Civil Rights

Contact

Latrice L. Lacey

Director

Phone:: (563) 326-7888
Fax:: (563) 326-7956
Email:: llacey@ci.davenport.ia.us

Welcome to the Davenport Civil Rights Commission webpage!

Our mission is to eliminate discrimination based on race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, marital status and familial status within the areas of employment, housing, public accommodation, education and credit. At the Davenport Civil Rights Commission, we investigate discrimination complaints, educate the Davenport community about federal, state, and local civil rights law, recommend legislation to enforce the Davenport Civil Rights Ordinance, and collaborate with federal, state and local civil rights agencies. We are committed to serving you!

* Please note our office closes for staff in-service at 1 p.m. on the 3rd Friday of every month

More Information about Civil Rights

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE DCRC AGENDAS & MEETING MINUTES INCLUDING DIRECTOR'S REPORTS AND THE CASE STATUS REPORTS
(once you click in here, click on pdf agenda, open it, and
scroll down the document to see everything)

DCRC NEWS & EVENTS

City of Davenport Ranks 100% on National Human Rights Index

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Equality Federation Institute published the Municipal Equality Index (MEI) for 2016. In Iowa, Davenport and Iowa City lead the state with rankings of 100, on a 100-point index.

Davenport Civil Rights Walking Tour

Download the Walking Tour Brochure

Reports

Annual Reports

Filing A Complaint

Complaints are required to be filed within three hundred (300) days of the alleged discriminatory incident for employment, education, public accommodation, and credit complaints, and no later than one (1) year of the alleged discriminatory incident for housing complaints. DCRC will provide language interpreters or general assistance upon request in order to complete the necessary forms.

To file a complaint in person, by mail or fax, please print the appropriate document and submit:

File a Credit Complaint

File an Education Complaint

File an Employment Complaint

File a Housing Complaint

File a Public Accommodation Complaint

To file an online complaint: COMING SOON!

(For best results make sure you are using the latest version of Adobe Reader Click here to download)

For further details regarding the complaint process please refer to:

Description of complaint process or Flowchart of the complaint process

Frequently Asked Questions

Consider Mediation

Mediation is an informal and confidential way for people to resolve disputes with the help of a neutral third party who is trained to help people discuss their differences. The mediator does not decide who is right or wrong, but instead, helps the parties work out their own solutions to the problem. Mediation is encouraged and offered as soon as the complaint is filed and all throughout the investigative process.

Mediation is not only nationally recognized as an excellent way to resolve complaints, but mediation is FREE, CONFIDENTIAL, QUICK and SUCCESSFUL. It also allows for creative settlement options and a method for both parties to be part of the solution and control the final resolution.

The decision to mediate is completely voluntary. If both parties agree to mediate, a time and date will be scheduled and the mediation will be conducted by a trained and experienced mediator. If an agreement is reached, it is a binding agreement enforceable in court. If an agreement is not reached, the charge will be investigated like any other charge.

Mediation is a FREE service offered through our office. If you are interested in taking advantage of the mediation process or have further questions regarding mediation, please contact our Mediation Coordinator at 563-326-7888.

Mediation FAQs

What are Civil Rights?

Civil rights are personal rights guaranteed and protected by the U.S. Constitution and statutes such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Iowa Civil Rights Act, and the Davenport Civil Rights Ordinance. Civil Rights include the equal treatment of all people with respect to the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property and freedom from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation, credit and education.

The Davenport Civil Rights Commission (DCRC) enforces the Davenport Civil Rights Ordinance which prohibits discrimination against person because of age, creed, marital status, race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, gender identity or familial status in the areas of employment, education, public accommodations, credit and housing.

Click here to view or download 2.58 of the Davenport Municipal Code

The following table shows the protected classes under the Davenport Civil Rights Ordinance.

