West Cook News

RGW Consulting has been hired as a headhunter to find the next leader of the Oak Park Public Library.

"On Tuesday, March 22, at a regular board meeting, the Board of Library Trustees voted to select RGW Consulting as its executive search firm. The latest updates about the search will be posted on the Library Board of Trustees page," Oak Park Public Library said in a post.

RGW Consulting specializes in hosting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training (DEI) for public entities, according to the company's website. Reesheda Graham Washington is the principal consultant of RGW Consulting, LLC. 

Washington was paid $15,000 for 25 hours of discussion with Glen Ellyn officials and the production of six YouTube videos, DuPage Policy Journal previously reported. In an accompanying report, RGW said the village has too many "White males" in leadership positions.

Washington formerly ran L!VE Café. She and her manager both reportedly cashed large checks for PPP relief loans, West Cook news reported. Graham-Washington received a $20,900 PPP loan in April of 2020 for running "a Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars." Byline Bank signed off on the loan, West Cook News previously reported. L!VE Café general manager Makesha Benson received a loan that was provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank through her LLC Hush Dev & Management Group and pulled in $14,928 in May 2020.

She also held a highly publicized fundraiser after an alleged hate crime that reaped $30,000, West Cook News previously reported. Her cafe had been closed for several months at the time and was used as a campaign headquarters for two Oak Park candidates. Police were unable to solve that crime, in which a note containing racial slurs was found outside the business wrapped around a brick that had been thrown at the building. Washington alleged the brick was meant for a group of political candidates meeting in the space. The GoFundMe windfall did not stop Washington from closing the space for good shortly after.