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Good Afternoon ! I’ll be live-tweeting today's Chicago City Council’s Committee on Public Safety meeting for @CHIdocumenters #CHIdocumenters. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. Due to COVID-19, this meeting will be held remotely. Agenda here: https://chicago.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=804301&GUID=7500A012-6F0B-4AC2-8CA4-82361D9E3A98
I believe there’s technical issues at the moment. Meeting was scheduled to begin over ten minutes ago and there’s no live link yet.
Live stream https://vimeo.com/user100351763
Aldermen are starting to join the meeting.
Chairman Chris Taliaferro calls the meeting to order. R2020-593 is the only item on the agenda. Roll Call begins.
17 members present. Quorum reached. Meeting starts with public comments. No public comments submitted.
Ald. Napolitano of the 41st Ward believes that calling in the National Guard will help the CPD with resources and help stop further loss of life and destruction of property.
Ald. Beale of the 9th Ward believes that it’s cheaper to bring in the National Guard rather than pay overtime to CPD. Says that the violence over Labor Day weekend shows that there’s no plan to curb violence.
Both Aldermen Beale and Napolitano suggested that it’s important to give relief to CPD officers. Ald. Sawyer says he won’t be voting yay on this resolution but appreciates the dialogue started.
Ald. Osterman of the 48th Ward says he won’t be voting in favor of the resolution. Doesn’t want an occupying force in Chicago and says that the National Guard are not trained to handle these matters effectively.
Ald. Thompson, 11th Ward voices his frustration with the rising gun violence in the city but doesn’t believe it makes sense to call in the National Guard. Wants Congress to enact more stringent gun laws.
Ald. Sposato, 38th Ward says that he will also be voting no to the National Guard being called into Chicago. Says it’s a terrible idea.
Ald. Reboyras, 30th Ward also believes that it’s a bad idea to bring in the National Guard. Says National Guard will be essentially scarecrows due to the fact they can’t arrest citizens and not trained for this situation. Will be voting no as well.
Ald. Ervin, 28th Ward says that we have to find a way to deal with rising violence in the city but doesn’t believe that the National Guard is the answer.
Ald. Mitts, 37th Ward says she doesn’t believe that it’s appropriate to call in the National Guard because they don’t know the citizens of Chicago.
Ald. Lopez, 15th Ward says Labor Day weekend violence shows that Chicago is in chaos. Wants the governor to declare a state of emergency. Says the FOP and CPD officers call him asking for relief.
Ald. Smith, 43rd Ward says the National Guard is not a police force. Calling in the army should always be the last option. States that we need to be aware of the consequences of such decisions. Doesn’t care for the notion of Ald. Lopez that other aldermen do not care enough.
Resolution coming to a vote. With 16 Nays, the resolution will not pass. Ald. Napolitano and Lopez were the only yays.
With no further business to discuss Chairman Taliaferro adjourns the meeting.
The Chicago City Council’s Committee on Public Safety meeting ends at 3:17 p.m. The next meeting has not been disclosed. This ends my coverage for @CHIdocumenters more information through Madeline Cruz’s notes at http://documenters.org
