Civilian oversight wasn’t the only thing the City Council delivered Wednesday to bridge the gap between citizens and police. The same goes for the Boys & Girls Club that will be built on the campus of the police and fire training academy in West Garfield Park.
Before adjourning for the summer, aldermen agreed to lease 20,000 square feet of land on the 34-acre-campus to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago at $1 a year for up to 75 years.
That will allow the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago to build an $8 million, 18,000 square foot youth development center with an open-air plaza between the club and the training academy in the 4400 block of West Chicago Avenue.
Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), whose ward includes the site, called it a “history-making moment” for the West Side.
“When I first came in, the first thing I asked for was a youth center for our children. It took me 21 years. But, we are here today. Nothing is more important,” Mitts said Wednesday.
“It’s going to be an opportunity where those young people who were out celebrating Saturday night where five of`em got shot in my ward — they could … have been at that Boys & Girls Club holding their event inside of that space.”
Mitts argued Chicago in general and the West Side in particular desperately need youth programming to provide a constructive alternative for young people in danger of joining gangs and becoming either the victims or perpetrators of violent crime.
“It’s an opportunity for every boy and girl to be able to have a safe place where parents can take their children … and teach them. Whether it’s a single mother or single dads out there, somebody has to look out for the kids. It is our responsibility for everybody to look out for each other’s children, no matter what race, creed or color. We’re supposed to look out for these children,” Mitts said.
The site plan for the new public safety training center to be built in West Garfield Park. A Chicago City Council committee on Wednesday approved leasing part of the site to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago, which will build a new club on the campus. Two restaurants, a Culver’s and a Peach’s, also are planned.Department of Planning and Development
Housing Committee Chairman Harry Osterman (48th) commended Mitts for the “strong perseverance … that will help her community and help young people.”
Referring to the historic vote earlier Wednesday on civilian oversight of CPD, Osterman said: “On this day when we try to bridge the gap between community and police, this is an opportunity to do that as well.”
West Side Ald. Michael Scott Jr. (24th) also applauded Mitts for “making sure” the controversial complex is “not just a public safety academy, but an amenity for the entire West side.”
Besides the club, two restaurants also are planned adjacent to the training academy.
Critics of the $95 million training academy have called it a symbol of former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s misplaced spending priorities.
For years, it has drawn opposition from Chance the Rapper, college students in Chicago and across the nation and local youth organized online under the #NoCopAcademy banner.
During countless protests, they argued the money would be better spent on mental health initiative, as well as on recreational and education programs for young people.
When Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the decision to build the new Boys & Girls Club on the academy campus, the #NoCopAcademy movement called it a “slap in the face” to Black youth.
Before agreeing to bankroll the new facility, the Boys & Girls Clubs held a dozen focus groups with local youth, including students at Orr Community Academy.
The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, according to Mimi LeClair, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago has told aldermen previously.
LeClair has assured aldermen there would be “no forced interactions” between young people and police.
“If there are one or two young people who are interested in this, we will work with them to pursue that. If there are more than that, we will work with them. But they set the tone. We are first and foremost about what … will make them feel emotionally, physically and psychologically safe,” she said.
Streamlined sign approval also OK’d
Aldermen on Wednesday also approved a compromise version of the stalled sign portion of Lightfoot’s pandemic relief package.
It allows aldermen to preserve their treasured “prerogative” while still speeding approval of sign permits for newly-reopened businesses struggling to attract customers.
If the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and the local alderman agree a sign permit should be issued, Council approval of a sign ordinance would not be required. The permit could be issued in less than a month.
If there is a disagreement, the business must introduce an ordinance, in a process similar to disagreements over local zoning changes. The local alderman would then rely on his or her colleagues to oppose the permit.
The revised sign ordinance was approved only after Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) tried and failed to send the compromise back to committee.
After 10 years on the air, “Windy City Live” is coming to an end. According to a leaked e-mail on Robert Feder’s site, the show will air its last weekday program on Friday, September 3. (It’s going to be a long Labor Day weekend for that staff.) Since the pandemic shutdown last year, the show lost a lot of steam. Additionally, they’ve parted ways with great on-air personalities like Ji Suk Yi and talent bookers like Emerald-Jane Hunter. From there, the quality of the show (and the ratings) declined. Yet, I feel as if money was the greatest reason for the show’s demise.
