[PAGE 1]
3/11/2026 - Minutes
1. Call To Order
Meeting called to order at 7:02 p.m.
In attendance: Chair Blum Barish, Vice Chair Rhodes, Staff Liaison Gioia and Commissioners Caplice,
Chander, Joshi, McReynolds, Osseny, Siegal, Sloan, Thomas, Thorne, Vasevski and Vicker
2. Meeting Procedural Review - Blum Barish
Chair Blum Barish and Vice Chair Rhodes attended an Open Meetings Act (OMA) training that was given
by the Village's Corporation Counsel. The training emphasized the importance of following the agenda and
enacting a more formal meeting procedure. Chair Blum Barish reviewed some simplified guidelines for
meetings going forward including:
l A quorum must be present to hold a vote on a matter
l Speak only after the chair recognizes you
l Personal comments or side conversations are not allowed
l Only one issue is discussed at a time
l If the Chair is absent, the Vice Chair runs the meeting. If neither are in attendance, the Staff
Liaison will start the meeting and will lead a quick election of a temporary presiding officer for that
meeting.
l If a Commissioner has a question/discussion item that does not pertain to the agenda item being
discussed, they should wait to introduce the question/discussion item until New Business at which
point the question can be answered or, if further conversation is necessary, considered for the next
meeting agenda.
3. The Storefront - Gioia
The end of the fiscal year is upon us and there are some funds remaining in the FAC budget. These funds
will be used to order 20 additional folding chairs and a neon sign for The Storefront.
The Fellowship recipients have begun working on their project at The Storefront on Monday evenings. Staff
Liaison Gioia will be finalizing plans for their community engagement events in the upcoming week.
Many new reservations have come in for the months ahead including a staged reading of a short play,
photography classes and art exhibit and a photography exhibit.
4. Student Outstanding Artist Recognition (SOAR) Exhibit - Blum Barish, Thomas, Chander, Siegal, Joshi,
Morris
Thank you to Commissioner Joshi who assisted with the SOAR set up.
Reception is next Wednesday. All Commissioners are expected to attend.
Mayor will be selecting pieces from exhibit for her office display.
Will review certificate procedure for next year. Many teachers do not know how many they will need until
they actually set up their displays resulting in requests for more and having to arrange pick up. May be
more efficient to have a stack of certificates ready and give them the appropriate number as they "check
out" of set up.
5. Grants - Rhodes, Chander, Wood, Thorne
No grant applications have come in yet.
Vice Chair Rhodes clarified that only not-for-profit organizations can apply. If a group does not have 501c3
status, they could have a fiscal sponsor that would allow them to apply. For example, someone is
interested in applying for a grant to create a program that would allow children to write and perform a show
but they do not have 501c3 status, Music Theater Works or another not-for-profit could be their fiscal
sponsor.
Also, it was reiterated that schools (like the park district and the library) are their own taxing bodies and are
not eligible for the grant.
6. Library Time Capsule - Blum Barish
Chair Blum Barish was approached by the library with an opportunity for the Fine Arts Commission to
suggest two items that demonstrate some of the programs that the FAC put on in 2025. Suggestions from
the group included a program from the first pop-up gallery, a print out of the stories submitted for the
Ghosted storytelling event, a mini weaving of fabrics from the Weaving Community project, one of the SOAR
art pieces currently hanging in the Mayor's office, a USB drive with various files, a hat with The Storefront
logo or the vinyl sign that was previously hanging at The Storefront. Commissioners were asked to vote for
their top two. The SOAR artwork (10 votes) and Storefront vinyl sign (6) were the top vote getters. Staff
Liaison Gioia will work at procuring the items and Chair Blum Barish will communicate with the library.
7. Handbook Review
Given the changes over the past four years, the FAC Handbook was very out of date. Chair Blum Barish and
Staff Liaison Gioia worked to bring it up to date. Copies were distributed to the Commissioners and they
were asked to review sections I and III before the next meeting at which point amendments may be
suggested and the Commission will vote to approve the handbook.
