Colleagues,
In July, many of you submitted public comments in support of the police reform efforts that Equip for Equality, the ACLU of Illinois and our clients are advocating for through the Communities United v. City of Chicago lawsuit. In August, the City and the Attorney General filed a proposed (and revised) consent decree with the federal court. Here is a link to the proposed consent decree: http://chicagopoliceconsentdecree.org/
The Court will be accepting written public comments on the consent decree until October 12 and will hold a public Fairness Hearing on October 24 and 25. Please see the Judge’s order for instructions and details on both opportunities for public participation.
The consent decree will not be finalized until approved by the Judge, after getting input directly from those affected. This provides another opportunity for public input. We believe it is important to both support a consent decree to reform the Chicago Police Department and continue to push for further reforms.
The proposed consent decree includes important reforms and makes some of the revisions to the first draft that we had suggested. Unfortunately, it does not address disability and some other issues as comprehensively as we had proposed. Meanwhile, the Fraternal Order of Police continues to oppose the consent decree and is working to prevent it in its entirety.
We encourage involved individuals and organizations to file comments with the Court by October 12 that support a consent decree to reform the use of force in Chicago and that continue to advocate for further improvements to the proposed consent decree. We will be doing the same through a brief filed with the ACLU on behalf of the Communities United plaintiffs.
In addition, if you are able to attend the Fairness Hearing, we think it is important for voices in support of reform to be well represented then as well.
Attached is a template letter that we developed for individuals who wish to support the Communities United recommendations regarding several key issues remaining in need of improvement. If you have questions or would like to work together further on coordinating comments, please feel free to contact Amanda Antholt at amanda@equipforequality.org or (312) 895-7330.
Thanks for your commitment to police reform and the rights of people with disabilities,
Barry
Barry C. Taylor
Equip for Equality
