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).
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
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.
We are getting started at the South Shore Cultural Center at 7059 S. Shore Drive.
There are two members of the council here and we have met a quorum. The first item on the agenda is public comment.
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.
The public comment period is over. Minutes from the August 16th meeting have been approved.
A member of the CCSPA says that to serve the entirety of the 4th district, the meetings have been rotating locations.
Anthony Driver, President of the CCPSA introduces him to the meeting attendees.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
4th district council member, Brenda Waters now gives a presentation further explaining the role of the council, the meetings, and the CCPSA.
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.
A survey is now being passed around for community input. With no further business to discuss, the meeting is over.
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