Where The Money Resides
Each year, talent contracts get negotiated. As expected, on-air talent (and their agents) ask for more money. Unfortunately, advertising revenue correlates with viewership. When ratings go down, so does the money. Simply put, ABC7 Chicago was already in the hole. They couldn’t afford to pay Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini more money and keep the same number of staff members.
I hope that Ryan and Val go after bigger gigs. They would be good for “Good Morning America” or the “Today Show”. Additionally, they could make more money in those roles.
My thoughts and prayers are with all of the WCL staff members affected by this disappointing news. I hope that they can find work at other TV stations or band together to start their own news programs.
Chicago’s most important news of the day, delivered every weekday afternoon. Plus, a bonus issue on Saturdays that dives into the city’s storied history.
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It’s been a long time coming and a rocky road along the way. But civilian oversight pivotal to restoring trust between citizens and police is finally coming to Chicago.
The City Council delivered it Wednesday, clearing the 34-vote hurdle needed to approve any ordinance involving the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. The ordinance does that by electing three-member councils in each of Chicago’s 22 police districts.
The vote was 36 to 13. A relieved round of applause followed.
Mayor Lightfoot campaigned on a promise to empower a civilian oversight board to hire and fire the police superintendent and be the final arbiter in disputes over police policy and the Chicago Police Department’s budget. She promised to deliver civilian oversight within the first 100 days of her administration.
What she managed to deliver — 26 months into her four-year term — falls far short of that promise.
The final language would empower a seven-member commission to take a vote of no-confidence in the Chicago police superintendent. The commission also could take no-confidence votes for the chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and any Police Board member. Such votes would need the support of at least five of the seven members to pass.
North Siders, get ready for a South Side classic: The Original Rainbow Cone is taking its partnership with Buona Beef to the other side of the city next spring.
The northward expansion comes after the two longtime Chicago eateries have seen early success at their recently opened joint locations in Lombard and Darien.
“We plan on bringing this to as many communities as we can,” said John Buonavolanto, one of 15 members of the third generation in charge of the 40-year-old beef sandwich empire.
The Original Rainbow Cone, the iconic South Side ice cream shop, plans to open a North Side shop next spring. Sun-Times file
The partnership came together just as the pandemic hit last year. Lynn Sapp, a third-generation owner of the iconic sliced-not-scooped ice cream shop, said the partnership allowed her to expand her business while most restaurants were downsizing or closing.
No changes are planned at the original shop at 9233 S. Western Ave., which has been home for 95 years since Rainbow Cone moved to the other side of the street shortly after opening in 1926.
Even as the styling of the locations differ and the partnership evolves, Buonavolanto promised, “The beef is never gonna change. The Rainbow Cone is never gonna change.”
With less than 10 days until the MLB trade deadline, Cubs beat writer Russell Dorsey answers three key questions for the team, including the big one about a certain defensively versatile slugger.
It’s National Hot Dog Day, so we want to know: Where can the best Chicago-style hot dog be found?
Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you: What do you think about the Blue Origin launch and the second billionaire in just over a week blasting into space today? Here’s what some of you said…
“He spent all that money for a couple of minutes in space. When he could’ve helped so many families right here on earth. What a waste.” — Bobby Parisio
“I think the contributions by these two men to the furthering of humans getting to space is amazing and incredible. To see people reach a personal goal that will further America in the space race is so exciting! They both deserve the place in history that they have earned.” — Cyndie OBrien
“People are so rich that they’ve run out of things to buy and do, so they’ve decided to joyride to the edge of space. I’m all for advancing science & engineering, but space joyrides for rich people are ridiculous.” — Yvonne Curbis
“Much of the conveniences we all take for granted today were created by people with money who, with their privilege, created things for other rich people and their friends. And now we all benefit from them, think cars, airplanes, electricity and chocolate, to name just a few. I say let them research, learn, and experience. I am confident that we all, at some point, will benefit from this.” — Diane Quitslund
“Some of that could have fed the hungry, and seniors who are living on a fixed income. We are long forgotten.” — Judy Laubscher
“I am ambivalent. Visionaries move the world in a different direction. I hate to think we need to explore outer space in case our planet becomes uninhabitable. Could the funds to make the trip be used to make cleaner air and water on earth? I wish that Bezos would explain in detail why his space travel can benefit mankind, instead of using platitudes. It seems that the trip was more for pleasure, so now I am really confused.” — Laura Elrod
“I think it’s awesome. Advance the technology, bring space tourism, and make very public what can be accomplished through dedication and commitment.” – Michael Linkowich
“I think it’s big boys having too much money! There are homeless, mentally ill, battered women, hungry kids — I can go on into infinity about all that money could have assisted.” — Jeannette Tinnelle
“Simply a big waste of money. It does nothing meaningful. Just a 10-minute carnival ride for the rich and famous.” — Heather Burkhalter
“Just thinking how many people could have been helped by the money spent for this indulgence — perhaps even Amazon workers getting better wages and benefits, working conditions.” — Kate Niedner
Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — New Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips made it clear he wants Notre Dame to join the conference as a full-time football member after what he described as a “beautiful and beneficial relationship” during an unusual 2020 season.
