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Dear Friend,

Our next District Council meeting is this Wednesday! We’ll feature a speaker from the Neighborhood Policing Initiative, which has worked with CPD to pilot community-centered public safety strategies in several Chicago police districts. Please join us! Here are the details:

Wednesday, March 20, 6:30 p.m.

Sulzer Regional Library
4455 N. Lincoln Ave.

The Neighborhood Policing Initiative, or NPI, is a program from the NYU School of Law Policing Project designed to improve relations between police and the communities they serve. NPI works with specialized officers who can take more time away from constant calls for service to get to know their neighbors and work toward both short- and long-term safety solutions. At the same time, residents are empowered to identify specific issues and co-produce public safety along with the police.

NPI has operated in as many as ten Chicago police districts for the past few years. But a lack of resources and institutional commitment to the program has made for mixed results. This discussion will help us understand what has worked, what hasn’t, and what might be needed to make this philosophy of community policing more successful going forward. RSVP here.

We’re a bit behind on our updates this month because a LOT has been happening. Read on, and we’ll see you Wednesday!

In community,

Maurilio, Jenny, and Sam

19th Police District Council

Note from Sam: Historic Nominations to the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability

The District Council Nominating Committee voted on March 8, 2024 to nominate Chicagoans to serve on the CCPSA for the very first time.

I was proud last Friday to vote for nominees to serve on the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability—the first time nominees were selected by directly elected Police District Councilors across Chicago.

As you may know, the seven-member Commission exercises broad powers over policing and public safety, including nominating the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, approving or rejecting CPD policy, overseeing the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, and more.

The Commission's authority was always designed to come from the people of Chicago. So, to ensure community accountability, the Mayor may only appoint Commissioners nominated by a committee of elected Police District Councilors.

As a member of the District Council Nominating Committee, I worked over the last eight months with a diverse set of 21 other District Councilors to run this nomination process for the very first time. It took immense effort under tight deadlines. In the end, the Nominating Committee reviewed 120 applications from an impressive group of Chicagoans, interviewed 33 top candidates over two full weekends, and chose 15 to nominate to Mayor Johnson.

Through all that, the Nominating Committee established criteria to identify highly qualified candidates, figured out how to operate and make decisions as a new deliberative body, and sought consensus wherever possible. This was not easy. But I'm incredibly proud to say we succeeded.

Here are the nominees, including the Chicago region they would represent and any special qualifications for Commission members as defined by city ordinance:

• Jose Abonce (South Side resident, community organizer)

• Anthony Driver, Jr. (South Side resident, community organizer)

• Bernardo Gomez (North Side resident, between the ages of 18-24)

• Aaron Gottlieb (North Side resident)

• Nakiyah Matthews (West Side resident, between the ages of 18-24)

• Art Mitchell (North Side resident)

• Abierre Minor (South Side resident, between the ages of 18-24)

• Angel Rubi Navarijo (North Side resident, between the ages of 18-24)

• Kelly Presley (West Side resident, attorney)

• Deondre Rutues (West Side resident)

• Nyshana Sumner (South Side resident, attorney)

• Remel Terry (West Side resident, community organizer)

• Hon. Edward Washington II (South Side resident, attorney)

• La’Mont Williams (South Side resident)

• Sandra Wortham (South Side resident, attorney)

My congratulations to all of the nominees. The decision for the final Commission now moves to Mayor Johnson. I'm excited we reached this milestone, and look forward to refining and building on this new democratic model in the months ahead.

You can read more about the historic vote and the nominees in coverage from the Chicago Tribune and WTTW.

February Meeting Recap: CPD Consent Decree with Independent Monitor Maggie Hickey

We were thrilled to be joined at our February District Council meeting by Maggie Hickey, the Independent Monitor appointed by the federal court to oversee Chicago’s compliance with the CPD Consent Decree. And we were doubly happy to welcome neighboring District Councilors from the 17th, 20th, and 24th Police Districts for the discussion!

Monitor Hickey took us through the city’s progress ensuring CPD fully complies with the Consent Decree. And while there has been progress, it remains slow. CPD has reached full compliance with only 6% of reform goals set out in the Consent Decree through the Independent Monitor’s last reporting period.

But there is hope ahead. Monitor Hickey was especially pleased that the City Council heard our voices and directed CPD to undertake a workforce allocation study in the coming months. Progress on nearly every Consent Decree goal is made more difficult because of inefficient staffing at CPD. A true understanding of CPD’s workforce can help pave the way to full Consent Decree compliance—which, in turn, is essential for a constitutional, fair, and effective police force that keeps us all safe.

Plus, we were proud to host Monitor Hickey for her first-ever Police District Council meeting. One of our goals when we ran for District Council was to promote full implementation of the Consent Decree. We look forward to working with Monitor Hickey and the whole Independent Monitoring Team on ways we can achieve meaningful reform along with CPD right here in the 19th Police District.

Didn’t make the meeting? No problem! Check out the presentation and a recording of Monitor Hickey’s talk.

Provide Your Input on Priorities for CPD Officer Training

The Chicago Police Department is seeking feedback on the training it provides to CPD officers.

Every year, CPD provides training to officers to ensure they are performing their jobs safely and fairly.

Community feedback is important to identify training needs for police officers. In partnership with the University of Chicago Survey Lab, CPD is conducting a survey to learn what people think police training should focus on. CPD would like your input about the areas that you think CPD officers would benefit from training.

Click here to take this voluntary and confidential survey. It should take about 5 minutes to complete.

CCPSA Lunch & Learn Webinar: Prohibitions on Associations with Criminal and Biased Organizations

On Monday, March 18th at 12:00 p.m., Interim CCPSA Commissioners Remel Terry and Yvette Loizon will host a Lunch & Learn Webinar on the CPD Associations Order, which prohibits officers from active membership in criminal or biased organizations like the Oath Keepers. Commissioners will provide residents with an update on additions to the Associations Order, specifically outlining reporting and transparency requirements. Register for the webinar here.