June 3, 2020 ( Chicago, Il. ) After a weekend during which lives and property were lost throughout the city's west and south sides, the Chicago Aldermanic Caucus issued the following statement:
"The Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus ( CABC ) is saddened by the senseless murder at the hand of a police officer of Mr. George Floyd. Unfortunately, many Black and Brown men have met this same demise. We stand in solidarity that these unchecked killings must end and the quality of life for Black people be respected.
After months of isolation, scores of COVID-19 deaths, loss of income, and historic disparity, South and West side Alderman were already on high alert when we learned of the planned demonstrations.
In response to the violent property damage that erupted, after peaceful demonstrations, most of the police resources were transferred downtown. This left the neighborhoods on the south and west side vulnerable. It soon became obvious that our business corridors were an easy target as our neighborhood and businesses did not have the same level of protection as the Loop, River North, and Gold Coast.
On Sunday morning, several South and West side Aldermen pleaded for additional police protection and resources for our neighborhoods. Unfortunately, these pleas went unanswered. By Sunday night, while the Loop remained safe, the rest of the city, especially the South and West sides, bore the brunt of the looting and mayhem. The tally — 27 dead, more than 80 shot, virtually every strip mall, shopping center, business district - from the Loop to the Indiana Border, and Halsted to Oak Park, - were looted — robbing our communities of essential food and medicine. As resources were provided too little, too late, our communities were simply ravished.
To prevent any further destruction, we call upon Mayor Lightfoot, Governor Pritzker, and the Federal Government to help our neighborhoods. We immediately demand the appropriate and relative share of police resources to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of our communities too. As this pandemic has exposed, our communities have disproportionately lacked these resources and thus need more not less. "Our residents ought to be provided "equal protection under the law" and no community in our great City should ever endure what transpired over the weekend," stated CABC Chair, Ald. Jason C. Ervin.
Furthermore, we call on all of our City, State, and Federal partners to work with the members of the CABC to provide the resources to ensure our children are properly educated, our communities are safe, our people are employed, our commercial strips have businesses owned and operated by the very people that live in the community and that we have contract and job parity. Finally, in order to truly honor the death of Mr. George Floyd and others, we need to finalize and pass civilian based police accountability reform.
If there is anything to be learned from the past, it is that government has a greater chance of success when both the Executive and Legislative work in concert. Partnership leads to success; it is the best assurance of good governance and accomplishment in this City. "
—From a press release