Phillips knows that remains largely up to Notre Dame.
“The old kind of quip is, Notre Dame loves two things: one is being Catholic, second is independence. Sometimes those things get in reverse order. Sometimes they like independence even more than being Catholic,” joked Phillips, who has a son and daughter who attend Notre Dame.
Speaking at his first public forum at the ACC Kickoff media days, Phillips — a former Northwestern athletic director — addressed the Notre Dame independence issue while Notre Dame’s logo was shown alongside the ACC’s 14 member schools on the backdrop behind the podium.
“They know the ACC’s interest,” Phillips said. “It’s been less than bashful. It’s been less than bashful since I’ve been here. But I also respect where they’re at. Our concentration right now is on our 14 schools. Who knows where the future’s going to go?”
Last season, Notre Dame played as a temporary member of the ACC due to COVID-19 rules and went undefeated during the regular season before losing to Clemson 34-10 in the ACC championship game.
“They had a chance to play a fantastic schedule,” Phillips said. “They had a chance to vie for a national championship and compete in the CFP. We have a real-life example of what that could look like.”
Notre Dame, an indepedent for years that nonetheless has five ACC teams on this year’s schedule, has given no indication it is interested in joining the ACC in football.
REPLACING STAR BACKS
North Carolina coach Mack Brown is tasked with replacing not one, but two of the nation’s top running backs from last season.
Javonte Williams rushed for 1,140 yards and scored 21 touchdowns while Michael Carter ran for 1,245 yards and had 11 TDs in 2020. Together they helped the Tar Heels set an NCAA record with 544 yards rushing in 62-26 rout of Miami. Both were NFL draft picks.
Brown sees Tennessee transfer Ty Chandler as the immediate answer after he totaled 2,015 yards yards rushing yards and ranked fifth in Vols history in all-purpose yards with 3,245.
“He can run it up inside, tremendous hands, he knows what to do, but he also has the speed that when he gets it in space he has a chance to score,” Brown said of Chandler. “We got to find some other guys with him, but we think he has a chance to step up and be a special player for us.”
The talk of the departure of Williams and Carter — and who’ll replace them — has left UNC’s running back room motivated, according to quarterback Sam Howell.
“They have a chip on their shoulders,” Howell said. “They are tired of hearing about who we lost instead of who’s coming in.”
DIAZ HANDLING DEFENSE
Miami head coach Manny Diaz said the Hurricanes’ defense took a big “step back” last season, which is why he plans to resume defensive play calling duties — a role he has held in the past.
Despite the defensive debacle against North Carolina, the Hurricanes finished 8-3 and allowed the fourth-fewest points in the ACC and sixth-fewest yards, but Diaz said he felt players needed a “new set of eyes” on them.
“Great defense is ultimately about the connection between the players on the field, the trust and the accountability,” Diaz said. “That’s where I felt like a year ago we didn’t have quite have that. We take a lot of pride in how we play defense at Miami. … We weren’t proud of how we finished last year.”
The Hurricanes will be anchored by safety Bubba Bolden, one of the conference’s top defenders. But the Canes need to find a pass rush after finishing 10th in the ACC in sacks and losing both starting defensive ends.
“Somehow, some way we’ll get to the quarterback,” Bolden said.
RE-ENTER SANDMAN
Virginia Tech has one of the better atmospheres in all of college football with Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” blaring through the stadium’s speakers as they run on to the field.
The pandemic prevented all of that last season.
Now coach Justin Fuente is eager to see fans back in the stadium when the Hokies host North Carolina in the season opener on Sept. 3.
