John Madden for praise. "Burr Ridge police are working with us to encourage more African Americans to apply to become members of this great police force. Chief Madden is out on the front lines and works with groups like the commission, quietly but in partnership," he said.

Like most suburbs, the populations of Hinsdale and Burr Ridge have relatively few people of color. Hinsdale is nearly 85 percent white, with Asians consisting of 11 percent of the population. Hispanics and African Americans trail far behind at 5 and 1 percent, respectively.

In Burr Ridge, 80 of the population is white and 16 percent Asian. Hispanics make up 4 percent and African Americans about 1.5 percent.

Other communities on the commission's list are Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Woodridge, Glenview and Lisle.

"The image of many suburban communities is that they're all white. But there are a lot of white people who are good and decent and want to make sure their communities are open to everyone. These are communities that we are identifying with," Brooks said.

In many towns, he said, people of color fear that they are targeted when it comes to traffic stops and in other ways. He referred to a high-profile incident in November at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Naperville as an example of people of color being made to feel unwelcome. In that incident, Buffalo Wild Wings staff asked a group of African Americans to be seated elsewhere at the request of a couple racist customers, according to police reports.

Brooks said his group is working with police and other organizations to eliminate "unconscious bias" against groups based on color, nationality and sexual orientation, among other categories.

"This bias can affect people's credit, housing, promotions at work. This bias becomes institutionalized," Brooks said.

The commission is still looking for nominations of police departments, he said. A nomination needs at least three people to support it. "We are proud of the communities we have selected," he said.