The 14th district council is hosting a free, three-hour self-defense workshop on Saturday, May 10 from 1 pm to 4 pm at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse due to community concerns surrounding recent assaults in the area.
Reporting from the livestream for @chidocumenters.bsky.social on the CCPSA District 14 Meeting. The stream is experiencing some audio difficulty cutting in and out
01:10 PM Apr 5, 2025 CDT
Ashley Vargas is not present for the meeting. Council Members Christopher M. Laurent and David Orlikoff kicked off the meeting at 1:07
In the public comment section, a woman commented on an open police case which was the sole comment for a short section from the public.
Mr. Orlikoff now kicks off a portion on community safety. He mentions that flyers on public safety are available on a table.
Mr. Laurent responds to the public comment by saying that there is a suspect in the case brought up and that a case is being built before bringing them in for questioning. He apologizes for the speed of action but acknowledges the “glimmer of hope” surrounding the active nature of the case.
Mr. Orlikoff leads a section commenting on policy. Unfortunately the audio has completely cut out on the live stream, and much of the speech is unintelligible.
Mr. Orlikoff mentions an event Saturday May 10 from 1-4pm. Details cannot be heard
The pair moves forward to approve previous minutes but then diverts. Mr. Laurent shares the opportunity to attend a ten week Police-run training course. Mr. Orlikoff shares information on COPA
Although it is not a period of public comment, members of the crowd continue to ask questions, and the two District Council members are running the meeting as more of a Q&A than a regular CCPSA meeting.
The meeting is called back to order. They move to approve temporary minutes while waiting on the arrival of the official minutes. Beginning with the February meeting notes, the pair discusses the contents of notes and makes adjustments to public comment logs
Mr. Orlikoff steps up to address the absence of Ms. Vargas. He notes that she has many other roles and conflicts that prevented her from making it.
The council members discuss reasons behind not approving minutes and note that they are waiting for Ms. Vargas. They debate closing the meeting early and calling a special meeting later in the afternoon for when Ms. Vargas shows up. Mr. Laurent debates a change to the bylaws that would allow them to
… vote on minutes more efficiently moving forward. The council flounders in their inefficiency over the inability to publish minutes. The crowd asks a few clarifying questions as to why the council cannot accomplish anything under current rules.
They continue to aimlessly pass time while waiting for the project manager to bring minutes to the meeting.