“Our fans show up to the game not to be entertained but to participate, to help our football team win the ballgame — and they’ve been deprived of that opportunity,” Fuente said. “It’s more than a game, it’s a social event. People show up several days early and begin tailgating, preparing. I anticipate it will be a special night, an emotional night, something that we’ll remember for a long time.”
The Isley Brothers, the legendary soul and R&B group, are headed to the Chicago area to headline their first show since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and after their highly-publicized Verzuz battle with Earth, Wind & Fire.
The “Sundress and Sandals Concert,” which is scheduled for Friday at Hazel Crest’s Cross Pointe Park (gates open at 5 p.m.), is the brainchild of PR Popups. The concert also features Kindred the Family Soul, Chantay Savage, and Carl Thomas of the recently formed R&B supergroup The Chi.
The Isley Brothers with Carl Thomas, Kindred the Family Soul, Chantay Savage
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Cross Pointe Park, 2801 W. 167th St., Hazel Crest
“I know it’s gonna be nice to be in front of a live audience, and to sort of pick back up where everything suddenly stopped,” said guitarist Ernie Isley. “We were supposed to have an international tour in 2020 and we didn’t go anywhere. Carlos Santana didn’t go anywhere. Earth, Wind & Fire didn’t go anywhere. The Rolling Stones didn’t go anywhere — nobody went anywhere.
“There was a complete shutdown of all live shows, and when you experience something like that for the first time in your life it’s an adjustment. It’s great to sort of get back out again.”
In the aftermath of the Verzuz battle, not only did the Isleys garner yet another generation of fans to appreciate the longevity of their music, a story also surfaced regarding the Isley family connection with a legendary musician: Jimi Hendrix.
Isley says Hendrix lived with his family in New Jersey for two years (1963-1965). During Hendrix’s stay there, Isley says the enigmatic singer-guitarist received his first Fender Stratocaster guitar and had his first professional recording session.
The “Sundress and Sandals Concert.”PR Popups
“We’ve been fortunate to have our catalog, and the fact that folks appreciate our music,” said Isley, who says he idolized Hendrix. “We’ve been involved with the music beyond our catalog, and a lot of rappers in the MTV generation were leaning on Isley Brothers songs for their hits. Certainly, they embraced us and we embraced them.
“I was 11 years old at the time that I met [Hendrix]. I never heard anybody playing guitar like that. He played it all the time, and I would imagine, if he had been around when ‘That Lady’ came out, he probably would have given me something between a bear hug and a tackle saying: ‘How did I learn how to do that [guitar riff]?’ I’d say: ‘Man, when you were in the dining room playing the guitar and I had a social studies book, I wasn’t doing social studies.” I was listening and observing him. … You never know who you’re rubbing elbows with.”
As Isley was influenced by Hendrix, Kindred found inspiration in the Isley Brothers’ music. In fact, as the duo’s Fatin Dantzler and his wife Aja Graydon started out in their careers, they often sang a rendition of “Voyage to Atlantis,” one of the Isleys’ well-known songs.
“The Isley Brothers play a significant role in our careers,” said Dantzler. “When we first got started as a group before we really even had signified what we were, that song — and the refrain of it — is ‘I’ll always come back to you.’ That’s the love affair we have with Chicago, and that style of love affair we’ll always come back to.”
And Graydon echoes her partner and husband’s sentiments, saying how “exciting” the time is for the two groups to perform together again.
“We’re getting an opportunity to be back out there, but also with something new to offer our fans,” said Graydon, whose Kindred album “Auntie & Unc” was released earlier this year. “I think everybody was there for the Isley Brothers’ Verzuz battle with Earth, Wind & Fire, so for us our first time coming back into Chicago in a major way to be with the Isley Brothers, an iconic and legendary group — that’s huge.”
Kindred the Family SoulProvided Photo
Isley recalls a Chicago concert that broke out in chaos.
“We had a show in Chicago in 1975 when [the Isleys’ single] ‘Fight the Power’ was out, and it was a sellout show — a great show,” said Isley, who couldn’t recall the venue. “And there was so much pandemonium that we had to literally leave the building in a police wagon.”
Devontay Anderson was armed with an AK-47-style rifle with “a banana clip” when he opened fire at the car 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams was sitting in with her father at a West Side McDonalds drive-thru, Cook County prosecutors said Wednesday.
