On July 21, the Chicago City Council approved a controversial civilian oversight panel, giving the public more control over Chicago police following years of protests about law enforcement misconduct, The Chicago Tribune reported.
The vote was 36-13. The ordinance needed a two-thirds majority, or 34 votes, to pass the 50-member council.
South Side Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th Ward, who co-sponsored the ordinance, said the deal will help residents feel like they have a stake in solving crime. However, Northwest Side Ald. Nick Sposato, 38th Ward (an area in which a lot of officers live), said there's enough police oversight already.
The ordinance establishes a citizen panel to oversee Chicago policebut not with all the powers asked for by the grassroots organizers. The mayor has substantial power related to accepting/rejecting nominees, among other things.
In a press release Windy City Times received, The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression celebrated the passage of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance. The statement read, in part, that the "victory proves the correctness of our decision to form this united front, which has seen our alliance and our coalition swell to include over 100 organizations, 18 labor unions comprising nearly 200,000 members, some 26 houses of worship across the cityand today 36 aldermen who supported the fundamental right of communities to decide who polices us and how are communities are policed."
In addition to Sposato, Anthony Napolitano (41st Ward) and Patrick Daley Thompson (11th), the aldermen voting no were: Brian Hopkins, 2nd; Anthony Beale, 9th; Marty Quinn, 13th; Edward Burke, 14th; Matthew O'Shea, 19th; Silvana Tabares, 23rd; Ariel Reboyras, 30th; Samantha Nugent, 39th; Brendan Reilly, 42nd; and James Gardiner, 45th.