February 5
A Local School Council Advisory Board (LSCAB) Candidate Forum for the East Central region introduced candidates virtually using Zoom. During what was one of six forums held throughout the city’s Chicago Public School networks, candidates were asked about their background, why they wanted to serve, and something they wanted to be remembered for, according to City Bureau’s Newswire. Ten of the fourteen candidates attended. The role of the advisory boards is to advise the Board of Education on issues related to “Local School Council elections, operations, powers, and duties, and school improvement plans,” according to the LSCAB website. Local School Council (LSC) members may vote on advisory board candidates from February 10 to April 2. A Local School Council “serve[s] as the governing body of the school,” explains the LSC website. The goal of LSCs is to support “participatory democracy” by enabling educators, parents, students, and community members to make decisions about local education.
February 6
At its meeting, six members of the nine-member Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Board of Commissioners were present to consider twenty-six agenda items. Among the eighteen approved items were authorizations to advertise contracts for “truck scale maintenance at various locations” estimated to cost $82,000; “boiler tuning and maintenance services at various locations” estimated at $1.2 million, and “professional auditing service” estimated at $1.45 million. One item was deferred for later consideration: the authority to extend an agreement with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office to support its Prescription Drug Take-Back Program for one year with a payment of up to $80,000. Illinois law requires that pharmaceutical companies dispose of unused drugs. “The burden ought to be shifted back to the pharmaceutical companies to save taxpayer money,” said MWRD Commissioner Cameron Davis.
February 7
At its meeting, the Chicago City Council Committee on Finance held a subject matter hearing on the topic of municipal depositories and how the City selects them, conducted by City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin. “We are investing in these smaller to mid-sized banks because we want them to do business with our community members,” Conyears-Ervin told the Committee. Sixteen institutions applied and fifteen were selected, according to acting comptroller for the City, Joe Flors. Anthony E. Simpkins, president and CEO of the Neighborhood Housing Services, said Chicago reflects the national thirty percent disparity between Black home ownership and white home ownership, which contributes to the racial wealth gap. Chicago should work only with institutions that lend and invest in all neighborhoods, he explained, and that will not abandon their commitments to racial and economic equity. Horacio Méndez, CEO and president of the Woodstock Institute, a nonprofit research and policy organization whose goal is to “advance economic justice and racial equity within financial systems,” said banks that applied have improved their percentage of minority mortgage loan borrowers.
February 10
At its meeting, the Missing and Murdered Chicago Women Task Force reviewed the Measuring Safety Annual Data Report, a comprehensive overview of the statewide response to gender-based violence in 2022. The task force has noted that overall domestic-violence-related shootings, injuries, and deaths have decreased in Chicago. Believed to be due to an increase in firearms purchases during the pandemic, however, lethal domestic gun violence has increased statewide. Produced by The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, the report found that domestic violence drives firearm-facilitated murder-suicides in Illinois and across the country, noting that lethal domestic violence disproportionately affects people of color. On February 10, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Karina’s Law, named after a woman in Little Village who was murdered by her husband. A press release explained that the law “allows local law enforcement agencies to promptly confiscate firearms from any individual whose Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card has been revoked due to restraining orders,” also known as protection orders. Such measures are often put in place after law enforcement becomes aware of abuse. Proponents say the legislation will help better protect survivors of domestic violence.
February 11
The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate at its meeting was set to consider eight candidates for the fifteen-member board of The Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, a city organization that helps low-income residents find housing. The matter was put on hold after Council members said the candidate pool didn’t represent the city’s diversity. Chicago’s first chief homelessness officer, Sendy Soto, said city leaders reached out to organizations citywide, including the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Illinois Justice Project. But Council members voiced concern over lack of representation of South and West Side communities. “It ain’t enough to say that y’all want representation from our ward and y’all have one person,” said Council Member Jeanette Taylor (20th Ward). “This work is urgent and we need to fill these vacancies,” said Committee Chair Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward). “But we want to do it intentionally and mindfully especially when it comes to representation.” The Committee also considered transactions involving more than twenty City-owned properties.
February 12
“Saving one life using this pilot program would be worthwhile,” said CTA Chair Lester L. Barclay at a regular meeting of the Chicago Transit Authority’s Chicago Transit Board. Based on artificial intelligence (AI) methodology, the program is expected to improve staff response times, prevent injuries, and address safety issues while reducing service delays. Speaking about the CTA’s anticipated budget gap between operating costs and revenue, the Rev. Dr. L. Bernard Jakes said, “The public needs to be aware and assist us in participating in lobbying and advocating… because it is going to affect ridership and service.” Over the next few years the agency faces a major shortfall that could lead to a significant decline in service. The 2024 operating reserve balance can sustain existing funding, the Board learned.
February 13
At its meeting, the Chicago Police District Councils 15th Police District Council—Austin received an update on the six-month Community-Police Mediation Pilot Program from Daisha Muhammed of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). A consent decree requires the City of Chicago and CPD to “reform training, policies, and practices in… use of force, community policing, impartial policing, training, officer wellness, data information systems, and more,” according to the program’s website. The pilot ran from October 2022 through March 2023. Citizen complaints against CPD were mediated using a third-party mediator. Successful mediation was defined as “a process in which the parties have heard, clarified, and understood the issues and each other’s point of view,” states the program’s website. “The mediation may or may not result in an agreement.” The City’s Office of the Inspector General for 2023 reported that the program resolved six cases.
This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org.