Protected Classes	Areas of Protection
Protected Classes	Employment	Housing	Public Accommodation	Education	Credit
Age
Race
Creed
Color
Religion
Sex
Gender Identity
Sexual Orientation
National Origin
Mental or Physical Disability
Marital Status
Familial Status

Areas of Protection

Credit

Everyday, countless individuals and families are denied access to mainstream credit. Despite a reduction in the most blatant forms of discrimination, there is evidence that creditors commit more subtle discrimination against minority groups throughout the lending process. Discrimination occurs in: advertising and outreach, handling of pre-application inquiries, the loan approval or disapproval decision, loan pricing, and loan administration. Credit discrimination cases must be filed with the commission no later than 300 days from the date of the alleged incident.

Education

Under the Davenport Civil Rights Ordinance students, faculty, and staff are protected from discrimination in elementary and secondary schools as well as colleges. Discrimination is defined as: the unequal treatment or denial of normal privileges to persons because of their immutable characteristics or personal choices. Education discrimination cases must be filed with the commission no later than 300 days from the date of the alleged incident.

Employment

It is unlawful to fail or refuse to hire, discharge any individual, or to discriminate against any individual with respect to the individual's compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. Employment discrimination complaints must be filed with the commission no later than 300 days from the date of the alleged incident.

Housing

It is unlawful to fail to rent or sell property because of a protected class, or advertise a preference or limitation, or impose different terms or conditions during tenancy based on a protected class. It is also unlawful to fail to provide, or impose different terms and conditions, in home loans and insurance because of a protected class. Housing discrimination complaints must be filed with the commission no later than (1) year from the date of the alleged incident.

Factsheet Harassment in Housing

Public Accommodation

Public Accommodations are facilities whose goods, services or premises are offered to the public for a fee. Examples of public accommodations are: restaurants, hotels, retail stores, shopping centers, bars, museums, theaters, stadiums, parks, bus stations, airports, health clubs, and hospitals. Under City ordinance 2.58, it is illegal to deny a person access or treat them unequally, in a public accommodation because of their protected class. Public Accommodation discrimination complaints must be filed with the commission no later than 300 days from the dated of the alleged incident.

The Commission consists of seven Commissioners who serve without compensation. Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor, confirmed by the City Council, and serve two-year terms. The Commission elects officers as necessary from the members of the Commission.

The Commission appoints a Director, and the Director is required to report to the Commission monthly on the activities of the Director and the status of complaints filed in the office. The regularly scheduled Commission meeting are held the second Tuesday of the month at 12:00 p.m. at City Hall in the Civil Rights Conference Room.

Meeting Minutes & Agendas

Director's Reports

The current Davenport Civil Rights Commissioners are:

Helen Roberson was appointed as Commissioner by Mayor Gluba in September 2011 to fill a vacancy. Shehas lived in Davenport for 32 years. She previously lived in Dubuque, Iowa, Greensboro, North Carolina and Washington, DC. She attended C. M. Eppes High School, Greensboro, North Carolina, graduating in 1966, Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, North Carolina from 1966-1968 and St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa in 1981.

She is an active member of NAACP holding the position of Membership & Add Booklet Committee Chairperson, the Progressive Baptist Church holding the position of Financial Secretary, the Quad Cities (IL) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated as the Program Coordinator and volunteers on the Juneteenth Planning Commission in the position of Ad Booklet Chairperson.

Her vision for the Davenport Civil Rights Commission is to be of service or aid in the fair treatment of all people in this community. She would like to see everyone being treated fairly in obtaining a education, securing fair housing, employment, and credit, and would like to see that persons with disabilities have public transportation accessible to them.

Susan Greenwalt was appointed a commissioner in March of 2015 by Mayor Bill Gluba. Ms. Greenwalt has been active in many community projects over the past 47 years with different activities involving her 6 children.

The activities include: scout leader for 17 years, Dad's Club coach and president of the PTA. She is currently active with Senior Voice as a board member and a writer for the monthly newspaper. Susan is also active with SCI (Spinal Cord Injury Group). Susan has been a paraplegic since 2006. Susan says being a paraplegic has opened up a whole new avenue of involvement.

