[in person] 5th Police District Council - Roseland/Pullman/Riverdale

Chicago Police District Councils
Criminal Justice

955 E. 131st St. Chicago, IL 60827 (Directions)

Altgeld Gardens Community Center

This is an in-person assignment and will include an additional hour of pay. PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK the meeting details 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

Note-taking by Katrina A. Herring

Live reporting by Parker Garlough

Parker Garlough @parker_garlough
Hi, I’ll be live-tweeting today's Police District Council Meeting (5th district—Roseland/Pullman/Riverdale) for #CHIdocumenters @CHIdocumenters

05:53 PM Apr 22, 2024 CDT

Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 2/35
The meeting has begun.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 3/35
There was no public comment.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 4/35
@ChicagosMayor is 2 weeks late on selecting 7 COPA comissioners from a list of 15 submitted by this police council, district councilor Thomas McMahon said.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 5/35
CPD and the City of Chicago only comply with 5% of the Consent Decree, 5 years after it was first put in place, district council chair Robert McKay said. To his knowledge, there have not been, and will not be, consequences for this noncompliance.
chicago.gov/city/en/sites/…
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 7/35
Increasing compliance is a top priority of the superintendent, McMahon said, but could not provide examples of action he had taken toward this goal.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 8/35
"Bottom line, if I see police abusing their authority, who do I call?" asked an attendee who did not introduce themself. District councilor Ponchita Moore advised calling @ChicagoCOPA first, and said filing a complaint with @Chicago_Police is also an option.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 9/35
Each councilor introduced themself, since multiple new attendees were present.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 10/35
McKay is considering running for school board because school closings are an unfair disinvestment from communities and create safety issues, he said.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 11/35
Moore said she decided the 5th police district council should hold meetings at rotating locations throughout the 5th district so places like Altgeld Gardens aren't left out, as an attendee said they often are.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 12/35
In response to a question about whether the councilors had been arrested, Moore and McKay responded yes. McMahon did not respond.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 13/35
The experience of being arrested can be traumatizing, Moore said, and her own experiences with police officers have been a large part of her motivation for being part of the police district council.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 14/35
Brianna Payton, from the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice, and Megan Merrill, Systems Advocacy Coordinator for the Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence, have begun presenting on the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act, which ended money bond.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 15/35
Prior to the Pretrial Fairness Act, bond decisions were made in minutes or seconds, Payton said. Now, that time is closer to 20-30 min and involves more careful consideration.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 16/35
pretrialfairness.org
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 17/35
"Money bonds don't do what they claim to do," Payton said. Only 20% of bond money was returned, and money bonds did not make people more likely to come to court—things like reminders were more impactful.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 18/35
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"It only takes incarceration for a few hours to be at risk of losing your job," Payton said. This can have an adverse chain reaction, such as the possibility of losing housing or custody of children.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 20/35
"Within the jail, they're exposed to all other types of harms," she elaborated, such as being denied life-saving medicine, being bitten by rodents, and having an increased suicide risk—higher than that of prison.
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"Most people who commit suicide in jail do it within the first week," Payton said. "That's a main reason why we felt the need to fight against pretrial detention, because they're subjected to conditions nobody should be subjected to."
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"Detention hearings are much more involved [than bond hearings]," Payton said. There are arguments and witnesses on both sides.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 24/35
Conditions for detention: probable cause that a crime was committed, clear and present danger to the community, high risk of willful flight
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A major improvement of the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act is that domestic violence survivors are advised of every court date (bond hearings were previously excepted), and are thoroughly informed of their rights, Merrill said.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 26/35
"One thing we do not apologize for is that this is meant to decrease pretrial incarceration," which can increase the risk of committing future crimes, Payton said.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 27/35
In locations where money bond has been ended, Payton said, it has not resulted in a rise in violence.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 28/35
"When people are not incarcerated pretrial," Merrill said, "it is far easier for them to participate in their own defense."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 29/35
Payton noticed that these numbers will likely fluctuate because the Pretrial Fairness Act was implemented very recently.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 30/35
The proposed next step:
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 31/35
"They [judges] view setting bonds as a way to detain people without actually going through the legal process to detail people before trial," Payton said.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 32/35
"The legal system is not known for owning its own criminality and its own wrongdoing," Payton said, in reference to people who are found not guilty but received no restitution for the harm they experienced as a result of pretrial detention.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 33/35
McMahon said he believes the increased thoroughness of detention hearings is much more beneficial and fair.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 34/35
The meeting is adjourned. The next police district council meeting will take place on Thursday, May 16th at 6 pm at Altgeld Gardens Public Library.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 35/35
During the meeting, an attendee asked a question referencing McMahon's former employment as a police officer. He seemed defensive (it was not the first time this comment was made) and stated that he hadn't been an officer for 14 years. They are now discussing this comment.

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.

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