From a City of Peoria press release:

Mayor Jim Ardis and Dr. Amir Al-Khafaji, Chairman of the Peoria Race Relations Commission, will hold a news conference on April 11, 2008 at 1:30 p.m., in Room 400 at City Hall, to announce the names of the individuals who have been selected to serve on the newly formed commission.

At the Mayor’s State of the City Address this year, he announced the formation of the Peoria Race Relations Commission to focus on race issues in the community and to develop positive means to deal with them. Dr. Amir Al-Khafaji, is the Chair of Civil Engineering and Construction at Bradley University.