She has been active with several ADA committees and has run a Davenport Parks and Recreation program for the past four years. Over the years she has had several places of employment, starting out as a under graduate registered nurse to manager and also head designer of a local floral shop. Susan is currently retired.

Clyde Mayfield was appointed Commissioner for the Davenport Civil Rights Commission by Mayor Winborn in December 2006. Commissioner Mayfield has lived in Davenport for fifty-one years and has always been active in community affairs.

Commissioner Mayfield is a graduate of Central High School and St. Ambrose University and has been a business owner in Davenport for several years. He is a member of the NAACP, One Hundred Blackmen, Shorinji Kempo, Prince Hall Grand Lodge and has served on various committees with the Davenport Community Schools.

Commissioner Mayfield enjoys working with children and coaches football, wrestling, and baseball both in the schools and through Davenport Parks and Recreation Programs. Commissioner Mayfield is committed to Civil Rights and in his position as Commissioner wants to support a system of fairness that can bring equity to all.

Judy Shawver was born in Davenport and has lived here most of her life. After college, in 1976 she moved to the Chicago area where she attended law school. She lived and practiced law in Oak Park, IL until 1985 when she returned to Davenport.

Commissioner Shawver has a BS degree in statistics from Drake University in 1976, JD from DePaul University College of Law in 1980, LLM in Taxation from DePaul University College of Law in 1983. She is a member of Temple Emanuel in Davenport, Iowa where she has served on its Board. She has also served on the Board of Community Health Care.

She is a member of the Scott County and Iowa State Bar Associations, the National Organization for Women and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Nicole Bribriesco Ledger is married to Jeff ledger. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Early childhood with Special Education from St. Ambrose University.

They have two girls and is currently a stay at home mom. Commissioner Bribriesco Ledger is also a member of LULAC and St. Anthony's Church.

Jason Gordon - Alderman Liaison

The Davenport Civil Right Commission is conducting an Accessibility Always campaign. Accessibility Always is a survey of various local restaurants that identifies American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible restaurants throughout Davenport. The purpose of this survey is to inform members of our community with a disability about accessible services, as well as, motivate restaurants to comply with ADA regulations.

The Davenport Civil Rights Commission identified various restaurants throughout the City based on their diverse locations and cuisine type. These restaurants are evaluated on their compliance with ADA entrance, parking lot, interior, and restroom standards.

The information is compiled in a restaurant guide available below.

Accessibility Always Restaurant Guide*

Accessibility Always Restaurant Guide (text)

watch promotional video

Tax Deductions and Credits for business owners for accessibility

In addition to providing information through written documents the Davenport Civil Rights Commission is distributing window decals with the Accessibility Always logo to each business meeting the accessible standards.

Requests to survey a location are welcome! Please contact our office at 563-326-7888 or click on Service Requests at the top of this page

*This is not a comprehensive list of all restaurants in Davenport. Restaurants that meet the requirements will be continually added to the list.

