5 days ago
Lincolnwood declares June Immigrant Heritage Month: ‘We must never forget where we came from'
The June 4 Lincolnwood Village Board meeting evoked a mix of emotions, with proclamations presented and approved that celebrated immigrant heritage – against a backdrop of contentious nationwide immigration enforcement – along with local student achievement and the town's housing crisis.
Village President Jesal Patel opened the board meeting with a proclamation declaring June as Immigrant Heritage Month, what he called a very important measure.
'Nearly all of us can trace our heritage to another nation, and we must never forget where we came from and why our ancestors came here,' the proclamation reads, in part.
The proclamation and highlight of immigrant heritage came amid current national unrest over the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. Earlier the same day as the meeting, protesters in Chicago, including three sitting aldermen, clashed with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers over the federal agency's detention practices within the city.
The Lincolnwood proclamation did not reference tensions between federal and local officials directly, but it did allude to the role immigrant activists have played in the fight for a myriad rights in this country.
'Immigrants have been tireless leaders in securing their own rights and access to equal opportunity, but have also persevered to create a fairer and more just society for all Americans,' the proclamation reads.
With more people in attendance at the meeting than are usually present, the Village Board moved from presenting the immigration proclamation to recognizing some local students.
Another proclamation was presented that proclaimed June 4 as Lincolnwood Student Achievers Day.
'I think I can make it through without tearing up,' Patel said before reading an excerpt from the Dr. Seuss classic book 'Oh, the Places You'll Go,' to the students who had come to be honored.
The proclamation celebrated high school students who qualified for the Illinois State Scholar Program through the Illinois Student Assistance Commission which requires students to either perform in the top half of their high school class, score in the 95th percentile on the SAT or ACT, or both.
Twenty-nine Lincolnwood students qualified for the program in 2025. Additionally, Lincolnwood provided donation-funded scholarships to the highest-scoring male and female students in the 2025 graduation class.
Taking a different tugging turn in the meeting, the board also heard a presentation on the village's affordable housing plan, which was developed to bring Lincolnwood into compliance with the state's Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act.
The plan requires several components to satisfy the regulations in the AHPAA, including meeting a 10% threshold for affordable housing stock, and ensuring appropriate opportunities for land to be used for affordable housing are present.
A final plan was due at the Illinois Housing Development Authority June 14.
