WHEREAS, throughout the history of our nation, there have been incidents of conflict between law enforcement and civilians; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, the City of Chicago has had numerous incidents of conflict arising out of contact between the Chicago Police Department and the residents of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is working to address these issues of conflict that have been growing over the previous years, by developing initiatives to help reform social injustice in our communities; and
WHEREAS, the City's civic, governmental, and religious leaders need to come together to solve the current problems in social justice to move forward in a productive way; and
WHEREAS, one initiative that has shown great success is to invest in mentoring the youth in an effort to discourage young individuals from joining gangs; and
WHEREAS, Dwayne Bryant, who developed the mentoring program, Inner Vision International, has mentored over 15,000 youth in our City resulting in significant improvements in their academic achievements and behavior; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Bryant was inspired by a conversation with elementary school students on the Southside to create "The STOP" - Improving Police and Community Relations, as a resource for students, parents, teachers and law enforcement to begin constructive dialogue; and
WHEREAS, with the recent increase of U.S. police officers involved in shootings from routine stops, "The STOP," was created to help educate youth to stop, observe and reflect during an encounter with law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, "The STOP" teaches youth how to interact with police, encourage thought-provoking conversations and intelligent action between families, communities and law enforcement, provide a framework for parents, teachers and community leaders to engage in meaningful dialogue with youth about their expectations in life; and
WHEREAS, "The STOP" initiative offers practical solutions to bridge the gap between the community and law enforcement creating a positive relationship; and
WHEREAS, opening channels of communication between law enforcement and civilians to encourage respect of all parties is essential to curing the climate of distrust that currently exists throughout our culture; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Bar Association is hosting a summit in May of this year entitled "The Bridge to Justice: Closing the Divide Between Civilians and Police" in another effort to foster relationships between the two communities; and
WHEREAS, this event is a "solutions-driven, thought-provoking summit intended to ensure that law enforcement and civilian encounters are lawful, respectful, professional, and guided by the constitutional right to freedom and due process;" and
WHEREAS, in an effort to encourage better relationships between the public communities and police officers, the City's leaders must take a greater role to become involved in initiatives in our City, including presenting the lessons of "The STOP" and by participating in the Bridge to Justice summit; and
WHEREAS, it is important to have all stakeholders represented and be involved in the summit including a variety of City departments and individuals who share the City's concern for this issue including, but not limited to, the Mayor's Office, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Chicago Public Schools, religious leaders and community leaders; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Joint Committee of the Committee of Finance and the Committee on Public Safety hereby calls upon the representatives of the Chicago Police Department, the Corporation Counsel, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Family and Support Services to appear before the aforementioned Joint Committee to address the City's initiatives and the programs that will attempt to repair the disjointed relationship between the Chicago Police Department and the public; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Departments and branches of Governments noted above shall send a representative to the Bridge of Justice summit; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Chicago Public Schools incorporate "The Stop" into its curriculum to help children throughout the City.
Alderman - 14th Ward