[in person] 15th Police District Council - Austin

Criminal Justice

Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025
6:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. CST

1101 S Austin Blvd Chicago, IL (Directions)

New Jehovah (Baptist) MB Church

This is an in-person assignment and will include an additional hour of pay. PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK the meeting details on the day of your assignment, as dates and locations sometimes change.

Pre-Research Resources

City Bureau: “Can the Neighbors We Elect to Police District Councils Redefine Public Safety?”
City Bureau” “Chicago’s New Police District Councils, 4 Months In”
Find My Beat and District: Interactive map of police district boundaries
Chicago Reader/Block Club Chicago: Information about the candidates who ran for this council in the municipal elections
The TRiiBE: “ECPS coalition wins a wide majority of Chicago’s new Police District Council seats”

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Jacqueline Thomas

Daisha Muhammed, Director of Mediation at COPA presented on the mediation pilot program which launched in 2022. Pilot program aims to solve conflicts between complainants and police officers through a third party mediator.

View notes

Live reporting by Ebony Ellis

Ebony Ellis

Hello, I’ll be covering tonight’s meeting for the 15th Police District Council. This meeting is taking place at New Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church (1101 S. Austin Blvd) starting at 6pm. @CHIdocumenters #CHIDocumenters

06:03 PM Feb 13, 2025 CST

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So far, the meeting has not started yet. District Chairwoman Carmelita Earls and Karen Winters are the only council members present at this time

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The purpose of the community commission for public safety and accountability (CCPSA) is to “bring police officers and Chicago residents together to plan, prioritize, and build mutual trust; strengthen the police accountability system.” Read more at chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…

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The 015 police district is made of the Austin neighborhood. For more information regarding this police district, visit chicagopolice.org/15th-district-… . Here is the agenda for tonight’s meeting. chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

chicagopolice.org/15th-district-… chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

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Community Engagement Committee member Deondre Rutues just arrived.

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Police Commander Carlin Morse is present as well.

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The meeting officially started at 6:17pm. Reverend Dr. Ira J. Acree begins with a prayer.

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It is time for public comment. Since no one has comments, Chairwoman Earls asks everyone to participate in a short introduction ice breaker.

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Rutues asks a frequent community member if they know if community members have any complaints and concerns He answers issues with graffiti and vandalism.

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Another community member says that another issue she has heard about is commercial vehicles parked on residential streets, making parking unavailable. Rutues asks Commander Morse if there is anything that can be done on the law enforcement side

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Commander Morse says that parking complaints are received often. “It is important to you. It is important to us,” he says. He goes onto explain that officers are racing back and forth. People are complaining about parking and do not live in the area.

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Chairwoman Earls introduces Pastor Acree. Council member Winters says a few words. The Council presents Pastor Acree with the “Living Legacy Award,” certificate of appreciation.

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After a photo, with Pastor Acree and the entire police district council, Acree shares a few words. “I am truly honored and I am very humbled.”

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A motion has been passed to defer the approval of minutes (for the meeting on 1/16/2025) for the next meeting.

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Rutues announces a few events. A non emergency training for mental health first aid will be on March 11, 2025. A know your rights event will take place on March 29th, 2025.

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Winters mentions the independent monitoring team having community conversations, providing input on Chicago Police Department The event will take place March 11, 2025 from 5pm - 7pm, the link will be provided in the next newsletter.

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Chairwoman Earls does not have any updates.

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Earls asks, “Can you see yourself as a bridge between the community and public safety department?”

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Daisha Muhammad, Director of Mediation with Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) is speaking.

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She mentions the there have been talks of a community police mediation program. The mediation program started as a 6 month endeavor. Eventually an audit was done and suggestions were provided. 2024 was used the complete the hiring process.

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Muhammad says that now a policy is needed. There will be another round of drafts. “Three things needed are community engagement, policy and training on what mediation is,” she says. She mentions that COPA is in the community engagement phase.

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One improvement COPA wants to incorporate is central location throughout the city so that people can come to have a mediation.

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One of the purposes of the mediation at building trust between the community and the Police Department. Other goals of the mediation are the community being heard, understanding the process, officers having the opportunity to give an account and improving community safety.

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Muhammad asks if there are any questions. Rutues asks her, who is doing it (the mediations) right? Muhammad answers New Orleans, LA.

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Muhammad says, “Folks can feel empowered in the process.”

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Rutues also asks, “How was the pilot perceived from the policing side?” Muhammad responds that “all” officers successfully completed the mediations. Community members confessed that they were satisfied with the outcome.

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Winters mentioned a situation where a mentor on behalf of a group of young people filed a police complaint and heard no response. That left a negative impression.

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Winters goes on to say when things that happen in the community can be handled by the community, the community should be able to address those situations.

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An audience member asks, “how does one determine if a mediation is resolved?” Muhammad responds saying successful mediations add an extra buffer and the quality and talent of the mediator are signs of mediation.

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One of the items of the agenda are votes but since there are none, that item will be skipped over.

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The council members went back to vote on when the schedule district council meetings to be moved. A motion has been passed to move the police district council meeting will be on the third Thursday of every month.

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The meeting has adjourned at 7:34pm. And here is a flyer for the next meeting.

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Attachments

3 attachments

Notice and Agenda

By Grace, Chicago - IL Documenters Team ⋅ February 13th, 2025

Flyer for March Meeting

By Ebony Ellis ⋅ February 13th, 2025

2024 meeting schedule

By India Daniels ⋅ February 8th, 2024

Agency Information

Chicago Police District Councils

See meeting notes for details

www.chicago.gov

See Documenters reporting

Each of the 22 District Councils is made up of three people elected by residents of the police district in regular municipal elections every four years, though anyone can participate in District Council work, and the more people who participate, the more effective the District Councils can be. The first District Council elections occurred in February 2023. Just as Chicagoans vote for a mayor and a local ward Alderperson, they also vote for up to three people to serve on the District Council.

The District Councils have several key roles:

Building stronger connections between the police and the community at the district level, where the community is a true partner in making the neighborhood safer. They can work with the police to address problems and set priorities.
Collaborating in the development and implementation of community policing initiatives.
Holding monthly public meetings, where residents can work on local initiatives rooted in community concerns and priorities. They can also raise and work to address concerns about policing in the district, and increase accountability.
Working with the community to get input on police department policies and practices. Working to develop and expand restorative justice and similar programs in the police district.
Ensuring that the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability gets input from the community, so that the Commission’s work will be based on what people in neighborhoods across the city are concerned about.
Nominating members of the Community Commission. Anyone who serves on the Community Commission must first have the support of elected District Council members.

(Source: Municipal Code of Chicago, 2-80-070(a) and (e))

For a map of police districts, visit https://www.chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php#/?places_type=chipolicedistrict.