West Cook News

A village-sponsored citizen's group dedicated to bringing inclusion to River Forest canceled another meeting on Tuesday after voting down saying the Pledge of Allegiance to start the session.

The River Forest Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group voted 20-6 against reciting the pledge after some members said it was "an empty gesture" that introduced "magic into the equation" by mentioning God, according to minutes from the Aug. 17 meeting. 

Tuesday's meeting was to be the first without the pledge.

The 46-member commission is scheduled to meet two times per month. Of the seven meetings planned so far, the group canceled one meeting in July and both September assemblages.

Only 17 members have attended the four meetings, while another 17 have attended at most half of the gatherings. Two members have not participated in any meetings. 

Roshni Ricchetti, 39, who complained during the Aug. 17 meeting that the words "Under God" were "nationalistic," missed the group's first three meetings, according to published minutes. The Aug. 17 gathering was the only one she attended, and she was quite vocal in her aversion to saying the Pledge of Allegiance due to its reference to God.

"That's not history. That's magic," Ricchetti said. "As a secular humanist who can also be considered an atheist, I do not believe in a higher power. The (U.S. Constitution) is fundamentally non-inclusive of people like me."

The DEI group is the brainchild of Village Trustee Erika Bachner, who was elected in April 2019 and, along with acting River Forest Village Administrator Lisa M. Scheiner, is a co-chair.

During village board and DEI meetings, Bachner doesn't routinely stand and say the pledge. Instead, she opens every meeting by reciting a self-described "native lands" statement that calls on fellow members to be "mindful" of the fact that they are meeting on "colonized" land "that was once and still is inhabited by indigenous people."

"I'm making sure that we focus on those narratives that have been stifled because of what we've done as a country," Bachner said at the Aug. 17 meeting.

Last June, Bachner asked the village board to approve flying a "gay pride" flag in front of the village hall.

----

River Forest Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group Attendance

First Name	Last Name	June 7	June 22	Aug 2	Aug 17	Attendance %
Stacey D.	Austin	P	P	P	P	100%
Rosey	McAdams	P	P	P	P	100%
Robert	Navarro	P	P	P	P	100%
Renee	Duba-Clancy	P	P	P	P	100%
Nancy	Nicolas	P	P	P	P	100%
Mindy	Credi	P	P	P	P	100%
Lisa M.	Scheiner	P	P	P	P	100%
Kent	Kirk	P	P	P	P	100%
Kenneth J.	Johnson, Ken	P	P	P	P	100%
John C.	Grant	P	P	P	P	100%
Jessica	Hartshorn	P	P	P	P	100%
Erika	Bachner	P	P	P	P	100%
Doug	Garcia-Luce	P	P	P	P	100%
David L.	Bonner	P	P	P	P	100%
Claudia	Moreno	P	P	P	P	100%
Cindy	Shea	P	P	P	P	100%
Abigail	Rogers	P	P	P	P	100%
Tina L.	Baird	P	A	P	P	75%
Tim	Brandhorst	P	P	A	P	75%
Teresa	Peavy	P	P	A	P	75%
Susan	Lucci	P	A	P	P	75%
Sun-Hee	Yoon	P	A	P	P	75%
Sharon	Oates	P	P	A	P	75%
Richard	Schumacher	P	P	A	P	75%
Megan	Keskitalo	P	P	P	A	75%
Holly A.	Economos	P	P	A	P	75%
Glen	Weissenberger	P	A	P	P	75%
Dorota	Szerszenowicz-Olweny	P	P	A	P	75%
Alexandra L.	DeSorbo-Quinn	P	P	P	A	75%
Stephanie	Kang	P	P	A	A	50%
Liz	Simon	A	P	A	P	50%
Laurel	Burkett	P	P	A	A	50%
Kirk	Johnson, Kirk	P	A	P	A	50%
James E.	Norman	P	A	P	A	50%
Chuck	Foster	P	A	A	P	50%
Christina	Papirnik	P	P	A	A	50%
Brett	Kreisman	P	P	A	A	50%
Roshni	Ricchetti	A	A	A	P	25%
Jessica	Iverson	A	P	A	A	25%
Guillermo	Arauz	P	A	A	A	25%
Farzad	Khaledan	P	A	A	A	25%
Dwerti	Addy	P	A	A	A	25%
Anthony	Riley	A	P	A	A	25%
Anja	Herrman	A	P	A	A	25%
Susan	MacAuley	A	A	A	A	0%
Cecelia	Graham	A	A	A	A	0%
		39	33	25	30	Attendees out of 46
		85%	72%	54%	65%	% Attendance

Source: Village of River Forest