The meeting will take place at the McFetridge Sports Center, 3843 N California Ave

For context, Chicago Police District Councils are part of the Empower Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance, created in 2021 to give citizens a new role in police oversight and advance alternative approaches to safety citybureau.org/newswire/were-…

Council members are Elizabeth Rochford (Nominating Committee) and Anthony M. Tamez (Community Engagement). There is no Chair at the moment. The position is vacant.

The meeting starts at 1:09 pm

Today’s agenda includes updates from District Council members and the following discussions: “Approve quarterly 3/8/2025”, “Alternative Response,” “CARE presentation,” and “G01-11.” chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…

The presentation on CARE starts. A volunteer explains how the program originated and why

She explains the benefits of Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT). There are 4 goals: send experts to de-escalate, reduce the number of police officers handling mental health calls, and provide long term solutions, and reduce unnecessary transports to hospitals

The main benefits of CARE are: stabilize the situation, provide specialized and immediate care, and connect people with long-term resources

A CARE van unit includes 1 mental health crisis clinician and 1 EMT. On the scene, they offer de-escalation, assessment, transport to a hospital or mental health facility, and follow up

The goal is to expand these services from the few districts where CARE is working to the entire city. It's currently working in the following districts: 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 19

At the end of 2023, CARE went through a transition where police officers were rolled of the teams and the Public Health Department began managing the program

The program has been getting funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, part of a Covid relief package, but the funds are going to run out at the end of 2025, and there is no funding for next year

The program costs $4M annually and needs $7M to expand to evenings and weekends in all 6 districts where it is working

A member of the public asks how we know how many calls the 17th district has, and how the number of calls has an effect in allocating economic resources for the program in the different districts

Council member Rochford says there is a process rolling now where districts are analyzing the data and determining how many calls are mental health crises

Alderman Rossana Rodriguez intervenes via Zoom to explain how the CARE program was the result of a collective effort by several organizations in previous years

She highlights that people with mental health illnesses are 16 times more likely to be shot by the police. She adds that people experiencing mental health crises often end up imprisoned, and their health care needs are overlooked

She also explains that monetary settlements from lawsuits to the local government after police violence against people with mental health conditions are a huge economic loss for the city

The goal is to create a level of integration between mental health care centers and the CARE units. The resources are there, but they are not allocated in the right places

One member of the public asks Rodriguez if there is any way of avoiding involuntary psychiatric hospitalization for suicidal persons. She hopes the program could be built in a way that this can be avoided, and the possibility of creating prevention efforts, not only response

A member of the public asks what the metrics for outcomes are that the program is looking for. The volunteer explaining the program says the aim is to recruit enough people to work for the program to meet the number of mental health crisis calls. Albuquerque receives aprox. 15000

Council member Rochford says a lot of that data about Chicago exists but it is still pending to reach the public as a structured proposal

Members of the public ask what was the reaction of the CPD to the initiative and taking that responsibility from them. They also asked if the CARE units have resources for translation to different languages.

The CDP was supportive of the initiative, and it is not clear if the CARE units currently have access to language translation resources, but they should follow the protocol the police units follow in this matter

Council member Rochford moves to establish a quorum. The 2 members are present. They asked if anyone signed up for public comment

A member of the public says he has questions for the CPD representatives. Specifically comdr Alvarez. He wants to know about the police involvement in the accelerators incident. He raised questions last meeting but they were not communicated to Alvarez

The member of the public says it's unfortunate the commander is not here. The CPD member present at the meeting will answer the questions.

Instead of 2 officers showing up to talk to the people in an encampment of individuals without housing, 7 showed up during early hours. They said they were sent to remove the tents. This generated panic among the people who were there

As a result, the organizers who were present assisting the people in the encampment were not able to help them sign up for housing, which they were in the process to get

The CPD representative says they were sent after the Parks Department requested their presence. He says this is an issue of the Park district now

The CPD states that he cannot answer the resident's questions regarding accountability and communication with Commander Alvarez. The resident highlights the importance of Alvarez to be present in these meetings

A second member of the public signed up for public commentary says there was harassment of the homeless residents in the encampment by the police. She says nobody answered the question of why there was suddenly an order for a cleaning of the site of the encampment

A third member of the public asks the CPD representative if he knows who the officers who showed up were. He says no. She asks if he is aware of the strategic plan in 17th to assist the homeless population and how the action further that

The CPD representative states that they responded to a call and are responsible for controlling the situation if it becomes out of control. If someone gets combative, for example

He adds that their commander did not instruct them to clear the encampment. They responded to the park district in that situation

He says the initial instances were rough, but the officers were polite and removed everything calmly. He says they will not be there for that kind of situation anymore. They will only be there if they get a call from someone saying the situation has turned problematic

She asks what the status is of the officer from the district who is involved with the Oath Keepers. If he will be called to answer to these kinds of meetings, and what will happen with his position

Council members Rochford and Tamez discuss the minutes from the last meeting. He mentions a the need for an amendment on a specific issue. Then they approve the minutes and also those from the quarterly meeting in April

They move to member updates. Rochford says she has been working on a program for the temporary guardianship of minors if someone is detained or has other issues. A meeting about it is going to take place on May 18th

She says she has been working with the Violence Interruptors program. They are experiencing an issue with the site where they've been hosting their events. There is talk with 2 schools to find a solution and give them a space

She announces there is movement on restating the restorative justice initiative in the North side

There is a meeting on May 13 on workforce allocation for the police department. It will take place at the Albany Park Library.

The commission is looking for feedback on the Traffic Stop Policy by emailing CommunityCommissionPublicComment@cityofchicago.org

Tamez shares update on the youth curfew policy. If a representative of the police and the government establish there is an youth event that requires a curfew they could declare one and then the youth involved have 30 min to go back home

He encourages residents to express their feedback and thoughts on this measure to Alders and other representatives

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday June 19, at 6:30 pm, at the McFetridge Sports Center, 3843 N California Ave

The meeting is adjourned at 2:53 pm