8. OMA Discussion
In addition to having to follow a more formal procedure during meetings, the OMA training revealed that the
FAC needs to be more organized regarding subcommittee meetings. They must be open to the public, not
virtual and have an agenda published 48 hours before the meeting. In addition, our subcommittees currently
only have four members meaning that a discussion of two members could constitute a of the OMA.
Vice Chair Rhodes proposed that we make all subcommittees at least 6 people to eliminate that problem.
Staff Liaison Gioia said this could be an opportunity to also reexamine our subcommittee structure since
currently the subcommittees are event-based and could be broadened.
Staff Liaison Gioia proposed two ways to schedule subcommittee meetings. One would be to have a
standing subcommittee meeting scheduled on the Wednesday two weeks after our regular meeting. At the
end of the FAC regular meeting each month, it would be determined whether or not a subcommittee needed
to meet this month and, if yes, the meeting would be held and Staff Liaison Gioia would post an agenda.
The other would be to have a standing subcommittee meeting in the half hour prior to our regular meetings.
So, the subcommittees would meet at 7:00 p.m. and the regular meeting would begin a half hour later at
7:30 p.m. Staff Liaison Gioia expressed concerns with the second option as our meetings often end with
action items that need to occur prior to the next meeting and waiting a month for the subcommittee to meet
may delay work that needs to get done.
Commissioner Sloan asked why virtual meetings were not allowed and couldn't we simply post the link to
the meeting online for public to attend. Staff Liaison Gioia explained that during COVID, the Governor had
declared a disaster proclamation which allowed for virtual meetings under the OMA. When the public health
emergency ended in May 2023, public bodies were no longer allowed to conduct remote meetings.
However, members could attend a meeting remotely as long as a quorum of the members are physically
present and the reason the member can't attend in person is due to illness, employment or a family or other
emergency.
Staff Liaison Gioia reminded all members that they needed to complete the online OMA training and
present the certificate to her when they were appointed to the Commission. She will follow up with those
that still need to do so.
9. New Business
A question arose about the artwork hanging in Village Hall. Staff Liaison Gioia said that discussions were
currently being held about refreshing Village Hall including new paint which would then prompt a review of
the artwork and other items hanging on the wall and that she anticipated that new works would be curated
for display.
10. Public Comments
Paul Fagen spoke about his award-winning screenplay Peter, Peter, about a young gay Jewish boy coming
of age. Along with location scout, Gustavo Martin, they mentioned that Skokie had the type of locations
that they were looking for and that they knew there was a history of the community being easy to work with.
They were interested in meeting people within the arts community that may help to build excitement about
the project filming in Skokie and perhaps helping find donors/investors interested in supporting the project.
Possibility of making connections to performers through Devonshire Theater, Skokie Theater and Music
Theater Works. Also could be an opportunity to do a talk-back or presentation on screenwriting/filming/the
project at The Storefront when filming nears.
11. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 8:36 p.m.

[PAGE 2]
3/11/2026 - Minutes
1. Call To Order
Meeting called to order at 7:02 p.m.
In attendance: Chair Blum Barish, Vice Chair Rhodes, Staff Liaison Gioia and Commissioners Caplice,
Chander, Joshi, McReynolds, Osseny, Siegal, Sloan, Thomas, Thorne, Vasevski and Vicker
2. Meeting Procedural Review - Blum Barish
Chair Blum Barish and Vice Chair Rhodes attended an Open Meetings Act (OMA) training that was given
by the Village's Corporation Counsel. The training emphasized the importance of following the agenda and
enacting a more formal meeting procedure. Chair Blum Barish reviewed some simplified guidelines for
meetings going forward including:
l A quorum must be present to hold a vote on a matter
l Speak only after the chair recognizes you
l Personal comments or side conversations are not allowed
l Only one issue is discussed at a time
l If the Chair is absent, the Vice Chair runs the meeting. If neither are in attendance, the Staff
Liaison will start the meeting and will lead a quick election of a temporary presiding officer for that
meeting.
l If a Commissioner has a question/discussion item that does not pertain to the agenda item being
discussed, they should wait to introduce the question/discussion item until New Business at which
point the question can be answered or, if further conversation is necessary, considered for the next
meeting agenda.