Anderson — who was taken into custody by FBI agents in Chicago earlier this week — fired at least 28 rounds from the rifle on April 18 when and he and two others targeted the girl’s 29-year-old father in the 3200 W. Roosevelt Road, according to Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy.
“This is a violent offense, with an extensive amount of bullets fired,” Judge Mary Marubio said before ordering 22-year-old Anderson held without bail.
“Almost 50 shots fired at a McDonald’s parking lot at a busy time of day … endangering anyone who happened to be in the vicinity.”
Anderson is the third man to be charged with Jaslyn’s murder.
Anderson fled to Miami after the shooting, but then returned to Chicago, where he was taken into custody by FBI agents Monday as he tried to escape through the rear yard of a home in the 600 block of North Central Avenue, Murphy and police said.
Prosecutors again Wednesday presented a detailed timeline of events that led to the identification of the three men, including how investigators pieced together surveillance videos and a social media post that allegedly showed the men — including Anderson as he held the rifle — driving around the city.
Anderson’s fingerprints were also found in several locations in the silver Audi used in the shooting, Murphy said.
But an assistant public defender said there was less evidence that tied Anderson to the shooting compared to his two co-defendants.
Nobody identified Anderson’s face in gas station surveillance video that allegedly showed the three men together in the Audi before the shooting and Anderson wasn’t identified by a witness who was at the business and offered to fix damage to the Audi, Assistant Public Defender Margaret Domin said.
Anderson also didn’t send any threatening messages to Jaslyn’s father on social media, as Lewis is accused of doing, the defense attorney added, noting that as an adult, Anderson had only been convicted of a relatively minor drug charge.
“I fully understand the nature of this case, the publicity surrounding this case,” Domin told the judge. “Mr. Anderson is a human being. Mr. Anderson deserves a bond.”
Marubio said there wasn’t “any amount of money” Anderson could post “that would make the community safe.”
Anderson is expected back in court Aug. 9.
A police commander walks by as police investigate a crime scene where Jontae Adams, 28, and his daughter, Jaslyn, 7, where shot at resulting in Jaslyn’s death at a McDonald’s drive thru at the corner of Roosevelt Road and Kedzie Ave in Lawndale, on April 18, 2021. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
The pioneering American journalist John Chancellor once said, “The function of good journalism is to take information and add value to it.”
It’s not one of those self-righteous journalism quotes that presents the job as the last remaining thing standing between civilization and the Visigoths (although sometimes it actually is). It’s a basic principle, that having the privilege of a platform means you should use it for good.
There’s another axiom of journalism, that requires us to hold the powerful accountable, to ask uncomfortable questions of the comfortable.
When you’re neither adding value nor holding the powerful accountable, it’s hard to see what part of journalism you’re actually doing.
In-depth political coverage, sports analysis, entertainment reviews and cultural commentary.
Instead, one might describe this as merely trolling, which the Cambridge Dictionary defines as, “someone who leaves an intentionally annoying or offensive message on the internet, in order to upset someone or to get attention or cause trouble.”
So it’s hard to see what value people like Megyn Kelly, an influential, smart and accomplished journalist, despite her well-known and well-earned controversies, are adding when they use their platform to attack a struggling 23-year-old female tennis player for the sin of appearing on the cover of a magazine.
After Naomi Osaka, one of the best tennis players in the world, withdrew from a major tournament and revealed she was battling some mental health issues, many of her fellow athletes, sports reporters and sponsors came out in full support, commending her on what they believed was a courageous admission.
At a time when mental health is slowly but surely being de-stigmatized, and importantly in communities of color, Osaka’s announcement was an impactful one that could show others that it’s OK to not be OK.
As someone who struggled with mental health and suicidal thoughts as a young girl, I can personally attest to the fact that these stories matter in reassuring someone else that it’s not weakness to seek help or treatment.
Anyone who’s looked even superficially at the issue of mental health knows depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts do not care about your wealth, status or success. Osaka’s financial comfort does not make her a powerful person against her demons.
So attacking her credibility and integrity isn’t some noble version of holding the powerful accountable. It’s just cruel and totally unnecessary.
And yet, Kelly piled on a tweet from professional bully Clay Travis, which read: “Since saying she’s too introverted to talk to the media after tennis matches, Naomi Osaka has launched a reality show, a Barbie, and now is on the cover of the SI swimsuit issue.”
