Highland Park council reviews draft Youth Council ordinance amid debate over appointments and removal authority

Councilwoman Manica presented a draft ordinance to create a Highland Park Youth Council, telling the City Council at a May 18 workshop that the panel would “serve as a conduit between the city of Highland Park government and its younger constituents.” The workshop reviewed the revised draft on screen and members discussed composition, appointment powers and procedural language.

Why it matters: The council’s decisions about appointment authority, member removal and adult supervision will shape how much direct influence the mayor or the council holds over the youth advisory body and how the council will operate in practice. Members said the Youth Council is intended as a civic pipeline to teach debate, leadership and civic participation to residents ages 13–24.

The draft calls for a set number of members and officer positions and proposes that the youth elect a chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary. Council members pressed for clearer language about who appoints seats after one attendee asked why, in the version on screen, it appeared all five appointments were made by the mayor. "That is just a proposal," city staff member Mr. Bosnik said, explaining the draft can be revised to specify a mix of mayoral and council appointees and that some language had been modified following legal review.

Members suggested several options: split appointments (two by the mayor, two by council and one selected by youth participants), start with a smaller roster (three members) to ensure quorum and participation, or adopt a flexible maximum (for example, begin with five and allow expansion up to 10). Councilman Shaki and others raised practical concerns about attendance and the difficulty of maintaining a larger volunteer body of young people.

Members also scrutinized a removal clause in the draft bylaws. The ordinance text shown during the meeting includes the sentence, "Three unexcused absences during a term shall subject a member to removal from office in the sole discretion of the mayor." That language prompted explicit objections. "I don't like that sole discretion ... team effort around here," Mr. Shafi said, arguing that removal of youth members, particularly minors, should not rest solely with the mayor and that a bylaw or administrative process might be more appropriate.

Council and staff discussed limits on the Youth Council’s internal authority, including a clause that originally read the youth council "may create and fill other offices." Some members asked for that phrasing to be tightened to specify that any additional offices be "within the youth council," rather than broadly granting the body open-ended powers. Mr. Bosnik told the council the city attorneys had reviewed and in some places rewritten the language, and he offered to provide a marked version showing the legal edits.

Council members affirmed the proposed age range for membership—13 to 24 years—saying the range was chosen to include students entering high school through early college and to give young residents opportunities for community service or internship credits. Members also recommended adult liaisons or advisors to help minors understand proceedings and to relay youth input back to city government.

Next steps: Council members asked for a side‑by‑side comparison of the revised draft and Councilwoman Manica’s original, longer proposal. Manica said she would resend the original document and staff said they would highlight differences. The council agreed to revisit the ordinance in a follow‑up workshop, tentatively in early June after budget meetings, to finalize edits and consider timing for recruiting youth for the next school year.

The workshop closed with members thanking the author for the proposal. Council President Thomas adjourned the meeting.