August 6
A meeting of the 1st Police District Council—Downtown/South Loop/Near South Side was shorter than expected because the scheduled guest speakers—staff from the Democratic National Convention (DNC)—were not present. The 1st Police District Council, which covers parts of the Loop to the Near South Side and spans seven different aldermanic wards, saw most of the DNC traffic Aug. 19 to Aug. 22, with daytime programming at McCormick Place and evening events at the United Center. The Council encouraged community members to attend DNC security meetings on August 7 and warned that traffic and parking would be heavily restricted. According to the municipal code, each of the twenty-two district councils fulfills several roles, including “building stronger connections between the police and the community,” collaborating to develop local policing initiatives and to implement them, and conducting monthly meetings open to the public. Residents of each district elect the three members serving on each of the councils every four years.
August 8
At their meeting the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Board of Commissioners heard about how amendments to stormwater regulations could affect flooding and contamination of rivers in the Chicago area. Tessa Murray, watershed policy manager for Friends of the Chicago River, spoke to several amendments of the Watershed Management Ordinance proposed in May. Murray said amendments made to the volume control requirements, which apply to the management of stormwater, could negatively impact areas prone to flooding and create an environment in which toxic stormwater could contaminate the Chicago and Calumet rivers. Murray spoke in favor of an amendment that expands protections for “riparian zones,” which border bodies of water and drainage areas: “With climate change, extreme storms and flooding are only becoming more common in the region, and the purpose of the Watershed Management Ordinance [WMO] is to protect our communities…We believe the district’s WMO should be strengthened over time, not weakened.” The nine commissioners serve six-year terms. Three are elected at large every two years.
August 10
During their meeting, members of the 10th Police District Council—Little Village/North Lawndale/Heart of Chicago stressed the need for de-escalation and anti-violence work amid a rise in shootings in the community. Residents of the district recently held a prayer vigil for a three-month-old baby and a twenty-one-year-old man who were in critical condition after being injured in a drive-by shooting last month. Council members called for an expansion of community-based de-escalation programs, including the Flatlining Violence Inspires Peace (FLIP) program. FLIP hires and trains residents who might be impacted by gun violence in how to de-escalate potentially violent situations.
August 14
At a meeting of the Chicago Transit Board, CTA President Dorval Carter assured members and attendees that the CTA would be prepared to meet transportation needs related to the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. “We will be ready to put on the best face of public transportation for the entire country,” Carter said. Completion of the Damen Green Line stop had been fast-tracked to meet convention travel demands. He then switched gears to discuss the 5.6-mile Red Line Extension project. Carter said he rode the bus as a child and had been hearing about plans to extend the Red Line his whole life (the 95th/Dan Ryan terminus opened in 1969). Attendees praised the project as “transformative.” Plans call for four new stations to be added and extend south to 130th Street. Connections at the stations will offer bus, bike, pedestrian, and park-and-ride facilities.
Panelists and attendees at a special hearing of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) discussed the need for a City office to support neighborhood-based initiatives to prevent gun violence. During public comment, several people involved with Giving Others Dreams (G.O.D.), spoke in favor of gun violence prevention. G.O.D. is an organization that provides re-entry and support services to women and families impacted by violence and the legal justice system. Former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson spoke on behalf of ShotSpotter, saying it was “mind-boggling” that the City would try to reduce violence without using the controversial gunshot detection technology. A City Council ordinance enacted in July 2021 created the CCPSA and district councils. The CCPSA is charged with systemic reform, and the goals of the elected district council members are to improve policing and public safety within their districts.
August 15
In anticipation of a “temporary increase in complaints” during the Democratic National Convention, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) launched a special dashboard for DNC-related police misconduct allegations, the Chicago Police Board learned at its meeting. The board is “an independent civilian body that decides disciplinary cases” involving Chicago police, according to the board’s website. As of press time, the dashboard showed that eight complaints had been logged during the DNC. Witnesses to alleged police misconduct would be able to email photo, video, or other evidence to DNC-COPA@ChicagoCOPA.org. COPA does not have jurisdiction over non-Chicago law enforcement (such as the officers from Wisconsin). It has stated that it will direct other complaints to the appropriate oversight entities. Several public commenters called for justice for twenty-four-year-old Reginald Clay, Jr., who was shot by a police officer during a foot chase on April 15, 2023.
During a meeting of the Chicago Plan Commission, Anton Seals, executive director of Grow Greater Englewood, said a plan to guide development around the Englewood Nature Trail will be successful if the neighborhood remains affordable and the life expectancy gap between area residents and those in wealthier parts of the city decreases. Known as the Englewood Agro-Eco District Land Use Plan, the development guide was released just this month. A 2019 New York University study that explored life expectancy and racial segregation in major cities ranked Chicago among the top offenders, Seals said. The Commission voted to adopt the plan, along with development proposals from Sunshine Community Development Corporation in Woodlawn and a compost facility linked to Urban Growers Collective in Auburn Gresham. The Chicago Plan Commission is responsible for reviewing proposed public lands sales and acquisitions and some long-range community plans. More specifically, the Commission considers proposals involving planned developments (PDs), the Lakefront Protection Ordinance, planned manufacturing districts (PMDs), and industrial corridors and tax increment financing (TIF) districts.
This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org.