3. The Storefront - Gioia
The end of the fiscal year is upon us and there are some funds remaining in the FAC budget. These funds
will be used to order 20 additional folding chairs and a neon sign for The Storefront.
The Fellowship recipients have begun working on their project at The Storefront on Monday evenings. Staff
Liaison Gioia will be finalizing plans for their community engagement events in the upcoming week.
Many new reservations have come in for the months ahead including a staged reading of a short play,
photography classes and art exhibit and a photography exhibit.
4. Student Outstanding Artist Recognition (SOAR) Exhibit - Blum Barish, Thomas, Chander, Siegal, Joshi,
Morris
Thank you to Commissioner Joshi who assisted with the SOAR set up.
Reception is next Wednesday. All Commissioners are expected to attend.
Mayor will be selecting pieces from exhibit for her office display.
Will review certificate procedure for next year. Many teachers do not know how many they will need until
they actually set up their displays resulting in requests for more and having to arrange pick up. May be
more efficient to have a stack of certificates ready and give them the appropriate number as they "check
out" of set up.
5. Grants - Rhodes, Chander, Wood, Thorne
No grant applications have come in yet.
Vice Chair Rhodes clarified that only not-for-profit organizations can apply. If a group does not have 501c3
status, they could have a fiscal sponsor that would allow them to apply. For example, someone is
interested in applying for a grant to create a program that would allow children to write and perform a show
but they do not have 501c3 status, Music Theater Works or another not-for-profit could be their fiscal
sponsor.
Also, it was reiterated that schools (like the park district and the library) are their own taxing bodies and are
not eligible for the grant.
6. Library Time Capsule - Blum Barish
Chair Blum Barish was approached by the library with an opportunity for the Fine Arts Commission to
suggest two items that demonstrate some of the programs that the FAC put on in 2025. Suggestions from
the group included a program from the first pop-up gallery, a print out of the stories submitted for the
Ghosted storytelling event, a mini weaving of fabrics from the Weaving Community project, one of the SOAR
art pieces currently hanging in the Mayor's office, a USB drive with various files, a hat with The Storefront
logo or the vinyl sign that was previously hanging at The Storefront. Commissioners were asked to vote for
their top two. The SOAR artwork (10 votes) and Storefront vinyl sign (6) were the top vote getters. Staff
Liaison Gioia will work at procuring the items and Chair Blum Barish will communicate with the library.
7. Handbook Review
Given the changes over the past four years, the FAC Handbook was very out of date. Chair Blum Barish and
Staff Liaison Gioia worked to bring it up to date. Copies were distributed to the Commissioners and they
were asked to review sections I and III before the next meeting at which point amendments may be
suggested and the Commission will vote to approve the handbook.
8. OMA Discussion
In addition to having to follow a more formal procedure during meetings, the OMA training revealed that the
FAC needs to be more organized regarding subcommittee meetings. They must be open to the public, not
virtual and have an agenda published 48 hours before the meeting. In addition, our subcommittees currently
only have four members meaning that a discussion of two members could constitute a of the OMA.
Vice Chair Rhodes proposed that we make all subcommittees at least 6 people to eliminate that problem.
Staff Liaison Gioia said this could be an opportunity to also reexamine our subcommittee structure since
currently the subcommittees are event-based and could be broadened.
Staff Liaison Gioia proposed two ways to schedule subcommittee meetings. One would be to have a
standing subcommittee meeting scheduled on the Wednesday two weeks after our regular meeting. At the
end of the FAC regular meeting each month, it would be determined whether or not a subcommittee needed
to meet this month and, if yes, the meeting would be held and Staff Liaison Gioia would post an agenda.
The other would be to have a standing subcommittee meeting in the half hour prior to our regular meetings.
So, the subcommittees would meet at 7:00 p.m. and the regular meeting would begin a half hour later at
7:30 p.m. Staff Liaison Gioia expressed concerns with the second option as our meetings often end with
action items that need to occur prior to the next meeting and waiting a month for the subcommittee to meet
may delay work that needs to get done.
Commissioner Sloan asked why virtual meetings were not allowed and couldn't we simply post the link to
the meeting online for public to attend. Staff Liaison Gioia explained that during COVID, the Governor had
declared a disaster proclamation which allowed for virtual meetings under the OMA. When the public health
emergency ended in May 2023, public bodies were no longer allowed to conduct remote meetings.
