Assyrian sworn in as Illinois village trustee

The Word | Nov. 29, 2022

An Assyrian small business owner was sworn in as the newest trustee of the Village of Morton Grove, just outside of Chicago, at a ceremony Monday evening.

Ashur Shiba, executive director of civic engagement organization Vote Assyrian, was appointed by Morton Grove Mayor Dan DiMaria to fill a vacancy after the resignation of a former trustee, according to a statement from the village earlier this month. 

According to the statement, Shiba has been a Morton Grove resident since 2018, and he “hopes to be an advocate for small business owners” from his seat on the board.

In 2020, Vote Assyrian launched a campaign encouraging Assyrians in the US to “write in” their ethnicity on the census in an effort to create community visibility, but the organization hasn’t published any findings. The US census lacks a Middle Eastern North African (MENA) race category.