Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Wednesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“We’ve been here time and time and time again.”


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This CBS This Morning report isn’t terrible, but it ends on an error, as we’re told not to expect a federal consent decree in Minneapolis like the one we have in Chicago because the Trump administration is opposed to such decrees. The Chicago decree, though, came with Trump as president nonetheless, after state Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued the Chicago Police Department in federal court.
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Also, deputy chief Barbara West comes off as lacking in insight; hopefully, as a potential future chief, and even just in her current job, she’s better than that in real life. She oversees the department’s new Office of Constitutional Policing & Reform.
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Cops In Schools
Late today the Chicago Board of Education voted 4-3 to keep police officers in schools, though this isn’t necessarily the last word.


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“The majority of board members opted to let local school councils continue to decide if they want police officers stationed in their schools,” WBEZ reports.
“However, the school district’s $33 million contract with the Police Department expires in August. That means board members must vote again on continuing the program either at the July or August board meeting. One board member, Sendhil Revuluri, indicated that his vote may change if the contract is not drastically changed.”
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“Mr. Revuluri is Managing Director of Strategic Development at PEAK6 Capital Management, an entrepreneurial investment firm that leverages technology to efficiently manage risk in the options market,” according to his board bio.
He does have an extensive background in education, though, and has two children currently attending CPS schools.
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Back to WBEZ:
“Seventy-two of 93 traditional high schools have police assigned to them, and another 48 officers go between various elementary schools.
“Wednesday’s vote was highly unusual because the mayor has publicly said she wanted to retain the program and she handpicks the board members. It’s unheard of for the board to consider a motion that doesn’t have the backing of the mayor and the school district leadership.”
That’s a good thing! Enough with the boss mayors. Give Lightfoot credit for the board she appointed, which is the most progressive board in Chicago history and likely at least as progressive if not moreso than an elected board would be, despite the whining of the CTU and its allies. (Lighfoot, by the way, supports an elected school board, just not one as large as the CTU and its property tax appeal lawyer friend, Democratic ward committeeman and Toni Preckwinkle pal Rob Martwick, tried to push through the legislature. Ironically, one of the biggest flashpoints of the last mayoral campaign came when Martwick confronted – and lost badly to – Lightfoot over his proposal to make turn the elected Cook County Assessor’s job into an appointed position. If memory serves, she thanked him on Election Night.)
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I wish Lightfoot would’ve replaced Janice Jackson, though. Not a fan.
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I’m not a fan of cops in schools, either. I also don’t trust Local School Councils, which seem badly broken to me, to make their own decisions for their schools. I also wouldn’t support a blanket ban on putting cops in schools. Maybe there are situations when that is the right move. It’s possible that a School Resource Officer needs to be an entirely different job that combines some element and authority of policing with the skills and resources of social workers. I have found the entire debate to be unsatisfying. But ultimately, cops in schools is a symptom, like so much else, of the real problem: economically disadvantaged, underserved neighborhoods suffering from racism both structural and personal. Solving that socioeconomic puzzle would take care of so many other problems. I’m a bit of an economic materialist, you might say. If we can shift to a more just economic structure, at least a certain – and significant – number of problems will fade away. But that will and that kind of shift ultimately needs to come from the federal government – a neighborhood, city or state can hardly be its own economic actor in a vacuum.
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“Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland have all decided to end police-in-school programs in response to the recent uprisings.”
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“The mayor and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson argued in favor of police in schools, with Jackson saying the decision to keep or remove police should be left to elected local school councils at individual schools. CPS says all LSCs voted last year in favor of keeping police, and Jackson is planning to have them vote again in August.”
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“The vote comes after years of issues with the police-in-school program in Chicago Public Schools. It started in 1991 when then-Mayor Richard M. Daley put two uniformed police officers in high schools as a way to show he was dealing with out-of-control gun violence, even though the worst situations did not happen in schools, according to South Side Weekly. He also installed metal detectors . . .
“And accountability has been an issue. The City of Chicago inspector general issued a scathing report in 2018 that took issue with the Police Department for not having standard criteria for selecting officers assigned to schools. The department couldn’t even provide an accurate list of the names of school police officers.
“Recent changes to the police-in-school program were also called on in a consent decree overseen by a federal judge that lays out reforms for the department. But last week, a monitor found the Police Department did not fulfill two key requirements: that only those with no or minimal disciplinary marks on their record are assigned to schools and that they receive extra training so they can serve more as counselors and know how to better interact with students.”
One thing I’m certain of: If they can’t do it right, they shouldn’t do it at all. At least – or at most – let’s make it a strictly controlled, minimally used program that meets the requirements of the consent decree and best practices. That shouldn’t be too much to ask.
After all, we’ve been here time and time and time again.
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P.S.:


It’s hard to read the Twitter attacks on Truss coming from people who proclaim themselves to be paragons of love and compassion. In fact, it’s pretty disgusting. Try to understand where he’s coming from, even if you disagree. Find common ground.
From his bio:
“Mr. Truss is a lifelong resident of the City of Chicago. Mr. Truss was born and raised in West Garfield Park and is a proud graduate of Chicago Public Schools . . .
“Mr. Truss has served his community in the following capacities: Executive Director/Coach of Austin Youth League/Austin Mandela Little League from 1990 to 2007, local school council member at Byford (now Brunson), Hitch and Ella Flagg Young schools, current member of the Columbus Park Advisory Council, former board member of Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, former co-chair of the Austin Community Action Council, member of the Westside Parks Executive Advisory Council and the Westside Branch of the NAACP . . .
“Mr. Truss’s major accomplishments include being the catalyst for the construction and current academic focus of the new Westinghouse High School, the renovation of Austin High School, the renovation of the new ball fields at Columbus Park, the renovation of Rockne Stadium, the reconsolidation of Austin High School as the neighborhood high school and the recent Chicago Park District investment of $3 million in capital improvements for Austin Parks . . . .
“Mr. Truss currently resides in the Austin community. He is a proud grandfather of eight grandchildren. In addition to his children, he and his wife helped raise two nieces, and two nephews.”
Boldface because Lighfoot appointed someone from Raise Your Hand to the school board. With some people, you just can’t win.
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New on the Beachwood today . . .
Data-Driven Police Reforms Have Failed
“In the past few years, we’ve seen renewed public interest in criminal justice reforms. Many jurisdictions are using data-driven approaches, which is a researcher’s dream come true. But it’s also a type of incrementalism that this week has betrayed as inadequate – the same cities that have introduced data-driven reforms are some of the ones with the most powerful protests. These cities also experienced some of the ugliest, most violent responses from police, exposed in the wave of viral videos revealing hundreds of cases of police brutality against protestors around the country.”
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Safely Reopening High School Sports Is Going To Be A Lot Harder Than College And The Pros
‘Extrapolate the numbers, and the estimate is frightening: About 1.7 million involved in amateur sports in the U.S. – which does not include coaches, trainers, and parents – could become infected. About 16,000 could die. The safety bubble of professional sports is a pipe dream for amateur sports.’
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Tunes To Remedy Any Existential Crisis
An E.K. Mam playlist.
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An Act Of God?
Force majeure in a pandemic.
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Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market On Fire
Hot melt technology!
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ChicagoReddit

Drivers Road Test from r/chicago


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ChicagoGram


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ChicagoTube
Nachbarschaftsblues – Chicago Blues der coolen Art

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TweetWood
A sampling of the delight and disgust you can find @BeachwoodReport.


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The Beachwood Blip Line: Blip it good.

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Posted on June 24, 2020