In an effort to address hate crimes that occur in communities throughout Cook County, state's attorney Anita Alvarez has formed the Hate Crimes Advisory and Prosecutions Council. The council will be tasked with creating and maintaining partnerships with communities that are typically targeted by hate crimes.
"I believe strongly that law enforcement cannot effectively address hate crimes in isolation and that we must seek out and include the voices of our communities if we are going to develop effective strategies that not only raise awareness about hate crimes but also strive to prevent them," said Alvarez. "A chief focus of our hate crimes efforts will be on maintaining and improving partnerships with the LGBT community and others typically targeted by hate crimes.
"It's important to understand that hate crimes cause fear, anger and confusion among our most vulnerable populations and those feelings of fear and intimidation sometimes prevent members of a particular community from enjoying the rights and liberties that everyone deserves. I'm committed to doing whatever is within my power as state's attorney to ensure that law enforcement is in effective communication with targeted communities. We will not only work to prevent hate crimes, we will respond swiftly and with authority when a hate crime occurs."
The state's attorney's office already has a designated full-time LGBT and Hate Crimes Specialist, Angela Koon. Koonwho was appointed by Alvarez 18 months agoengages with numerous community partners, follows criminal cases and advocates on behalf of victims who are members of the LGBT community. Her outreach and education efforts has resulted in close partnerships with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and the Civil Rights Bureau of the Chicago Police Department. She is also a designated member of the new council.
"One of the most important things that I'm focusing on is eliminating the barriers that members of the LGBT community may encounter when they are engaging with the criminal legal system as victims of crime," said Koon. "An important aspect of this is ensuring LGBT victims receive culturally appropriate services to recover from the violence they've experienced. I also want victims to feel validated coming forward and know they will be treated with dignity and respect."
Other members of the council include Roey Gilad, consul general of Israel; Joshua Rose, president of the NAACP's Chicago South Side branch; Itedal Shalabi, of Arab American Family Services; Emily Sweet, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, Rev. Helen Sinclair, of the Rainbow Push Coalition; Lonnie Nasatir, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League; April Terry, assistant U.S. attorney in the general crimes division; Dick Lombardo, FBI supervisory agent; Mona Noriega, chairperson and commissioner of the Mayor's Commission on Human Relations; Michael Masters, executive director of Cook County's Department of Homeland Security as well as two representatives from the Chicago Police Department; Sgt. Lori Cooper, commanding officer of the Hate Crimes Unit and Officer Marty Ridge, Hate Crimes Unit LGBT liaison and civil rights investigator.
Alvarez has also appointed Bennett E. Kaplan, managing director of Axium Consulting in Chicago, as chairperson of the council. Kaplan previously served as both an Assistant U.S. Attorney and as a Cook County assistant state's attorney. While at the state's attorney's office, Kaplan served on the state's attorney's previous Hate Crimes Prosecution Council as well as the Illinois Governor's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes.
"I am very grateful to state's attorney Alvarez for this important appointment," said Kaplan. "At a time when there is ever-present and growing concern locally about hate crimes and against the backdrop of increased violent hate crimes in Europe, state's attorney Alvarez should be strongly commended on her leadership in re-constituting the Hate Crimes Advisory and Prosecution Council."
"The Chicago Police Department's Civil Rights Hate Crimes Unit is once again very pleased and excited to be a part of the state's attorneys Hate Crimes Advisory and Prosecutions Council," said Marty Maloney, director of news affairs at the Chicago Police Department. "The Civil Rights Hate Crimes Unit works tirelessly to respond to hate crimes and investigate them vigorously. We recognize that the key to an effective law enforcement response to hate crimes is the building of trust and partnerships between the police and victim communities. It is through partnerships such as the state's attorneys Hate Crimes Advisory and Prosecution Council that will allow us to expand our reach and ensure our commitment to the citizens we serve."
"We applaud state's attorney Alvarez for taking the initiative to form this council and we pledge our support," said Rick Garcia, community outreach coordinator for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. "Sheriff Dart has made targeting of hate crimes against the LGBT community and other communities a priority in his office. In 2008, the sheriff's police department arrested neo-Nazi Mariusz Wdziekonski for painting swastikas on 57 graves in a Jewish cemetery. Alvarez's office charged Wdziekonski with a hate crime and he was sentenced to seven years."