[in person] Police District Council 007 - Englewood (Gage Park, Auburn Gresham, Chicago Lawn, Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing, West Englewood)

Criminal Justice

Wednesday, May 21, 2025
6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. CDT

513 W 72nd St Chicago, IL 60621 (Directions)

Hamilton Park

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.

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Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Live reporting by Ebony Ellis

Community engagement council member states "more community input is needed" to create strategic plans for Police District councils across the city.

Ebony Ellis

Hello, I’ll be covering this evening’s meeting for the 07th Police District Council hosted by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA). This meeting is taking place at Hamilton Park (513 W 72nd St.) starting at 6pm. @CHIdocumenters #CHIDocumenters

06:00 PM May 21, 2025 CDT

Ebony Ellis @Eb_Writes26 2/22

Here is the meeting agenda. chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

Ebony Ellis @Eb_Writes26 3/22

So far, two of the three district council members are present, Chairwoman Teresa Chandler and Dion McGill (nominating committee)

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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/…

Ebony Ellis @Eb_Writes26 5/22

The meeting has started at 6:07pm. Chairwoman Chandler makes opening remarks.

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We are now in the public comment portion. Commenters are given minutes. The first commenter asks why the 7th district and the 5th district were involved in a specific choice. There are no more comments made.

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Council member McGill provides updates. April 28th was a strategic planning meeting. There will be an incorporation virtual coverage of future meetings. He also addresses a meeting with the 2nd district.

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McGill goes onto a Felony review bypass. He states that community members expressed their concerns. He also mentions that council members were not aware of this before community members sent them an article about it. “I feel like this is a cut of due process,” he says.

Ebony Ellis @Eb_Writes26 9/22

Here is an article detailing more about the Felony Review Bypass program chicagotribune.com/2025/04/04/coo…

chicagotribune.com/2025/04/04/coo…

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McGill encourages the audience to attend a meeting May 29th, at South Shore Highschool about the traffic stop policy. “Under what situations should one be pulled over,” McGill says as he mentioned what will be explored during this upcoming meeting.

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Now speaking is Alexander Perez, community engagement council member for the 2nd Police District Council. He is discussing the District Strategic Plan (DSP) and its significance.

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An audience member asks, “How do you let people know that these plans are taking place?” Perez mentions that more community input is needed. He refers to two documents that are available in this meeting.

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“It is very difficult to say that this plan encompasses everybody,” Perez says.

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An officer that is present responds to a previous sentiment that about communication surrounding strategic planning. She mentions that CPD lacks funding and relies on community partnerships.

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The officer emphasizes that they want to hear from people. Chairwoman Chandler echos the officer’s sentiments on low turnout in meetings

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Someone asks about the information that is collected. Perez responds that the information is taken headquarters but not for the community.

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Chairwoman Chandler asks everyone to briefly introduce themselves since that was not done in the beginning of the meeting.

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“We have to do a better job at meeting people halfway,” Perez says in response to a previous comment. “We have to think what it means in 2025 to engage,” he also says.

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The conversation is shifting to how to better engage the community, not only in the 7th police council district but for all the police council districts. Chairwoman Chandler mentions that the District Council Committee does not have (much of) a budget.

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McGill says that he is open to suggestions on partnerships

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The meeting has been adjourned at 6:58pm. The next meeting will be June 18th, 2025.

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Attachments

1 attachment

District Council 007 website

By India Daniels ⋅ November 29th, 2023

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.