Muslim American Advisory Council Meeting Minutes

November 18, 2014

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MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER18, 2014 MEETING OF THE

MUSLIM AMERICAN ADVISORY COUNCIL

The Muslim American Advisory Council (“MAAC” or the “Council”), pursuant to notice duly given, held a Meeting on November18, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. in the James R. Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph Street, Suite 16-100, Chicago, Illinois 60601.

MAAC Members Present:

  1. Kareem Irfan, Co-Chair (via audio conference)
  2. Dr. Bambade Shakoor-Abdullah (via audio conference)
  3. SikiratAdigun(via audio conference)
  4. Dr. Irfan Ahmad (via audio conference)
  5. Mumtaz Champsi
  6. Clyde El-Amin
  7. S. Jafer Hasnain(via audio conference)
  8. Mohammed Kaiseruddin (via audio conference)
  9. Dzafer Kulenovic (via audio conference)
  10. Dr. Sevil Kutay
  11. Tariq Malhance

MAAC Members Absent:

  1. Murad MoosaBhaidani
  2. Tariq El-Amin
  3. Salim Al Nurridin
  4. EbooPatel
  5. AishaQadeem
  6. Ahmed Rehab
  7. Dr. Mohammed ZaherSahloul

Guests Present:

Sumaiya Saad, Office of the Governor

I.Call to Order and Roll Call

ChairmanIrfan called the Meeting to order at 3:03 p.m.

Ms. Saad called the roll. There being four (4) Members physically present and seven (7) Members participating via audio conference, a quorum was met.

II.Co-Chairs’ Remarks

Chairman Irfan noted that Ms. Omar resigned from her role as the Governor’s Muslim Liaison and Co-Chair of the Council. He expressed appreciation for her dedication to MAAC, and her professionalism and diligence that helped move its mission forward. He also thanked the Members for their positive engagement in carrying out the advisory role of this Council.

Ms. Saad reminded the Members to complete the Open Meetings Act training via the Attorney General’s website to remain compliant with state law.

III.Adoption of the Minutes

Having a quorum, Minutes of the Meeting held on October23, 2014 were taken up for consideration.Mr. Malhance made a motion for the adoption of the Minutes. Dr. Bambade seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

IV.Report by the Legislative Affairs Committee

Ms. Saad relayed updates on the behalf of Ms. Odeoti-Hassan who has been working on modifying the legislation for MAAC. Given how MAAC has proven valuable to both the Governor and the greater community through its policy recommendations and outreach, Ms. Odeoti-Hassan and the Committee will work toward codifying MAAC into state statute. Ms. Odeoti-Hassan will be present at the next MAAC Meeting to provide a more comprehensive report.

Dr. Bambade notedthe importance of creatingawareness of this Council amongst the new administration. Shesuggestedpresenting the Council’s work to the Governor-elect and his new staff to determine how the Council can serve as an asset.

V.Report by the Economic Development Committee

Mr. Hasnain reported that the Members of the Economic Development Committee will be collaborating to craft a summary of the Committee’s accomplishments. He proposed that the other two committees follow suit to synthesize into a transition document for the Governor-elect.

VI.Report by the Communications Committee

In the absence of Mr. Rehab, there was no report by the Communications Committee.

VII.Other Business

The Council discussed seeking a meeting with the Governor-elect. Members agreed to work together to create a transition document in lieu of the semiannual report highlighting the Committees’ accomplishments, as well as how the Council can assist the new administration.Chairman Irfan and Mr. Hasnain arranged to compile the information and finalize the document.

VIII.Public Comment

None.

IX. Adjournment

Co-Chair Irfan made a motion to adjourn. Dr. Kutay seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

The MAAC Meeting adjourned at 3:59 p.m.

Minutes submitted by:

Sumaiya Saad

Policy Dunn Fellow

Office of the Governor