[in person] 4th Police District Council - Avalon Park/South Chicago/East Side/Hegewisch

Criminal Justice

Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023
5:30 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. CDT

7059 S South Shore Dr, Chicago, Illinois 60649 Chicago, IL 60649 (Directions)

South Shore Cultural Center, Main Room

This is an in-person assignment and will include an additional hour of pay. On-site free parking and placards will be available to attendees.

Pre-Research Resources

The TRiiBE: “ECPS coalition wins a wide majority of Chicago’s new Police District Council seats”
City of Chicago: Official District Council webpage
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

Please double check the meeting details on the day of your assignment, as dates and locations sometimes change

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Live reporting by Ahmad Sayles

Community members received updates on the latest meeting of the nominating committee, a group of police district council members from across the city who are tasked with sending the mayor a shortlist of potential appointees to the seven-person Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA).

Ahmad Sayles

Good Evening! I’ll be live-tweeting the 4th Police District Council - Avalon Park/South Chicago/East Side/Hegewisch meeting for @CHIdocumenters #CHIdocumenters. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

05:23 PM Oct 12, 2023 CDT

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 2/20

Agenda here:

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 3/20

The 4th district consists of several neighborhoods on the Southeast side of Chicago - South Shore, Hegewisch, Pill Hill, Jeffery Manor, Calumet Heights, Avalon Park, South Chicago, South Deering, and the East Side.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 4/20

We are getting started at the South Shore Cultural Center at 7059 S. Shore Drive.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 5/20

More info about the 4th District Council

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 6/20

There are two members of the council here and we have met a quorum. The first item on the agenda is public comment.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 7/20

Betty Wilson from the 7th Ward asks that these meetings take place in a standard location. She doesn't like the moving of these meetings to various locations.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 8/20

The public comment period is over. Minutes from the August 16th meeting have been approved.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 9/20

A member of the CCSPA says that to serve the entirety of the 4th district, the meetings have been rotating locations.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 10/20

Anthony Driver, President of the CCPSA introduces him to the meeting attendees.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 11/20

President Driver details the CCPSA's role in getting rid of the gang database and picking Superintendent Snelling for the top cop position. He wants to focus on community engagement to get input on policy decisions.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 12/20

Interim President Driver is fielding questions from attendees. One question is whether CCPSA meetings are going to be available online. He says that the goal is to increase community engagement through Zoom and YouTube recordings.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 13/20

Interim President Driver encourages attendees to apply to be commissioners on the CCPSA. If you're interested in becoming a commissioner, applications open on January 8, 2024.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 14/20

Gwen Jones, a public speaker says she appreciates the South Shore Cultural Center for hosting the meeting but the acoustics are terrible. The room is huge and it's difficult to hear one another.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 15/20

Teresa Chandler, a 7th district council member says that the concerns and questions from the community won't be answered in person immediately. The questions are taken to the CCPSA to get detailed answers to their questions and concerns.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 16/20

A meeting attendee says she expects the district council members to have answers on the spot on issues of police accountability. Interim President Driver explains the process again and says that the commission is just a year old.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 17/20

4th district council member, Brenda Waters now gives a presentation further explaining the role of the council, the meetings, and the CCPSA.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 18/20

The crowd is complaining about having to travel so far to attend these meetings. District Council Member Jenkins says that the meetings have to rotate because of the size of the districts and their budget dictates where the meetings can be held.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 19/20

A survey is now being passed around for community input. With no further business to discuss, the meeting is over.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 20/20

The 4th Police District Council - Avalon Park/South Chicago/East Side/Hegewisch meeting is over at 6:53 p.m. This ends my coverage for @chidocumenters, find more information through Citlali Perez’s notes at documenters.org

documenters.org

View thread

Note-taking by Citlali Perez

View notes

Attachments

3 attachments

Agenda

By Grace Del Vecchio ⋅ October 12th, 2023

Detailed Agenda

By India Daniels ⋅ October 12th, 2023

Agenda

October 12th, 2023

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.