Instead of reading this inane tweet for what it was — a trolling, lazy, parasitic attempt at attention (that reeked of a little misogyny, to boot) — Kelly added “Let’s not forget the cover of (& interview in) Vogue Japan and Time Mag!”
Of course, Osaka didn’t need to defend herself for sharing her story at a time and in ways that she could comfortably. Nevertheless, she wrote back, “Seeing as you’re a journalist I would’ve assumed you would take the time to research what the lead times are for magazines, if you did that you would’ve found out I shot all of my covers last year. Instead your first reaction is to hop on here and spew negativity, do better Megan (sic.).”
Then, Osaka did what many mental health professionals might suggest: She blocked Kelly.
A weekly overview of opinions, analysis and commentary on issues affecting Chicago, Illinois and our nation by outside contributors, Sun-Times readers and the CST Editorial Board.
To which Megyn responded: “Poor @naomiosaka blocked me while taking a shot at me (guess she’s only tough on the courts). She is apparently arguing that she shot her many covers b/4 publicly claiming she was too socially anxious to deal w/press. Truth is she just doesn’t like Qs she can’t control. Admit it.”
How disappointing. In what universe is this a good use of her platform? Attacking a woman for her mental health struggles, harassing her on social media, calling her weak and a liar — who is Kelly serving here?
The truth is, I like Megyn Kelly. But this is grotesque and shameful. As a parent, all I want for my kid is not to go through the mental health battles I did. But if he does, I hope he is met with nothing but support and encouragement from the people around him, including his larger community and society, not Twitter trolls doubting him and egging him on. Kelly is needlessly perpetuating the stigmas that prevent people from seeking help, that keep their pain a secret, that can end tragically. Why she would use her talents and reach to do this is inexplicable to me.
There are no political points to score here. There are no winners and losers. It’s not a public service to harass a woman over her depression. It’s just cruel, irresponsible, unnecessary and abusive. I’d implore Kelly to understand that it’s not just Osaka she is hurting, but so many others who are facing mental health challenges, and wondering, “What will people say if I admit I have a problem?”
It’s been a long time coming and a rocky road along the way. But civilian oversight pivotal to restoring trust between citizens and police is finally coming to Chicago.
The City Council delivered it Wednesday, clearing the 34-vote hurdle needed to approve any ordinance involving the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. The ordinance does that by electing three-member councils in each of Chicago’s 22 police districts.
The vote was 36 to 13. A relieved round of applause followed.
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) began the debate by talking about the “long, long journey” that began with “black leaders decades ago” — after the police raid that killed Black Panther leader Fred Hampton — and was “revitalized” after the police shooting of Laquan McDonald.
“Sometimes, we were at odds. But, we came together because we knew that our city had to get something right … to ensure that people in every single community feel safe. That they are safe. No one should be afraid of violence — whether by another citizen or by those tasked to protect and serve them,” Ramirez-Rosa said.
“This ordinance is predicated on a belief that, if we empower … young people and empower those who have been directly impacted by racist and broken policing and give them the ability to nominate the police superintendent, take a vote of no confidence when they feel that superintendent has failed … given them the ability to set policy, if we empower our communities to have a real say in policing, we’ll be a better city.”
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa spoke in favor of a compromise measure establishing some civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department. Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Ald. Harry Osterman (48th), who helped forge the compromise, called it a “long-awaited” and “historic day” for public safety in Chicago.
“We cannot have true safety in every neighborhood unless there is trust between citizens and police. … The violence that we see every day is a byproduct of that lack of trust and lack of people wanting to call and work with the police,” Osterman said.
Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), another champion of civilian oversight, said “democracy is messy” for good reason. Ordinary people need to have “great involvement” at all levels.
“There’s disconnect between police and our communities as it relates to solving crimes. In order for us to get back to that, we have to get the community involved. This takes a strong step with re-engaging, re-setting our relationships between the the community and the police,” Sawyer said.
Ald. Roderick Sawyer said civilian oversight is important because ordinary people need to have “great involvement” at all levels of government.Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st), a former Chicago Police officer and firefighter whose Far Northwest Side ward is home to scores of cops, predicted the Council would be back in six months, creating “another acronym committee to find out why our crime has tripled.” That’s how hesitant he believes already-reticent officers will become.