Tax Deductions and Credits for business owners for accessibility

Settlements 2017

Date Area Basis Trigger Terms

1/30/2017	Employment	Race	Termination	$202 and training
2/13/2017	Housing	Race, Physical Disability	Failure to Rent	$500 and training
2/15/2017	Employment	Race	Terms, Negative Treatment, Racial Slurs, Harassment	Removing all disciplinary records from Cp file, training
2/28/2017	Employment	Sexual Orientation, Physical Disability	Terms, Harassment, Negative Treatment	Accommodation of Cp's medical needs, including coverage for medical leave, and posters
3/8/2017	Employment	Race	Negative Treatment, Harassment	$8,000 and Training
3/13/2017	Employment	Race, Familial Status, Marital Status, Retaliation	Terms, Negative Treatment, Termination	$2,112, neutral reference, & Posters
3/27/2017	Employment	Sexual Orientation, Race, Retaliation	Terms, Termination	$3,000, notification, and posters
4/3/2017	Employment	Physical Disability	Negative Treatment, Termination	$7,000 & Posters
5/10/2017	Housing	Race, Mental Disability	Terms, Harassment	$5,000 and must move out by May 31, 2017
5/11/2017	Housing	Sex	Sexual Harassment, Terms	Cp gets first option on available RP housing, $100 per month towards rent for 6 months, advertisement
5/15/2017	Housing	Mental Disability	Failure to Accommodate/Modify, Eviction	$125 taken off owed rent, allowed to have more than 1 dog on the property temporarily, Training and posters
5/23/2017	Transit	Physical Disability	Failure to Accommodate/Modify	Signs will be posted informing drivers that they should try and ensure people with disabilities are seated in priority seating when necessary
6/14/2017	Transit	Physical Disability	Terms	Two 30 day Bus Passes and Training
6/15/2017	Public Accommodations	Physical Disability, Mental Disability, Retaliation	Negative Treatment, Failure to Serve	$250 in vouchers and $250 in cash, and Notification
6/28/2017	Housing	Race	Racial Harassment	3 months free rent, Fair Housing Statement in Lease
7/26/2017	Housing	Race	Failure to Rent	Recognition of grievances, Posters, Fair Housing Logo, Fair Housing Statement on Application & Lease
8/9/2017	Housing	Race	Failure to Rent	Discount on rent for current month, paid deposit carries over to new unit, Fair Housing Logo
8/10/2017	Employment	Race	Termination	Neutral reference, $3,200, Notification
8/23/2017	Employment	Race	Terms, Termination	$2,250 and Posters
8/29/2017	Employment	Race, Sex	Termination	$2,500 and Posters
9/25/2017	Employment	Physical Disability, Sex, Retaliation	Harassment, Negative Treatment	$2,600 & Training
11/8/2017	Housing	National Origin, Physical Disability, Sex	Terms	$540, Positive Reference, Allowed to break lease w/o penalties, Apology, Repairs to the sidewalk, no action re: carpet damage when returning deposit, training, reasonable accommodation request process written in writing
11/21/2017	Employment	Age, Retaliation	Terms, Termination	$1,500 and posters
12/8/2017	Public Accommodations	Physical Disability, Mental Disability	Failure to Accommodate/Modify	$200, posters

Settlements 2016

DATE	AREA	BASIS	TRIGGER	TERMS
Jan. 20, 2016	Housing	Mental Disability	Terms	$500, Apology, Rental Reference, Training, Posters, Fair Housing Logo
Jan. 21, 2016	Housing			Notification, FH Policy, Posters, Training, Advertisement
Feb. 3, 2016	Housing	Race	Terms	$550, $568 off next month’s rent, Posters
Feb. 5, 2016	Employment	Physical Disability	Termination	$1,000, Training, Posters
Feb. 16, 2016	Employment	Sex	Sexual Harassment, Termination, Equal Pay	$10,000, Training, Notification
Mar. 4, 2016	Transit	Race		Training
Mar. 9, 2016	Education, Public Accommodation	Age, Race, Physical Disability, Retaliation	Negative Treatment	Implicit Bias Training
Mar. 11, 2016	Employment	Physical Disability	Failure to Accommodate/Modify, Termination	$27,500, Posters, Notification
Mar. 23, 2016	Housing	Race	Failure to Rent	$1,200, Policy, Posters, Notification
Mar. 30, 2016	Employment	Race, Retaliation	Termination, Racial Slurs	$750, Posters
Apr. 20, 2016	Employment	Age (Under 40), Sex	Sexual Harassment, Discipline, Termination	Apology, Positive Reference, Non-Discrimination Policy
Aug. 22, 2016	Employment	Race	Discipline, Termination, Terms	$1,000, Posters
Aug. 24, 2016	Employment	Sex, Retaliation	Negative treatment, Harassment	$2,000, Letter sent to Workforce Development, Training
Sep. 20, 2016	Employment	Mental Disability	Termination	$5,000
Sep. 22, 2016	Employment	Race	Termination, Discipline	$1,550, Posters
Oct. 12, 2016	Employment	Race	Racial Harassment, Racial Slurs	CP not scheduled with harasser, no cuts in hours, Policy
Nov. 16, 2016	Employment	Race	Termination, Racial Slurs, Terms	Training
Dec. 9, 2016	Employment	Sex, Race	Terms, Failure to Promote, Termination	Internal Investigation on Testing Procedures sent to CP
Dec. 13, 2016	Employment	Pregnancy, Mental Disability	Termination	$2,500, Training