However, members could attend a meeting remotely as long as a quorum of the members are physically
present and the reason the member can't attend in person is due to illness, employment or a family or other
emergency.
Staff Liaison Gioia reminded all members that they needed to complete the online OMA training and
present the certificate to her when they were appointed to the Commission. She will follow up with those
that still need to do so.
9. New Business
A question arose about the artwork hanging in Village Hall. Staff Liaison Gioia said that discussions were
currently being held about refreshing Village Hall including new paint which would then prompt a review of
the artwork and other items hanging on the wall and that she anticipated that new works would be curated
for display.
10. Public Comments
Paul Fagen spoke about his award-winning screenplay Peter, Peter, about a young gay Jewish boy coming
of age. Along with location scout, Gustavo Martin, they mentioned that Skokie had the type of locations
that they were looking for and that they knew there was a history of the community being easy to work with.
They were interested in meeting people within the arts community that may help to build excitement about
the project filming in Skokie and perhaps helping find donors/investors interested in supporting the project.
Possibility of making connections to performers through Devonshire Theater, Skokie Theater and Music
Theater Works. Also could be an opportunity to do a talk-back or presentation on screenwriting/filming/the
project at The Storefront when filming nears.
11. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 8:36 p.m.

[PAGE 3]
3/11/2026 - Minutes
1. Call To Order
Meeting called to order at 7:02 p.m.
In attendance: Chair Blum Barish, Vice Chair Rhodes, Staff Liaison Gioia and Commissioners Caplice,
Chander, Joshi, McReynolds, Osseny, Siegal, Sloan, Thomas, Thorne, Vasevski and Vicker
2. Meeting Procedural Review - Blum Barish
Chair Blum Barish and Vice Chair Rhodes attended an Open Meetings Act (OMA) training that was given
by the Village's Corporation Counsel. The training emphasized the importance of following the agenda and
enacting a more formal meeting procedure. Chair Blum Barish reviewed some simplified guidelines for
meetings going forward including:
l A quorum must be present to hold a vote on a matter
l Speak only after the chair recognizes you
l Personal comments or side conversations are not allowed
l Only one issue is discussed at a time
l If the Chair is absent, the Vice Chair runs the meeting. If neither are in attendance, the Staff
Liaison will start the meeting and will lead a quick election of a temporary presiding officer for that
meeting.
l If a Commissioner has a question/discussion item that does not pertain to the agenda item being
discussed, they should wait to introduce the question/discussion item until New Business at which
point the question can be answered or, if further conversation is necessary, considered for the next
meeting agenda.
3. The Storefront - Gioia
The end of the fiscal year is upon us and there are some funds remaining in the FAC budget. These funds
will be used to order 20 additional folding chairs and a neon sign for The Storefront.
The Fellowship recipients have begun working on their project at The Storefront on Monday evenings. Staff
Liaison Gioia will be finalizing plans for their community engagement events in the upcoming week.
Many new reservations have come in for the months ahead including a staged reading of a short play,
photography classes and art exhibit and a photography exhibit.
4. Student Outstanding Artist Recognition (SOAR) Exhibit - Blum Barish, Thomas, Chander, Siegal, Joshi,
Morris
Thank you to Commissioner Joshi who assisted with the SOAR set up.
Reception is next Wednesday. All Commissioners are expected to attend.
Mayor will be selecting pieces from exhibit for her office display.
Will review certificate procedure for next year. Many teachers do not know how many they will need until
they actually set up their displays resulting in requests for more and having to arrange pick up. May be
more efficient to have a stack of certificates ready and give them the appropriate number as they "check
out" of set up.
5. Grants - Rhodes, Chander, Wood, Thorne
No grant applications have come in yet.
Vice Chair Rhodes clarified that only not-for-profit organizations can apply. If a group does not have 501c3
status, they could have a fiscal sponsor that would allow them to apply. For example, someone is
interested in applying for a grant to create a program that would allow children to write and perform a show
but they do not have 501c3 status, Music Theater Works or another not-for-profit could be their fiscal
sponsor.
