A commission with over 30 years of history in Naperville could be dissolved as soon as next month.
City staff recommended eliminating the Sister Cities Commission at the Nov. 7 Naperville City Council meeting. They proposed shifting the responsibility of partnering with three international cities to the Sister Cities Foundation, a nonprofit group.
City staff’s board and commission recommendations
Back in June, city staff were directed by the council to look into all 19 city boards and commissions to evaluate each one’s purpose within Naperville. Recommendations were given at the Nov. 7 city council meeting, and the council approved all of them – except the Sister Cities Commission.
After hearing from residents and commissioners who objected to the recommendation to dissolve the group, the dais voted to delay its ruling on the Sister Cities Commission until its Dec. 5 meeting.
Sister Cities Commission secretary Alan Lowe said a simple transfer of duties may not be feasible.
“Presently, the foundation in its bylaws, is connected directly with the commission,” said Lowe. “If the commission goes, the foundation would have to be reworked as well. There’s a lot of questions as far as if a foundation can do these international legalities.”
The Sister Cities Foundation operates independently from the city, raising money for the commission. The nonprofit was formed in 1999 and pairs with the commission to put on events like the Hispanic Heritage Festival.
During the Sister Cities Commission meeting last week, commissioners presented three options to city staff for the groups going forward. The first option was to maintain the existence of both the commission and foundation and work with the city to manage expectations for both groups.
The second choice was transitioning the commission into a task force, which could lower its influence on city policy. The last option was the request for more time to find a solution that best works for the sister cities groups and Naperville.
Origin of the Sister Cities Commission
Naperville has partnerships with three sister cities. The first relationship was formed with Nitra, Slovakia in 1993.
A pair of cities from Mexico round out the list. A partnership with Pátzcuaro was finalized in 2010, and a collaboration with Cancun became official in 2020.
Together, the three are part of a nationwide organization called Sister Cities International, which was created in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Former Sister Cities commissioner and the current Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic for the State of Illinois Rosemary Wisnosky was in Slovakia on behalf of Naperville back in 1993.
She emphasized the importance of having both the commission and foundation.
“The City of Naperville sent an out-of-use ambulance to the Ukraine via Slovak connections through the City of Naperville, Rotary Club, and sister cities,” said Wisnosky. “Naperville recently added diversity to its mission statement. If you look at the membership of the Sister Cities Commission and the Sister Cities Foundation, you’ll see some of that diversity. It is really an amazing group of people.”
Naperville’s stance on the Sister Cities Commission
Assistant to the city manager Marcie Schatz said Naperville is supportive of fostering the relationship with the sister cities but says it would be best to end the commission.
“We think that the (Sister Cities) Foundation might have more flexibility as a 501(c)(3) than a board or commission does in being able to support those events,” said Schatz.
Schatz likened the commission’s current situation to another group in Naperville.
“The (Naperville) Senior Task Force initially had some interest in being a board or commission as well,” said Schatz. “But we saw some of the same flexibility needs in the Senior Task Force at that point in time. We fully support the sister cities. It’s not a need to have a commission to have the city support, we can support the foundation as well.”
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