“This 12th layer of police oversight is gonna make every potential wannabe officer think about going in a different direction,” Napolitano said.
“They’re in the middle of a war on our city. So think when you vote, because the second you vote, you are gonna change the way … police officers patrol and what you’re gonna get out of them. … The output you’re gonna get from them will create your next committee.”
Ald. Nick Sposato (38th) said he had planned to vote against the ordinance without speaking. But then, he said, “somebody set me off” with a claim about the police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.
“Adam Toledo was not murdered. … We don’t need police reform. We need family reform,” Sposato said, asserting that there already are 11 different levels of police oversight.
When Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) rose to, as he put it, correct the record about the Toledo shooting, Mayor Lori Lightfoot jumped in and urged him to tone it down.
“Thus far, we’ve had a very civilized debate. It’s my hope and expectation that that will continue,” the mayor said.
“We should lift up this conversation. This is an historic, important moment for our city. Let me remind everyone here. So please, ladies and gentlemen, let’s make sure that the commentary, discussion and debate is worthy of this moment. This is not about attacking each other. It can’t be. And I will not allow that to happen as the presiding chair.”
Ald. Nick Sposato said he hadn’t intended to speak on the issue of civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department, though he did plan to vote against it. But he was irked by something that was said about the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by a Chicago police officer. “We don’t need police reform. We need family reform,” Sposato said.Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Minutes before the roll call, an emotional Lightfoot called the debate “one for the ages” and made passing reference to the contentious negotiations that set the stage for the compromise.
“We’ve come a long way. We’ve had some stumbles. We’ve had some disagreements. But because of the hard work [of so many], we are on the precipice of making history,” the mayor said.
After recounting the police reform efforts that have defined her career, Lightfoot scoffed at suggestions that the overwhelming majority of police officers who are honest and hard-working will “stop working” because of additional oversight.
“They won’t. They won’t. It’ll be hard. We’ll have to explain to them to break through the noise and the rhetoric that they’re also hearing from certain sources. But legitimacy is key to the work that our police do. If the communities do not trust them because they’re not legitimate to them, they will not be effective in their most core mission, which is serving and protecting every single resident of this city,” the mayor said.
Prior to the final vote, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara had denounced the district councils and the appointed, seven-member oversight board created by the ordinance as “useless redundancy” that would further demoralize rank-and-file police officers retiring in droves because they don’t feel the city has their back.
Catanzara noted the FOP has already agreed to a host of accountability measures sought by Lightfoot as part of a tentative, eight-year contract. The mayor has repeatedly refused to acknowledge that agreement — and she won’t, sources told the Sun-Times, until after the Council vote on civilian oversight.
Noting the new contract includes a four-year, retroactive raise for rank-and-file officers, Catanzara said: “You’re patting ’em on the back while you’re stabbing `em with the other hand.”
Catanzara pointed to the multiple layers of police oversight already provided by the Police Board, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the Chicago Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, the federal monitor and the Il. Attorney General’s office.
“Another layer of oversight is just ridiculous. It’s only going to make coppers more pissed off because more oversight means, ‘You’re doing something wrong. You need to be watched because you’re not doing something right,'” he said.
“It’s blaming the police for what’s wrong in this city. … And we know that numbers don’t lie. Police are not the problem in this city. Criminals are the problem in this city and the politicians who defend the criminals.”
Civilian oversight was a pivotal recommendation by the Task Force on Police Accountability co-chaired by Lightfoot in the furor after the court-ordered release of the Laquan McDonald shooting video.
Lightfoot campaigned on a promise to empower a civilian oversight board to hire and fire the police superintendent and be the final arbiter in disputes over police policy and the Chicago Police Department’s budget. She promised to deliver civilian oversight within the first 100 days of her administration.
What she managed to deliver — 26 months into her four-year term — falls far short of that promise.
The final language would empower a seven-member commission to take a vote of no-confidence in the Chicago police superintendent. The commission also could take no-confidence votes for the chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and any Police Board member. Such votes would need the support of at least five of the seven members to pass.
A no-confidence vote by the commission would trigger a vote by the City Council’s Committee on Public Safety within 14 days — and then a full City Council vote at its next monthly meeting. If two-thirds of aldermen agree with the no-confidence vote, the chief administrator of COPA “shall be removed.”
