CITY HALL — A City Council subcommittee will add expert testimony to the public comments on police reform gathered across the city next month, according to the Progressive Reform Caucus.
The caucus issued a statement Monday praising Mayor Rahm Emanuel for setting a series of five public meetings citywide next month, but also calling for additional meetings under a Police Accountability Subcommittee with Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) acting as chairman.
"While we are glad to know the administration acquiesced to the will of the community," in scheduling the public hearings, the statement read, "we remain cautious and fully aware that this process must be more than a public-relations show.
"Still, we feel that community meetings are not enough," it added. "We need to hear from experts from around the country on subjects covered in the Police Accountability Task Force Report, including community-police relations, legal oversight and accountability, early intervention and personnel concerns, de-escalation, and transparency."
Munoz is expected to hold "multiple subject-matter hearings" on the issue, emphasizing expert testimony, while residents weigh in at public meetings.
A pair of City Council meetings on police reform earlier this month were derided as a "farce" by members of the public, resulting in the scheduling of additional public meetings next month.
Evan as Aldermen Carrie Austin (34th) and Ariel Reboyras (30th), heads of the joint committee meeting in July, said it was their intent to have a reform package ready for the next Council meeting, in September, progressives urged their colleagues not to rush it.
"We understand that the administration is eager to pass legislation in September," the statement said. "But as of now, no one to our knowledge has even seen a draft of the ordinance. Rushing passage of legislation this important at this critical juncture in our city’s history without full engagement of the community and subject-matter experts would be a serious error." Progressives called a full slate of meetings "a vital component in this process that cannot be taken lightly."
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