Settlements 2015

DATE	AREA	BASIS	TRIGGER	TERMS
Jan 8, 2015	Employment	Race	Racial Slurs, Negative Treatment, Termination	$800, Policy Change, Training, Posters, Application Ads
Jan 20, 2015	Housing	Mental Disability, Race	Eviction	$5,000, Training, Policy Advertisement, Posters, Application Advertisement
Feb 2, 2015	Employment	Sex, Retaliation	Failure to Train	$8,000
Mar 2, 2015	Employment	Sex	Failure to Hire	$9,500
Mar 4, 2015	Public Accommodation	Physical Disability	Accessibility	Public Interest Items
Mar 6, 2015	Housing	Race, Retaliation	Attempt to Terminate Tenancy	$550
Mar 10, 2015	Transit	Physical Disability	Failure to Serve	Continued Training
Mar 11, 2015	Housing	Race, Physical Disability	Failure to Accommodate/Modify	$1,000 plus deposit
Mar 13, 2015	Employment	Race	Negative Treatment	$15,000, posters
Mar 13, 2015	Employment	Sex, Retaliation	Sexual Harassment	$40,000
Mar 18, 2015	Employment	Race	Negative Treatment, Racial Harassment	$6,000, Specific Performances
Mar 24, 2015	Employment	Age, National Origin	Reduction of Hours	Increased Hours
April 7, 2015	Public Accommodation	Race	Failure to Serve	$500
April 15, 2015	Employment	Pregnancy, Sex	Termination	$10,000
May 6, 2015	Employment	Physical Disability	Failure to Hire	$1,000
May 11, 2015	Housing	Mental Disability, Physical Disability	Failure to Accommodate/Modify	$500
May 28, 2015	Employment	Age	Demotion, Termination	Training
Jun 3, 2015	Employment	Mental Disability, Physical Disability	Failure to Accommodate/Modify	$3,910, Training
Jun 11, 2015	Education	Mental Disability, Physical Disability, Race	Failure to Serve	Training
Jul 20, 2015	Employment	Sex	Sexual Harassment	$3,000, policy change
Jul 30, 2015	Employment	Age, Sex, Physical Disability, Mental Disability	Termination	$25,000, training
Aug 5, 2015	Employment	Race, Sex	Termination	$375, Policy, Training
Aug 19, 2015	Employment	Race	Failure to Hire	$5,500
Sept 3, 2015	Housing	Sex	Sexual Harassment	No Contact, Retrieve Mail, Waive rights to any owed rent (Valued at $1,060)
Sept 22, 2015	Transit	Physical Disability	Failure to Accommodate/Modify	Driver Training
Oct 1, 2015	Housing	Sex, Mental Disability	Eviction, Sexual Harassment, Harassment	$5,252.50, advertisement
Oct 23, 2015	Employment	Age	Termination	$20,000
Oct 28, 2015	Transit	Physical Disability	Accessibility	Specific Performance: RP to provide CP with Policy Info
Dec 4, 2015	Employment	Religion	Discipline, Termination	$2,400
Dec 16, 2015	Public Accommodations	Physical Disability	Accessibility	$8,004, fix elevator
Dec 29, 2015	Housing	Physical Disability	Eviction, Failure to Accommodate/Modify	$310.89, training

The Davenport Civil Rights Commission offers materials, no cost training, and educational programs on civil rights to employers, the housing industry and community groups. Please contact our office to arrange for training and education.

