February 2023
Welcome to the Chicago Alliance newsletter! Here, you get a monthly update on all of the work we have going out in the field with our campaigns.
Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS)
ALL HANDS ON DECK: AN ELECTION DAY MOBILIZATION FOR POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY IN CHICAGO
On February 28, Chicago will hold elections for police accountability councils in 22 police districts. District Council members will have certain powers, including the selection of members of the citywide Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA). District Council members will also serve as the eyes and ears of the commission throughout the city. The commission in turn will have a decisive say in making policy for the Chicago Police Department. Stop and frisk, racial profiling, no-knock raids, foot chases, gang databases - all can be eliminated through these elections, providing we get the right people in the right places and WIN.
This is a very special moment. Our movement has produced an ordinance in the City of Chicago that, for the first time in the history of our country, gives our people the democratic option to say who polices our communities and how our communities are policed. As these opportunities come rarely, we must seize the moment. We got a law passed but that's only half the battle. Like all democratic gains won through the mass movement and the struggle for freedom, we must fight to get true police accountability implemented.
Help support this historic election by donating to our campaign. The funds will be used to pay canvassers, print literature, and support the community backing this campaign. And for those unable to donate, we encourage you to volunteer to canvass with us. By supporting us, you play a part in ending the police tyranny that has plagued Chicago for more than a century!
LEARN MORE:
The Campaign to Free the Incarcerated Survivors of Police Torture (CFIST)
In February, folks in CFIST persist in their struggle against a racist and repressive Cook County court system, which continues to tell torture survivors it does not care. Survivors and their families have experienced absences or delays in court by judges, prosecutors in the State’s Attorney's Office and even public defenders this month. Families and court-supporters have been getting kicked from Zoom court hearings by judges for expressing any form of support for torture survivors. Other judges have made Zoom hearings inaccessible to the public by denying entry, starting late and making it difficult to find the Zoom information.
Inside of Illinois correctional facilities, survivors and their fellow inmates have been experiencing patterns of small aggressions by staff until they snap and slip up, leading to punishment. Prisoners across the state have experienced the IDOC regularly denying commissary, exercise and other basic rights and have been punished through the IDOC taking and holding possessions that belong to prisoners, solitary confinement, denying visitation and additional abuses behind closed doors.
CFIST hopes to uplift the demands of survivors of corrupt CPD detective Brian Forberg, one of CPD’s highest-paid officers, to hold him accountable for his injustices. Forberg has been connected to the torture or wrongful conviction of at least 19 people, mainly Black men. This includes tampering with evidence, physical torture and coercion and working directly with his wife in the State’s Attorney’s Office to eliciting wrongful convictions.
Rico Clark, who has a upcoming court date, is a survivor of detective Forberg:
Rico Clark — February 22, 2023. Judge Alfredo Maldonado. @9:30am. Zoom ID: 978 7250 2618 Password: 156671
More on the Court Date Calendar.
In addition, CFIST has helped gather support and gained the sponsorship of Illinois senator Robert Peters (co-sponsorship of senator Villanueva) for the TIRC Amendments (SB1276), which seek to reform the original Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission (TIRC) we helped pass in 2009. This commission, appointed by the governor, helps investigate reports of police misconduct. This is the only commission of its kind in the US, but there are some significant limits to its scope (only about ⅙ cases have been reviewed and around 5% deemed credible). The four amendments that this new bill proposes are 1) to expand the definition of torture to adopt the UN’s definition of torture, which includes the torture of a third-party to extract a false witness statement 2) removing the arbitrary deadline to file requests (within 10 years from the establishment of the TIRC—2009) 3) expand the scope of the TIRC to apply to the whole state rather than just counties with more than 3 M inhabitants 4) adopting a two-year timeline for reviewing cases and focusing the budget around resolving cases within two years of receiving a claim.
On Wednesday, February 15, members of CFIST and the Alliance planned and executed a banner drop over the Dan Ryan expressway. The banners brought the focus of drivers on their rush-hour commute into the city to the widespread instances of torture in Chicago.
Lastly, CFIST is planning a People’s Hearing for March, where CPD and IDOC torture survivors and their families will be given an opportunity to speak out about the injustices they’ve experienced, while others rally support for them. This event will likely be held in solidarity with the Chicago Torture Justice Center. Keep your eyes on SPC updates about this upcoming event and others. CFIST holds bi-weekly meetings every other Thursday on Zoom starting @6pm - click here for zoom link. In addition, to get involved with CFIST, you can contact the form at this link.
JUSTICE FOR TYRE
#Justice4Tyre
In response to the police murders of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Manuel “Tortuguita” Teron in Atlanta, Keenan Anderson in Los Angeles, and all those killed by police, CAARPR called a mass demonstration on January 30th at Federal Plaza in the Chicago Loop, with support from a large list of allied organizations. Despite the near zero degree weather, hundreds of people turned out in outrage and solidarity to demand an end to police crimes and community control of the police. Speakers included candidates for the police district councils, community leaders, and those impacted by police occupation and violence.
JUSTICE FOR HADI
When the community organizes and fights back, the community wins!
Due to massive community pressure, one of the three Oak Lawn, Illinois police officers, who beat up 17-year-old Arab teen last July, has been indicted on criminal charges! Now, we demand the other two be charged, and all three to be fired immediately!
The fight for #Justice4Hadi continues on March 1st, when us and our comrades at the US Palestinian Community Network attend the monthly Oak Lawn Police & Fire Commission meeting. 5:30 PM rally outside Police Department, then immediately go inside and attend the meeting.
FREE ANTHONY GAY
Brief update: The law to end solitary confinement that Anthony is fighting to pass is being reintroduced into the state legislature as the Nelson Mandela Act. Stay tuned for more.
The struggle to free Anthony Gay is ongoing. We invite you to donate to a fundraiser for his legal funds, with a $25,000 goal.