However, no-confidence votes in either the CPD superintendent or Police Board members would not be binding on the mayor. Instead, the mayor “shall respond in writing within 14 days after adoption of the resolution, explaining the actions that the mayor will take in response.”
As for police policy, the commission would be empowered to “initiate a policy either by drafting a policy itself or making a written request” to the Chicago Police Department, COPA or the Police Board.
CPD, COPA or the Police Board would then have 14 days to “accept or decline. If the answer is no, there must be an explanation in writing. If the recommendation is accepted, the policy must be drafted within 60 days.
“If the Department, COPA or the Police Board does not respond, declines the request or accepts the request, but fails to draft a policy within sixty calendar days or any extension thereto, the commission may take its request to the mayor, who shall review the parties’ positions and either direct the superintendent, chief administrator or police board president to take appropriate action or explain why in writing the mayor has concluded that no action is warranted,” the ordinance states.
A referendum giving the seven-member commission even more power was stripped out of the compromise ordinance because it would never have attracted the 34 votes needed for passage.
Ramirez-Rosa introduced a separate referendum ordinance. But it also is unlikely to clear the two-thirds hurdle.
Lightfoot has been under heavy political pressure to deliver civilian oversight, particularly after changing her tune on an elected school board bill approved by the Illinois General Assembly over her strenuous objections.
She can now scratch that off her progressive agenda to-do list, even though the final version doesn’t go nearly as far as she promised. Aldermen have been under similar pressure to do something dramatically different to stop the bloodbath on Chicago streets. They now can claim they have, before the Council’s traditional summer recess.
The complex process established by the ordinance calls for the immediate seating of an interim, seven-member commission. The mayor would choose from 14 people nominated by the Council’s Rules Committee. The North, South and West Sides of the city would each get four nominees.
The first full slate of permanent commissioners will be seated in 2023. District council members would serve on a nominating commission that would recommend people to serve as permanent commissioners. The mayor would then pick the commissioners from that list.
Three of the seven board members would serve two-year terms. The rest would serve four years. The North, South and West Sides of the city would each get two seats.
Among the big items on the agenda for possible passage at Wednesday’s City Council meeting were a compromise plan establishing some degree of civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department. Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Florida State’s legendary football coach — who turns 92 in November — wife Ann and their family announced Wednesday that Bowden has been diagnosed with a terminal medical condition.
“I’ve always tried to serve God’s purpose for my life, on and off the field, and I am prepared for what is to come,” Bowden said in a statement shared with the Tallahassee Democrat. “My wife Ann and our family have been life’s greatest blessing.
“I am at peace.”
The Bowden family has also asked for privacy as Bowden deals with his health.
Hospitalized in late June for five days, Bowden has struggled to regain his strength. He has been under supervised care and is resting comfortably at his Killearn Estates home.
“I feel fine but I can’t do much,” Bowden told the Democrat on July 5.
Hired from West Virginia in 1976, Bowden posted a 316-97-4 record with two national titles (1993 and 1999) in 34 years at Florida State. He had one losing season — 5-6 during his first year at the school — and was forced into retirement following a 7-6 record in 2009.
Bowden — a native of Birmingham, Alabama — won 377 games during his 44-year college coaching career to rank fourth all-time behind John Gagliardi (489), Joe Paterno (409) and Eddie Robinson (408).
Bowden and wife Ann, his childhood sweetheart, have been married for 72 years. The couple has six children, 21 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. Three of four sons went into coaching — Terry, 65, was hired by Louisiana-Monroe as its head coach last December.
The past few years Bowden was slowed by lingering, painful back and hip issues that kept him off the golf course and from walking his neighborhood. He was also one of the country’s most sought-after motivational speakers, sharing football stories and his faith.
In April, Bowden received the inaugural Governor’s Medal of Freedom from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at the Governor’s Mansion.
Bowden — a devout Baptist — made his last public appearance on stage in early June as a guest speaker at the Send Luncheon, hosted by the North American Mission Board (NAMB), in Nashville.
“I really enjoyed it — it felt like it was the first time I was out of this house in months,” Bowden told the Tallahassee Democrat following the one-day engagement.
The unannounced appearance came as Mark Richt, a former assistant under Bowden at Florida State, shared with the attendees how his former boss led him to the Lord.
Before Richt finished his testimony, Bowden was introduced as lights came up on a darkened corner of the stage.
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