Also, it was reiterated that schools (like the park district and the library) are their own taxing bodies and are
not eligible for the grant.
6. Library Time Capsule - Blum Barish
Chair Blum Barish was approached by the library with an opportunity for the Fine Arts Commission to
suggest two items that demonstrate some of the programs that the FAC put on in 2025. Suggestions from
the group included a program from the first pop-up gallery, a print out of the stories submitted for the
Ghosted storytelling event, a mini weaving of fabrics from the Weaving Community project, one of the SOAR
art pieces currently hanging in the Mayor's office, a USB drive with various files, a hat with The Storefront
logo or the vinyl sign that was previously hanging at The Storefront. Commissioners were asked to vote for
their top two. The SOAR artwork (10 votes) and Storefront vinyl sign (6) were the top vote getters. Staff
Liaison Gioia will work at procuring the items and Chair Blum Barish will communicate with the library.
7. Handbook Review
Given the changes over the past four years, the FAC Handbook was very out of date. Chair Blum Barish and
Staff Liaison Gioia worked to bring it up to date. Copies were distributed to the Commissioners and they
were asked to review sections I and III before the next meeting at which point amendments may be
suggested and the Commission will vote to approve the handbook.
8. OMA Discussion
In addition to having to follow a more formal procedure during meetings, the OMA training revealed that the
FAC needs to be more organized regarding subcommittee meetings. They must be open to the public, not
virtual and have an agenda published 48 hours before the meeting. In addition, our subcommittees currently
only have four members meaning that a discussion of two members could constitute a of the OMA.
Vice Chair Rhodes proposed that we make all subcommittees at least 6 people to eliminate that problem.
Staff Liaison Gioia said this could be an opportunity to also reexamine our subcommittee structure since
currently the subcommittees are event-based and could be broadened.
Staff Liaison Gioia proposed two ways to schedule subcommittee meetings. One would be to have a
standing subcommittee meeting scheduled on the Wednesday two weeks after our regular meeting. At the
end of the FAC regular meeting each month, it would be determined whether or not a subcommittee needed
to meet this month and, if yes, the meeting would be held and Staff Liaison Gioia would post an agenda.
The other would be to have a standing subcommittee meeting in the half hour prior to our regular meetings.
So, the subcommittees would meet at 7:00 p.m. and the regular meeting would begin a half hour later at
7:30 p.m. Staff Liaison Gioia expressed concerns with the second option as our meetings often end with
action items that need to occur prior to the next meeting and waiting a month for the subcommittee to meet
may delay work that needs to get done.
Commissioner Sloan asked why virtual meetings were not allowed and couldn't we simply post the link to
the meeting online for public to attend. Staff Liaison Gioia explained that during COVID, the Governor had
declared a disaster proclamation which allowed for virtual meetings under the OMA. When the public health
emergency ended in May 2023, public bodies were no longer allowed to conduct remote meetings.
However, members could attend a meeting remotely as long as a quorum of the members are physically
present and the reason the member can't attend in person is due to illness, employment or a family or other
emergency.
Staff Liaison Gioia reminded all members that they needed to complete the online OMA training and
present the certificate to her when they were appointed to the Commission. She will follow up with those
that still need to do so.
9. New Business
A question arose about the artwork hanging in Village Hall. Staff Liaison Gioia said that discussions were
currently being held about refreshing Village Hall including new paint which would then prompt a review of
the artwork and other items hanging on the wall and that she anticipated that new works would be curated
for display.
10. Public Comments
Paul Fagen spoke about his award-winning screenplay Peter, Peter, about a young gay Jewish boy coming
of age. Along with location scout, Gustavo Martin, they mentioned that Skokie had the type of locations
that they were looking for and that they knew there was a history of the community being easy to work with.
They were interested in meeting people within the arts community that may help to build excitement about
the project filming in Skokie and perhaps helping find donors/investors interested in supporting the project.
Possibility of making connections to performers through Devonshire Theater, Skokie Theater and Music
Theater Works. Also could be an opportunity to do a talk-back or presentation on screenwriting/filming/the
project at The Storefront when filming nears.
11. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 8:36 p.m.