Presentations

Civil Rights History

Civil Rights Law

Diversity in the Workplace

Who We Are

Sexual Harassment

Fair Housing Under Federal, State & Local Law

Landlord Training

LGBT NCLR Presentation

LGBT One Iowa Presentation

LGBT Equal Access Rule Training

Additional Resources

Effective Communication and the ADA

Criminal Background Check Flyer

Assistance Animal Fact Sheet

Service Animals in Public Places

Advertising Guidelines

Fair Housing Act Accessibility Requirements

Davenport established a civil rights commission by ordinance in 1962. The commission established in1962 had no enforcement power, but that was changed by a new civil rights ordinance enacted in 1974. The 1974 ordinance established the Davenport Civil Rights Commission and provided at that time that persons are to be protected from discrimination in the city based upon their race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin or ancestry, marital status, familial status, age, or mental or physical disability. The areas protected by the ordinance in 1974 included employment, credit, public accommodation, and housing.

The ordinance was amended in 1999 to make its housing provisions substantially equivalent to the federal Fair Housing Act and to grant the Commission subpoena powers during its investigation process. The ordinance was amended again in 2000 to add sexual orientation as a protected class. In 2005, the ordinance was amended again to clarify some of its provisions and to add education as a protected area.

The Davenport Civil Rights Ordinance enacted in 1974 provides that its purpose is to provide a Civil Rights Commission at the local level that will secure freedom of discrimination for all persons who are members of a protected class within the city and to provide a Commission dedicated to the effective enforcement of the civil rights chapter. The ordinance additionally gave the Commission the power to enter into contracts with federal, state, or other municipal civil rights agencies to further the purposes of the civil rights chapter. Under the power granted by the ordinance, the Davenport Commission enters a contract each year with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission to enforce state and local civil rights laws.

In 2000, after the Davenport Civil Rights Commission became substantially equivalent to the federal Fair Housing Act, it began to enter contracts with the United States Department of Urban Development [HUD] each year to enforce fair housing laws in Davenport.

Effective enforcement of civil rights laws locally is extremely important for entitlement cities like Davenport because it can have an impact on the receipt of federal funds. Community development block grant dollars are received by entitlement cities from HUD in exchange for evidence that the community takes all efforts to affirmatively further fair housing in its community. The Davenport Civil Rights Commission is extremely proud of its record of both its education and outreach and its enforcement efforts regarding all areas in which it offers protections. Its exemplary record is reflected in both the 2000 and 2005 Impediments to Fair Housing Studies that are required by HUD, awards received in recognition of outstanding contributions to the community from the local NAACP Branch, and for the Commission's outstanding work in protecting people's civil rights from the Iowa Lulac State Committee.

The first Commissioners appointed by Mayor O'Brien in 1962 include:

Paul Ives

Henry Vargas

Charles Toney

Harry Roberts

Virgil Bowen

Hollister Hosutt

Lawrence Satin

The director position was created in March of 1970. William Cribbs [WC] was appointed to be the first director in September of 1970. E. King Morris, Jerry Smith, Sandra Williams, and Brenda Drew-Peeples served as directors after William Cribbs and up to 1999. Judith J. Morrell was hired on March 1, 1999 and served as director until 2014. In 2014 Latrice Lacey was appointed as Director of the Civil Rights Commission.

Davenport Civil Rights Commission Historical Tour

The Davenport's Civil Rights Commission in partnership with St. Ambrose University and the Putnam Museum captured the story of Davenport's Civil Rights History from 1945 to 1974. This is a compelling, inspiring story and it needs to be told, and retold for generations to come. Click on the link below for additional information and to download the map to visit the places where local civil rights events took place!

