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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT COMMUNITY AND ETHNIC MEDIA ACROSS COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, Cook County recognizes that information is power, and that community and ethnic media play a vital role in ensuring equitable, local and culturally and linguistically relevant and trusted information to communities that are often not reached by mainstream media; and
WHEREAS, Cook County is the second largest county in the country that is home to diverse racial, ethnic, religious and linguistic communities; and
WHEREAS, community media refers to independent media organizations that are owned, controlled, and operated by and for a community, serving its specific interests. They serve as a third sector of the media apart from mainstream private and public media, fostering media pluralism and supporting democratic functions including voter education, civic engagement, participation and access; and
WHEREAS, ethnic media refers to media that is developed by and for specific ethnic, religious or linguistic communities, that are often isolated from mainstream media. They provide culturally relevant news and information, often in their respective languages; and
WHEREAS, Cook County is committed to ensuring all residents and communities have access to culturally relevant, and linguistically accessible information about our social support programs, small business grants, public health information, and other opportunities; and
WHEREAS, Cook County recognizes that partnering with community and ethnic media can help ensure more residents, businesses and communities have access to Cook County resources and information; and
WHEREAS, Cook County recognizes that a healthy democracy depends on a diverse and independent media landscape in which communities have the opportunity to tell their own stories, elevate issues that matter to their residents, hold institutions accountable, and participate fully in civic life; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Cook County will launch a series of engagements with community and ethnic media starting with President Preckwinkle’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Address and over the next year and into the future.
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