Police District Councils are part of the framework created by the passage of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance in 2021. The councils, one for each of the 22 police districts in the city, each have three elected members.

Their role is to engage in community around police accountability, to nominate members for the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) Board, and to build a relationship for feedback with the District themselves, including the commander.

The 25th Police District covers parts of the west and northwest sides, including Montclare, Hermosa and North Austin. The members of the District Council were just elected and seated this March and all three members were endorsed by the ECPS coalition. thetriibe.com/2023/03/ecps-c…

Here is the agenda. The three members are Jacob Arena - Chair Angelica P Green - Nominating Committee Saul Arellano -Community Engagements

Things haven't quite gotten started, but we are gathered in a meeting room in the back. Saul let the attendees know that the Cafe is part of Centro San Bonifacio, a community org.

Councilor Angelica is joining remotely. And there is a staffer for CCPSA that is also calling in to the meeting, and is on her way. There are three public attendees.

Chair Arena is calling the roll. We have a quorum. Councilor Arellano is speaking about the agenda. He says this is a special meeting, designed to set up systems for the upcoming year. On the agenda, communications, locations, and an amendment to the bylaws.

Chair Arena is saying that they are expanding their social footprint. And speaks to a lack of community acknowledgement. He speaks to some video content, an ad, that they have created.

Chair Arena is speaking about engaging with community organizations that are like minded.

Councilor Green is speaking to a 50% increase in crime in the 25th dist. She says that there is not a lot of detail on that yet, and that engagement with police needs to be prioritized.

She also comments on finding ways to get the meeting notices on Alders websites or newsletters. She says that she isn't sure Ald Villegas would be willing to post their information, but the other seven (!) alderpeople whose wards are in the 25th district.

She also discusses record keeping at the meetings, and leveraging public library spaces for flyering, and maybe even having meetings at libraries. Councilor Green is speaking to getting phone calls from community members asking about the increase in crime.

She says that the council is coming up on a year since they started, and that they want to be strategic and intentional about how the council is meeting those needs.

Councilor Arellano is speaking about direct contact with the police. There is a specific policy for police to attend a quarterly meeting. He continues that one avenue is to have the police attend "by invite only." He says there are reasons to have/ or not have police presence.

CCPSA staffer Anna is adding that one practice being used in other councils is to have a time frame (such as twenty minutes) where they can attend, but not be there for the whole meeting.

There is a tension being explored here. The Police District Council is intended to hear from the community, and hold the police accountable, in a place where trust has broken down between police and the civilians on their beat.

So there are times when the police need to be present and speaking to their work, and also times where it would be more inclusive or productive to have space for the community to raise issues without a police presence that may make people feel unsafe.

Councilor Arellano is speaking positively to previous collaboration and input from the 25th district commander, Nelson I. Perez.

Councilor Green continues that she wants to engage more community members. Councilor Arellano asked Councilor Green the process for the Nominating Committee. This committee is made up of one member from each District Council to nominate candidates for the CCPSA board.

Green says that there are different working groups and that there are also pieces that are community led.

Arellano is asking more about the process and can we bring candidates to council meetings. Anna Mangahas from the CCPSA is commenting that the process of nomination is "closed" and parts will be confidential. Green adds that there are parts that are blind in order to avoid bias.

Arellano is moving to scheduling. He asks where do we want to have our next meetings. He says that there have been suggestions from previous meetings. Chair Arena speaks to be consistent with the dates, such as the last Thursday of the month.

Arena continues that they feel the location should continue to rotate through different neighborhoods. Uplifting local businesses and also using public space.

Councilor Green says it may be beneficial to move the days of the week, because of the overlap with different Alderpeople's ward nights where Alders open up their ward offices for the public to come and speak to the Alderperson.

Earlier she mentioned that the district includes parts of 8 seperate wards. There is discussion of parts of the District that may have been left out.

They are tossing around suggestions for different places, noting which neighborhood places. There is also discussion of the 2024 budget, which includes a line item to pay for meeting space.

Mangahas is speaking now, she says that the funds should be used strategically for important meetings where the location may help drive turn out.

There is a discussion about supporting local business. Chair Arena says they could also inform businesses that may have offered their space for free before, that the Council could pay them to use their space.

There is a discussion about including Wednesdays to make space to engage with folks that attend Emma Mitts ward night on the Thursday. So they want to coordinate the ward nights, the ward that the district council meeting is in, and make sure things line up to drive turnout.

Councilor Arellano is speaking to the topics of the meetings. He mentions Stop the Bleed @StopTheBleed being something that folks are interested in finding out more about.

Green was also suggesting ward offices for a possible location. Green pivots to possibly spending budgeted funds for trainings for community members, including children in schools. Arellano is speaking to partnering with schools and possibly having a meeting at a school.

Councilor Green is pivoting to meetings with the Commander, as well as the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). She says the council needs to hear from these different orgs about trends within the crime rates, and to try to assess root causes.

There is a discussion of including the DCO Sargeant Luis González, who may have a good handle on what is going on.

Councilor Arellano is bringing back the conversation around section M, which directs the process of police presence at the council meetings. There is a meeting between the commander and the council scheduled for January 15th.

Councilor Green is pivoting to the structure for public comment. She mentions utilization of a tool called a "circle form." This sounds like a restorative justice practice, but it's unclear.

We are now moving to public comment. Speaker Juan Abonce (sp?) from the Policing Project is speaking about the overlap between their organization and the district council. They are working with MPI districts. And want to engage around alternative responses to policing.

I am not sure what MPI refers to.

Councilor Arellano is discussing that a peace circle for public comment may not be adequate at a larger meeting. Arellano speaks to the idea of having members address public comment directly to the Chair to avoid personal conflicts that can arise in the meetings.

Chair Arena agrees that structure may be needed for larger meetings and that a circle can work. They agreed that any circle process would be limited to 15 participants in order to encourage good faith participation that is manageable.

Arena speaks to division of responsibilities for presenting new business during meetings, as well as the tone of the meeting and other communications.

Ah! It's NPI not MPI. The neighborhood policing initiative. There is a discussion around a future meeting topic being to differentiate between NPI, the District Councils and Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS).

There is a flow chart that is being shared. The Chair has adjourned the meeting at 4:38. This concludes my coverage of the special meeting of the 25th Police District Council.