Davenport Civil Rights Commission Historical Tour

Below is a link to the recent interview with Civil Rights Activist Bill Cribbs done by the Quad Cities Times reporter as well as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. address in Davenport, IA on April 28, 1965.

http://streaming.ci.davenport.ia.us/MLK

Discrimination has been a long-standing issue in the United States and has taken on several forms. Our staff is dedicated to eliminating all forms of discrimination by:

Promoting quality of life in Davenport for all individuals.
Raising awareness by offering training and educational sessions and distributing information throughout the community.
Building partnerships with other civic and social organizations to embrace diversity.

Staff Members

Latrice Lacey, Director

Ms. Lacey recently graduated from Drake University Law School with a certificate in Legislative Practice. Throughout her final year of law school, Lacey worked at the ACLU of Iowa as a legal and legislative intern and later as a staff attorney and lobbyist. Lacey is a former clerk of Pam Jochum and previously worked for the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. At Drake, Lacey was president of the Black Law Student Association. She received her undergraduate degree at Roosevelt University in Chicago. After college, Lacey worked as an assistant curator at the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, where she became dedicated to working toward the advancement of civil liberties. Throughout her time in law school and upon graduation, she has devoted her time to equal rights issues and she intends to continue to do so in the future.

Michelle Neels Scheper, Investigative Paralegal

Michelle earned her B.A. degree in Legal Studies in an American Bar Association certified paralegal program from the University of Illinois at Springfield. She graduated from St. Ambrose University with her Masters in Business Administration with a Health Care Concentration in 1996. Michelle worked as a paralegal at Prairie State Legal Services in Rock Island for over fifteen years. With a strong commitment to social justice, Michelle advocated for clients in the areas of public benefits and social security law, landlord/tenant law including subsidized housing with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, consumer law including the Fair Debt Collection Act, and was staff lead on issues affecting senior citizens. Michelle conducted a number of Community Legal Education programs, served on the board for several advocacy agencies as well as developed and supervised the paralegal intern program at Prairie State. Additionally, Michelle worked as the Coordinator for the Volunteer Lawyer Program for several years. Michelle became the Investigative Paralegal for the Davenport Civil Rights Commission in September 1997. Michelle is certified as a Legal Assistant from the National Associations of Legal Assistants as well as the Iowa Association of Legal Assistants.

Keirsten Anderson, Housing Analyst

Keirsten Anderson earned her B.A. degree in political science and Scandinavian studies from Augustana College. She received her J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1997 with honors. While she was in law school, she was a Note Editor for the Valparaiso University Law Review. She has been licensed to practice law in the state of Illinois since 1997. Keirsten was a staff attorney at Prairie State Legal Services in Rock Island for over three years. She represented clients in the areas of family law, landlord/tenant law, orders of protection, consumer, and senior issues, among others. After Prairie State, Keirsten was Manager, Benefits Administration at Modern Woodmen of America. She was part of the team that administered their employee defined benefit pension plan. Keirsten became the Housing Analyst for the Davenport Civil Rights Commission in September 2002. She is a member of the Rock Island County Bar Association and she is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Scandinavian Association. She was formerly chair of the public relations committee for Habitat for Humanity-Quad Cities for three years.

Beth Badillo, Secretary

Beth Badillo earned her B.S. degree in journalism from Western Illinois University in Macomb Illinois in 1998. She returned to the Quad Cities where she received her Masters in Counseling Education from Western Illinois University in 2003. Beth was a Customer Service representative for Trinity Medical Center's pharmacy for a year before moving into a secretary position in the EMS department in Moline. After Trinity Medical Center, she worked for the Radisson as Secretary for a 18 months before being promoted to Sales Assistant where she held the position for two years. Beth then worked at Family Resources for over two years working with families and children involved in the court system, providing resources and life skills. Beth joined the Davenport Civil Rights Commission in May 2006 as Secretary.