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

Chicago Police District Councils
Criminal Justice

11141 S Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60628 Chicago, IL 60628 (Directions)

Historic Pullman Foundation, Exhibit Hall

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

Live reporting by Sarina Shane

sarina @RMFITG 2/28
Meeting was called to order at 6:09 pm. The agenda is available here chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
sarina @RMFITG 3/28
all 3 members are present: Thomas McMahon, Ponchita Moore, and Robert McKay. DCM Robert McKay starts us with public comment.
sarina @RMFITG 4/28
There is no comment from the public so he takes time to explain how the time can be used before moving on to a review of previous minutes for review.
sarina @RMFITG 5/28
DC Moore talked about the mental health on 114th Indiana facility and invited them to come and talk about how the council can assist them in the future. Officer Williams clarified officers are familiar with and using the facility.
sarina @RMFITG 6/28
Residents talked about their support of keeping shotspotter. A resident offered to create flyers of crimes happening in the area. DC Thomas offered to bring COPA reports. I will try to get a picture of the previous meeting minutes. They are only available in print for CM.
sarina @RMFITG 7/28
These are the minutes up for approval!
sarina @RMFITG 8/28
The facility is called HRDI (Human Resources Development Institute, Inc) & located at 200 E. 115th Street*** They're able to help re-house up to a family of 10.
sarina @RMFITG 9/28
"the police department is not working with them to get the word out” recounts DC Moore from a conversation with their director.
sarina @RMFITG 10/28
Starting in Jan, a 7 person committee started their search for the New Chief Administrator of COPA. They received 112 applications, interviewed 34 people, then riddled it down to the 15 individuals to be given to the mayor for final selection. “it’s quite an array” - DC McMahon
sarina @RMFITG 11/28
Each interview lasted about an hour. The Mayor has 30 days to pick the from the list presented to him. If it goes outside the 30 days the process recycles and the nominations committee must re-submit names from the narrowed of 34.
sarina @RMFITG 12/28
Next we talked about the unreliable Gang Database being removed from use. It had to be dismantled because it was used in the wrong way” - DC Moore. cbsnews.com/chicago/news/o…
cbsnews.com/chicago/news/o…
sarina @RMFITG 13/28
“if the database has been dismantled is there another way they are being tracked?” - Pullman resident. Their question of 'what was/is the replacement' was unsatisfactorily given the answer of nothing.
sarina @RMFITG 14/28
The Minutes were approved and we moved on to the business of the day, reviewing the COPA report. chicagocopa.org/wp-content/upl…
chicagocopa.org/wp-content/upl…
sarina @RMFITG 15/28
“The consent decree has 799 [items] and we are not compliant yet.“ DC McKay goes on to say "The consent decree should be a priority.” goals include increased public safety, relationship between the department and public, funds are used responsibly chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
sarina @RMFITG 16/28
DC MaMahon clarifies "the consent decree is not taught fully to recruits but the policies and procedures are incorporated in their training.”
sarina @RMFITG 17/28
COPA is the clearing house. All complaints go through them. The following statistics and info will center the 5th district.
sarina @RMFITG 18/28
Complaints are up from 2022 to 2023. COPA took on 908 of the most egregious. 41 of those complaints come from the 5th district. This is the middle of the pack for reference.
sarina @RMFITG 19/28
1 incident can have multiple allegations. The total allegations for the 5th district is 159.
sarina @RMFITG 20/28
citywide “sizable increase in total number of complaints registered and officer shootings” - DC MaMahon
sarina @RMFITG 21/28
87 officers had 1 compliant in the 5th district. This is middle of the pack. District 24 has the lowest with 47 and District 7 is the highest with 109.
sarina @RMFITG 22/28
residents are wondering about the parameters of a compliant by the end of the COPA report share out. We have numbers with no context.
sarina @RMFITG 23/28
Residents Karen and Joe Citizen want a followup on outcomes from the COPA report. Others still have lingering questions about the gang database.. The atmosphere is a bit tense.
sarina @RMFITG 24/28
"Any database to follow has to down under the scrutiny of the community” - MC MaMahon in response an impromptu constituent poll (surveying by hand raise) who is interested in a gang database replacement. 4/13 yes! 2/13 (not including the 2 MC (Moore and Robert) are against it.
sarina @RMFITG 25/28
Residents are concerned about police becoming less responsive. The OEMC is the over shotspotter and 911. Cindy resident asks for a representative from the OEMC to be present at the next meeting.
sarina @RMFITG 26/28
"shottspotter is a tool! if you’re a bad actor then you need to be tracked.” - Cheryl a resident of the 9th ward’s final reflection on the gang database and shotspotter
sarina @RMFITG 27/28
"There’s still a gulf between the parameters of influence this organization has” reflects Joe Citizen on the different feels about civility. “What degree of technology do we use to arrest somebody?"
sarina @RMFITG 28/28
this meeting adjourned at 7:33p
Note-taking by Katrina Herring

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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