CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Police accountability advocates are applauding Mayor Lightfoot’s appointments to the new interim civilian oversight panel, but they said there is a lot more work ahead.
Frank Chapman, head of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said a lot of people have died in the decades that he’s been fighting for police reform and the community hasn’t gotten justice. But, he said, now is the time.
“This is what we want justice to look like. We want justice to be the empowerment of the people,” Chapman said.
35th Ward Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said Mayor Lightfoot’s naming of the interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability is a milestone for those who’ve been pushing for civilian oversight for years.
“People have marched. People have come to city hall. People have emailed their legislator, people have called their legislators. We’ve had meetings with the mayor. There has been so much work to get us to this point,” said Ramirez-Rosa.
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But, he said the reward for all the hard work is more work. The advocates are urging people to run for the elected district councils that will be established in each of the city’s police districts.
Arewa Karen Winters, a community activist, is a candidate. She said her 16-year-old great-nephew was killed by police in 2016. She hopes to join a council to reign in over-policing of the African American community.
Winters said she’s confident they will continue to make a difference.
Jackie Baldwin, with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, was among those urging people to run for those district councils.
“This is a very important moment for Chicagoans. This is the time where we need people to step up. Step up and run for one of these 66 positions across the city,” Baldwin said.
Potential candidates can start collecting nominating petition signatures now.
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