On Thursday, April 27th, during the Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Frank J. Aguilar proposed three resolutions to be adopted by the County Board. The first honored the late Chicago Pastor Rich Schuler. The second honored the late Mexican entertainer Xavier Lopez Rodriguez, also known as Chabelo. The final resolution adopted April as Arab American Heritage Month in Cook County.

On February 9, 2023, at the age of 68, Pastor Richard L. Schuler, better known as Pastor Rich, passed away.  Pastor Rich was a devout, lifelong follower of Christ, showing kindness and love to all who had the pleasure of meeting him. He was honest, caring, and generous and was always present and willing to help in his community.  In 2021, Pastor Rich got to live up to his full potential in the church when he had the immense honor of becoming an ordained pastor in the ECO, followed by becoming the pastor at CrossRoads Community Church.

Xavier López Rodríguez, better known as the Mexican children’s entertainer Chabelo, was born in Cook County on February 17th, 1935. He and his family settled in León, Guanajuato before being drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where he served honorably. 

In December of 2018, The Illinois General Assembly unanimously adopted a State Law designating the month of April as Arab American Heritage month. The State of Illinois has more than 450,000 citizens who are of Arab heritage, originating primarily from Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and 15 other Arab World countries, with the largest population living in Cook County.