ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago ("City") is a home rule municipality as described in Section 6(a) of Article VII ofthe 1970 Constitution ofthe State of Illinois; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to its home rule power, the City of Chicago may exercise any power and perform any function relating to its government and affairs including the power to regulate the protection of the public health, safety, morals and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the City has established its Commission on Human Relations to enforce the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance and the Chicago Fair Housing Ordinance. The Commission investigates complaints to determine whether discrimination may have occurred, and uses its enforcement powers to punish acts of discrimination. Under the City's Hate Crimes Law, the agency aids hate crime victims. The Commission also employs proactive programs of education, intervention, and constituency building to discourage bigotry and bring people from different groups together; and
WHEREAS, the City, through its 2012 Management Ordinance, consolidated the advisory councils and created the following four advisory councils: the Advisory Council on Equity; the Advisory Council on Women and LGBT issues; the Advisory Council on Veterans; and the Advisory Council on New Americans; and
WHEREAS, to aid in the fulfillment of that mission, these four advisory councils were tasked to act as a liaison between the city government and community organizations, in order to promote cooperation between the government and these organizations and among these organizations in order to enhance services to the population of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, there are over 3.7 million Arab Americans living in the United States today making up 3.1% of the nation's population; and
WHEREAS, the State of Illinois is home to a large and diverse Arab American community and boasts one of the largest populations of Arab Americans in the United States increasing by 41% during the decade of 2000 through 2010; and
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