[remote or in person] 2nd Police District Council - Bronzeville/Washington Park/Hyde Park

Criminal Justice

Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024
10:30 a.m. CST

4351 S Drexel Blvd, Chicago, Illinois 60653 Chicago, IL 60653 (Directions)

We anticipate that you will have the option to attend this meeting in-person or remotely. As of this writing, an agenda has not yet been posted but past agendas have included a Zoom link.

If you attend this meeting in person, you will include an additional hour of pay. PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK the meeting details and agenda on the day of your assignment, as dates and locations sometimes change.

Pre-Research Resources

City Bureau: “Can the Neighbors We Elect to Police District Councils Redefine Public Safety?”
City Bureau” “Chicago’s New Police District Councils, 4 Months In”
Find My Beat and District: Interactive map of police district boundaries
Chicago Reader/Block Club Chicago: Information about the candidates who ran for this council in the municipal elections
The TRiiBE: “ECPS coalition wins a wide majority of Chicago’s new Police District Council seats”

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Live reporting by Allison Leon

Residents receive stats on police officers trained in Crisis Intervention Training.

Allison @leonad49

Hi, I’ll be live-tweeting today's 2nd Police District Council meeting at 4351 S Drexel Ave for #CHIdocumenters @CHIdocumenters

10:37 AM Jan 20, 2024 CST

Allison @leonad49 2/28

Meeting is called to order at 10:35a. Quorum is established. Meeting begins with a presentation on Crisis Intervention Training from Lieutenant Joseph Schuler

Allison @leonad49 3/28

Lt. Schuler goes over the process of a Crisis Intervention report. He states that the point of this kind of training and intervention is to reduce 911 calls and reduce incarceration. In instances of mental health crisis, officers make referrals to community org, like NAMI

Allison @leonad49 4/28

From Schuler: Annually there are 60,000 OEMC calls involving mental health. 60% of responding officers are CIT trained. With the consent decree, the goal is to get that number to 75%

Allison @leonad49 5/28

A challenge posed to increasing the number of CIT officers responding is how often trained officers move in and out of patrol.

Allison @leonad49 6/28

Schuler also highlights response to narcotics crisis. Officers work with community organizations Threshold to take individuals that meet a criteria of certain charges, 18+, and with no other charges. These individuals receive treatment and no arrest is on their record.

Allison @leonad49 7/28

Schuler points that the Pretrial Fairness Act has made coordination with Threshold difficult, as it requires individuals be released immediately which often does not coincide with Threshold's working hours.

Allison @leonad49 8/28

As of January 1st, there are currently 4,300 CIT trained officers. There isn't information as to how many of these officers are responding officers.

Allison @leonad49 9/28

There are questions from community members on the Crisis Assistance and Response Engagement. Lt. Schuler gives a brief overview of the program. The program is only in a few districts with the goal of expanding to city wide "We're figuring out what works best for the community."

Allison @leonad49 10/28

Nominating Committee member Ephraim Lee asks if CIT is tracking any demographic information such as age or gender. Schuler is not sure if that is being tracked but agrees it would be good information to track.

Allison @leonad49 11/28

Committee member answers that OEMC has that information and you would need to call them for that.

Allison @leonad49 12/28

Lee also asks whether CIT recruits individuals with a background in psychology or social work. Schuler says there is recruitment within the unit, but not on a department level. The Safety Act also requires that all recruits get 8 hours of CIT training.

Allison @leonad49 13/28

It is required by the State that officers must be at least 2 yrs on the force to become CIT certified.

Allison @leonad49 14/28

Schuler ends. Public comment is open. There are five community members attending.

Allison @leonad49 15/28

First public comment is in response to a comment from Alderman Taylor that officers should pay for their settlement. Community member shares the sentiment but feels that the solution is impractical, but would like to see follow through on this idea.

