January 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, starting with a message from our field organizer, Frank Chapman.
A Message from Frank Chapman
Get involved, make history! Join us in the fight for community control of the police in Chicago.
Chicago has a brand-new tool for public accountability of the police - the first of its kind in the country's history. On February 28, Chicago will hold elections for police accountability councils in the 22 police districts that exist here in Chicago. District Council members will have certain powers, including the selection of members of the citywide commission. 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 of these issues can be dealt with through this new public mechanism. But we need support from the public and are putting out a call for volunteers. Get involved this month! Volunteers are needed in this last month leading up to these historic February 28 elections. District Council candidates need support raising awareness about their own campaigns and the election itself. Come help us and your city as we reclaim the people's voice in police accountability - the battle for community control has been raging in Chicago for 50 years. Your time will have a direct impact on the outcome.
The Campaign to Free the Incarcerated Survivors of Police Torture (CFIST)
January is a month filled with a slew of significant survivor court dates. Some of the recent and upcoming court dates in the month of January are:
Clayborn Smith — January 18, 2023. Rm 702. Judge Carol Howard. @9:30am. Zoom ID: 989 0058 8594 Password: 496810 Judge may be reversing decision!!
Michael Carter — January 18, 2023. Ruling will be given
Andre Mosley — January 18, 2023. Judge Erica Reddick. @9:30am. ZoomID: 969 4477 8955 Password: 030385
George Anderson — January 18, 2023. @1:00pm. By Zoom.
Kilroy Watkins — January 20, 2023. Rm 205. @9:30am.
Tamon Russell — January 23, 2023. Rm 404. By Zoom.
Dante Brown — January 24, 2023. Rm 700 Judge James Linn. @9am. Zoom ID: 953 7472 2662 Password: 495237
DeShawn Gardner — January 24, 2023. Rm 700. Judge James Linn. @9:30am. Zoom ID: 953 7472 2662 Password: 495237
Lester Owens — January 24, 2023. Judge Erica L. Reddick. Zoom ID: 969 4477 8955 Password: 030385
Antoine Mason — January 25, 2023. Rm 303. @9:30am.
Kilroy Watkins — January 26, 2023. Zoom ID 972 0840 6554. Password 492628
And more on the Court Date Calendar.
The significance of these cases is not just the large number of torture-survior cases this month. Eleven court dates in January are connected to Chicago Police Department detectives John Halloran, Kenneth Boudreau and James O’Brien who were collectively involved in the torture and wrongful conviction of at least 195 people. These officers have repeatedly lied and forced others to lie on the stand, leading multiple judges to find them as not credible witnesses. Other cases involve detective Brian Forberg who has a track record of at least 19 cases of torture, frame-up and collusion with the State’s Attorney’s Office, of which his wife is a member.
Despite their track record, these officers will be called to the stand this month and will testify in front of court. We need folks to show up at court this month and support survivors of Chicago police torture. It’s really important that judges and the State’s Attorney’s Office know we are watching these cases closely and want all cases involved with these officers thrown out.
CFIST holds bi-weekly meetings every other Thursday on Zoom starting @6pm
In addition, to get involved with CFIST, you can:
Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS)
Join us for a political forum and endorsement party for the Police District Council elections on Sunday, January 22 at 5 PM at CTU Center at 1901 W Carroll Ave in Chicago.
The District Councils were created by the ECPS ordinance, fought for by the movement for police accountability. We are calling all candidates in municipal elections and all those involved in the movement to stop police crimes to come out and hear from the candidates running for District Council across the city and solidify their support for these candidates in the coming election.
We’re bringing together all the forces in our movement to shape the future of police accountability and public safety in Chicago. This is a historic event, as for the first time in the history of this nation, the people of Chicago will have a democratic option to determine who polices their communities and how their communities are policed. We need all hands on deck to garner and solidify support for candidates for District Council dedicated to holding the police accountable. The District Council elections will shape the municipal elections as a whole in Chicago, and this event is an opportunity to be a part of this historic shift. This event is co-sponsored by Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana.
In other news, Frank Chapman, Chicago Alliance Field Director, featured in the Chicago Reader to discuss the history of the movement for community control of the Chicago police.
Anthony Gay
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.
Justice for Hadi!
Hadi Abuatelah’s family filed a federal, civil rights lawsuit in regards to the brutal beating he suffered at the hands of the Oak Lawn, Illinois, police last July.
Oak Lawn is asking the judge to dismiss the case. The village maintains that its police department did not deny Hadi his constitutional rights when the three police officers – Brandon Collins, Mark Hollingsworth, and Patrick O’Donnell brutally beat the 17-year-old Hadi.
These officers have been granted a short suspension of the lawsuit, which means they will not yet be interviewed by Hadi’s attorneys.
This lawsuit against Oak Lawn Village should not be dismissed, and the suspension of it should immediately be lifted so that the Oak Lawn police officers will be forced to answer to the vicious assault. In addition, we continue to demand that the Oak Lawn police internally investigate the beating and fire the racist cops!
As the legal maneuvering continues, the AAAN is asking our community members to join us at the next #Justice4Hadi protest on Wednesday, January 18th, 2023, at 5:30 PM, at the Oak Lawn police station, 9446 Raymond Ave., Oak Lawn, Illinois.
To support this effort, we ask that you take one minute today to call Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx at 312.603.1880 & 312.603.5896 and ask her to file charges against the racist cops B. Collins, P. O’Donnell, and B.P. Carlson! You can use the script to the right as a guide.