The location of future 9th District Police Council meetings emerged as a primary issue among attendees at October and November council meetings held in Chicago's Canaryville neighborhood.
Some neighbors at the October 25, 2023, meeting wanted to know why the session was not held in other 9th District neighborhoods: This meeting was the third of six since May to be held in Canaryville.
“Why are we here again, especially given the vitriol from the first meeting?” asked meeting attendee Annie Jacobs.
Lack of Decorum
Mimi Guiracocha shares her written comments at the 9th District Police Council meeting on October 25, 2023.This first council meeting in May 2023 in Canaryville was marked by a belligerent tone and lack of decorum, attendees said, including shouting down or booing those making comments.
Commenter Mimi Guiracocha noted that she was harassed on the street by another meeting attendee after leaving the May meeting in Canaryville location. She said she preferred meetings be held in all 9th District neighborhoods.
Erin Vogel, one of the elected 9th District council members, said she had heard from constituents who "didn't feel safe attending meetings in Canaryville."
Back of the Yards
At the October meeting, local resident Joe Schall urged that the council “meet throughout the entire 9th Police District.”
In her remarks at the October meeting, Vogel noted that crime in the 9th District was high in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, yet none of this year’s six council meetings were held there.
Joe Schall speaks at the 9th District Police Council meeting on October 25, 2023.Charles Blackwell, a project manager for the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA), suggested the October, November and December council meetings be held in Canaryville, said 9th District Council Chairperson Carlos Sanchez. District councils are part of the CCPSA.
New Meeting Structure
Although Vogel made a motion to hold a future meeting in Back of the Yards, Sanchez did not acknowledge the motion, so it was neither seconded nor voted on. Sanchez said that future meeting locations would be considered in consultation with Blackwell, and it was later decided to hold 2024 meetings in all six neighborhoods.
One attendee at the October meeting lamented that the focus on meeting location took away from focusing on public safety. "When will we discuss what the council is for: to discuss crime?" he said. "We need to get to the nitty gritty.”
Vogel noted how the 9th District Council changed up the November meeting structure, which was effective, she said.
Seeking Nominees
"We also did some small group work to get people sharing with each other," Vogel said. "That was good."
Annie Jacobs shares her comments at the 9th District Police Council meeting on October 25, 2023.Denise McBroom, 9th District council member and nominating committee member for the CCSPA, urged attendees at the October meeting to complete a questionnaire about what they are looking for from the seven-member CCSPA.
Between January 8 and February 7, 2023, anyone can apply to be appointed to the CCSPA, she said. Nominations from the 22-person nominating committee are due March 8, 2023, and the mayoral appointments are due to be released on April 7, 2023.
The next 9th Police District Council meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, at St. Gabriel Catholic School hall, 4500 S. Wallace Ave., Chicago.
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