Allison @leonad49 16/28

11th District Member Bryan Ramson is in attendance and adds that Ald. Taylor was referencing insurance premiums. Lee begins to respond, but Kline calls a point of order that council members don't respond during public comments. Perez allows it.

Allison @leonad49 17/28

Lee responds with the point that the goal is to find an incentive to change the behavior. Kline shares that that she is working to bring the city risk management and police risk management in conversation to change financial incentives to correct behavior.

Allison @leonad49 18/28

Public comment on the arbitration contract not being shared publicly w/o FOIA. There a question of transparency. Kline shares that ECPS coalition highlights that city council will vote on Wednesday, and Ald. Cruz, Ald. Lee, and Ald. Lawson are key aldermen to push to a "no"

Allison @leonad49 19/28

A vote of no would push the issue to court. To learn more about police misconduct arbitration that will be voted on Wednesday in City Council:

chicagoreader.com/news-politics/…

Allison @leonad49 20/28

Public comment ends. Next item is district council member updates

Allison @leonad49 21/28

Lee shares that CCPSA is still seeking applications until Feb.7. He emphasizes the importance of the role and urges people to apply. .

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…

Allison @leonad49 22/28

Kline asks that her updates be shared as an attachment. Perez objects. Kline shares updates verbally. Notably, she shares her support for Clayton Harris for Distrct Attorney. She notes Council member Ramsen also attended a fundraiser with her for Harris.

Allison @leonad49 23/28

Kline also notes her objection to the district council using special meetings to discuss district goals. She notes the next special meeting on Jan.28 will discuss fiscal
goals. She asks this be moved to a regular monthly meeting. Perez objects. Kline will not attend.

Allison @leonad49 24/28

Perez shares that the special meetings were set up to proactively discuss goals and use community input. A handout with the resulting goals were passed. Perez goes through the list of goals.

Allison @leonad49 25/28

Kline makes a point of order that this is not Perez report. She also states that these goals were not made with her input. She was not able to attend and asked for accommodations. Kline objects to the goals, noted they don't include police misconduct accountability

Allison @leonad49 26/28

Kline shares that she has drafted her own goals that include a greater focus on accountability for police misconduct, which she asked to be attached as an appendix to the existing meeting notes. Perez and Lee object to this. Kline does not approve meeting notes

Allison @leonad49 27/28

Perez hands out this letter, stating that Kline has a history of missing meetings and has not apologized for previous comments. Kline states that the 3rd party involved in the letter is not present and had asked that this not be continued. Perez: Kline lies every chance she gets

Allison @leonad49 28/28

Previous meeting notes are approved with 2 votes. Kline notes her objection. Meeting is adjourned 12:20pm

View thread

Agency Information

Chicago Police District Councils

See meeting notes for details

www.chicago.gov

See Documenters reporting

Each of the 22 District Councils is made up of three people elected by residents of the police district in regular municipal elections every four years, though anyone can participate in District Council work, and the more people who participate, the more effective the District Councils can be. The first District Council elections occurred in February 2023. Just as Chicagoans vote for a mayor and a local ward Alderperson, they also vote for up to three people to serve on the District Council.

The District Councils have several key roles:

Building stronger connections between the police and the community at the district level, where the community is a true partner in making the neighborhood safer. They can work with the police to address problems and set priorities.
Collaborating in the development and implementation of community policing initiatives.
Holding monthly public meetings, where residents can work on local initiatives rooted in community concerns and priorities. They can also raise and work to address concerns about policing in the district, and increase accountability.
Working with the community to get input on police department policies and practices. Working to develop and expand restorative justice and similar programs in the police district.
Ensuring that the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability gets input from the community, so that the Commission’s work will be based on what people in neighborhoods across the city are concerned about.
Nominating members of the Community Commission. Anyone who serves on the Community Commission must first have the support of elected District Council members.

(Source: Municipal Code of Chicago, 2-80-070(a) and (e))

For a map of police districts, visit https://www.chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php#/?places_type=chipolicedistrict.