Here is a letter that was sent to the City Committee on Budget and Government Operations and the Community Commission regarding the CPD budget and police accountability.

This year’s theme is Together, We Win! These questions can be used to guide conversation with your congregation after viewing the 2022 Annual Membership Assembly video. We would love to hear from you the thoughts and plans that came out of your discussion.

The Interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability held its first public meeting on September 29 at Malcolm X College. The over-capacity crowd of community members underscored the enthusiasm of organizers and community leaders from across the diverse makeup of the Chicago Metropolitan area.

The community members who served on the City of Chicago’s Use of Force Community Working Group released their first public report, which describes fundamental changes to Chicago Police Department (CPD) Use of Force policies and highlights ongoing deficiencies in need of immediate change.

What will the ECPS Ordinance do? What is the community commission on public safety? What are district councils? How does the ordinance create an opportunity for additional democratic reform?

The Community Commission for Public Safety & Accountability will host its first public meeting, which is the culmination of a years-long effort that included tens of thousands of people in communities across the city.

In honor of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety Ordinance's first anniversary on July 21, ECPS supporting organizations took action on July 21 and July 22 by participating in a Phone Zap Action to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Office where callers demanded accountability around the ECPS Interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability.

On Wednesday, June 29, 2022 the Empowering Communities for Public Safety Coalition was awarded The Woods Fund of Chicago Power of Community Award at the Local Initiatives Support Corp.

To stop violence, we need investments in our communities. That's why 65 organizations from across Chicago are demanding that Mayor Lightfoot focus on addressing the root causes of harm rather than increasing punishment.

You can now apply to first job openings with the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability: First Deputy Director, Deputy Director for the Commission, and Executive Administrative Assistant.

It is important to note that the call for accountability and justice is not simply about putting officers in jail. Rather, it is a demand that those who kill our loved ones be made to answer for those killings in the full view of the public. It is, as many have said, the least we should expect.

In this month of Black History, as we reflect on the accomplishments and achievements of Black people, we must remember the lives lost to systemic white violence. We must go farther than remembering, we must dedicate ourselves and our resources to building a world committed to Black living and Black thriving as opposed to Black death.

“After learning of the murder of 22-year-old Amir Locke, shot to death in his bed as Minneapolis police used a no-knock warrant to enter his home, I expressed to friends my profound grief. I expressed that I have no new words and that my lexicon feels exhausted from decrying police brutality and militarized tactics that result in these fatal narratives – too often excessively impacting Black and Brown people.”

The undersigned are among the almost 1.5 million people who voted for you in 2016 to end the nightmare of police crimes in Black and Latino communities.

Prayers of Thanksgiving, In Memory of Ahmaud Arbery

Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Waltrina Middleton, reflects on all the work we’ve been doing to advocate for social and economic justice and eliminate barriers of race and class over the past year.

Learn more about ECPS and how you can get involved by attending one of our teach-ins!

While these new laws bring us steps closer to the Illinois we want to live in, the work is not done. All of us must continue to do the good work of organizing our communities, taking action and demanding meaningful change!

On July 21, 2021 The Empowering Communities for Public Safety Ordinance passed! This achievement could not have happened without your involvement and the support of these Alderpeople. Please take the time to thank them.

by Rev. Karen Mooney, Executive Co-Director - Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of IL