Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign
This is a postscript to “Lightning Doesn’t Strike Twice,” an essay on the one year anniversary of the Black Friday 2015 protests against the police killing of Laquan McDonald.
I Was There
A reflection on invisibility
Police
A Fundamental Loss of Freedom
Forrest Stuart and Jamie Kalven on the toll of hyper-policing
Courtesy of the Seminary Co-op
Forrest Stuart, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Chicago, joined Jamie Kalven, writer and executive director of the Invisible Institute, at the Seminary Co-Op last Wednesday to speak about Stuart’s new book Down, Out, and Under Arrest: Policing and Everyday Life in Skid Row.
CAPS and Restorative Justice, Explained
This report was produced in collaboration with City Bureau, a Chicago-based journalism lab. It is part of a series of “Explainers” that provide background on important topics relating to policing and criminal justice in Chicago. The full series is available here.
Learn From Each Other
A beat meeting facilitator on building trust between the community and the police
Leonard McGee, photographed by Maria Cardona / City Bureau.
This report was produced in collaboration with City Bureau, a Chicago-based journalism lab. An introduction to important concepts relating to CAPS and restorative justice can be found here.
Section 8.4
The unstable future of the city’s police misconduct records
Baci Weiler
These arbitration awards are not the end of the battle over these records, as both Crystal and Roumell’s decisions simply continue the preservation of the documents. Though the awards are legally binding, they are subject to appeal, and both Kalven and Futterman hedged when discussing their merits with the Sun-Times, calling them “sort of a reprieve,” and a “timeout,” respectively.
A CPD Reading List
Over the years, journalists have covered the Chicago police from every angle, documenting not only police violence against communities of color but also the Department’s internal methods for protecting officers and disguising the truth about performance and misconduct. In light of the release of the Police Accountability Task Force report, the Weekly has collected here some of the most impactful and relevant coverage of the CPD.
What’s at stake in the Justice Department’s investigation of the CPD?
A consent decree could lead to substantial changes in how the CPD uses force and handles complaints.
Listening to a Chaotic Place
Marcello Siggers on police and radio scanners in Chicagoland
Ellen Hao
“I’ve heard those calls before.”
Paper Trail
What are the consequences of destroying police misconduct files?
Ellie Mejía
“These records are vital to our work, and their destruction would pose a great challenge to our ability to investigate these cases.” Robert Olmstead
The Numbers Game
What's the truth behind IPRA's statistics?
Ellie Mejia
“The numbers might look good,” Davis said, “but [those programs] sacrifice the quality of investigation.”