My, my mother,
I forgot.
My go's bringing it. We're good.
Good morning and thank you for joining us
for this committee on Health and Human Relations.
Uh, meeting. It is 10 0 8 on
September 24th, 2025,
and this meeting is now called to order.
On today's agenda, we have two items.
The first is R 20 25 0 0 1 7 5 5 1 introduced
by Alderman LaSpada calling
for hearings on the implementation
of gender-based violence prevention services
and programming in Chicago.
We have several guests here with us today, uh,
for this subject matter hearing.
Welcome everybody.
We also have, uh,
resolution R 20 25 0 0 1 5 7 2 8 introduced
by Alderman Robinson calling for an issuance
of a formal apology from the city council to black citizens
of Chicago for historical injustices of slavery.
Before we begin, I will call the role to establish Quorum
Vice Chair Ramirez, alderman Robinson.
Alderman Yancy Alderman, elder Woman Gutierrez
Alderman Lopez, alderman Slop Lopez,
Alder Woman Fuentes Elder Woman Cruz
Alderman Casava, alderman Lawson, other woman, mana Howorth.
Elderman Hadden Rodriguez Sanchez is here.
We have a total of eight members. Uh, we have a quorum.
Uh, we also recognize Alderman LaSpada,
who is a non-member and is here with us.
Thank you for being here.
We have a request for remote participation citing rule 59
from other woman Cruz and other woman Gutierrez.
Can I get a motion to approve the remote participation?
Uh, elder person, cast. So moves.
All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye.
Opposed say nay in the opinion of the chair.
The ayes have it. Other woman, Cruz,
are you online and other woman?
Gutierrez, are you online? Yes. Good morning.
Okay, you've been added to the role.
We'll begin, uh, our meeting with time for public comment.
This period is limited to 30 minutes
and each speaker is limited to three minutes.
Before we go to public comment, I want to stress, um,
what the rules of conduct for public meetings are.
You have to remember to remain seated at all times.
Um, we don't accept profane, threatening, harassing, abusive
of defamatory behavior or speech,
or the disruption of the orderly conduct of this meeting,
disruptive or distracting actions, cell phones
and other small handheld recording devices must be placed
on silent mode and can only be used while seated.
So please follow the rules if you don't,
you risk being asked to leave.
Um, we are going to start a public meeting with, uh,
George Blakemore,
I Paul, to see that the sponsor of the, uh,
this item number four
is he's not here.
He's not here. Why?
Why didn't you not, um, make sure that he would be present?
Because he's sponsoring this one that's saying, uh,
apologizing for historical injustice
of slavery for black people.
He's not here. And I'm looking around here
and looking at the demographic.
I don't see any blacks here.
Uh, I see a, a white, I see, uh, Mexicans.
I can count the blacks on my hand that's present.
It's something evil. Here is something un-American here.
That that item number, uh, uh, uh, four.
Let's go back to that first item. Transgender.
A lot of these, uh, uh, ultimates, uh, say
that they are gay and,
and a lot of 'em, I guess they dream
of being are changing their sex,
but I know from, from life experience that,
that it is only two secs a god name,
a male and a female.
Now, how you going to change this?
Some scientists, some men, some doctors say,
we want a third sixth.
I, I feel like a, a lady today,
so you going to make me a lady?
It, it's human impossible.
And how could I, I could talk like a lady, act like a lady
and twist like a lady and dress like a lady.
I could never be a lady
and I could never know where a lady feels.
Just the beginning of time.
Homosexuality have been a reality,
but somebody wants to move it to a little father.
They want to change. You can't change nature.
If so, you was born a little boy
and a little girl.
Now a mama can put you on pink
and you could want to play like a little
girl or a little boy.
But the genetics, it's not here. It's impossible.
It's fantasy and it's sinful for you
and all of you to come here.
Why didn't you encourage the black people
who was enslaved in America to be president?
1, 2, 3, 4, that are here. Lily white.
It's something evil. And chairman, I think that you are part
of that evilness.
You did not inform the black community.
Engage the black community. None of you. And then Mr.
Yancy and then the black officer.
Thank you for your comments.
Uh, our next speaker is, uh, Sarah Le.
I'm so sorry I don't understand the handwriting.
Well, please correct me when you get to the microphone
and introduce yourself.
Thank you. Good morning. My name is Sarah Laden
and I represent resilience.
Chicago's only standalone rape crisis center,
meaning our sole mission is ending rape culture
through advocacy, healing, and education for over 50 years.
Resilience, formerly known as rape victim advocates
or RVA has
provided survivors of sexual assault
with trauma-informed therapy, 24 hour crisis support
and emergency rooms across Chicago advocacy
and prevention education.
Each year we serve up to 2000 survivors directly
and reach thousands more through prevention
and education programs.
Prior to receiving A-D-F-S-S prevention award in 2024,
resilience had never received City of Chicago funding
for any of our services.
Despite decades of being a trusted lifeline for survivors.
While the city has invested 25 million in gender-based
violence services, an investment long overdue
and appreciated divided annually,
that represents less than 1% of the municipal budget
and does not meet the scale of need
to be clear funding domestic violence services does not
automatically mean funding sexual assault
or funding services that cater
to human trafficking survivors, survivors of sexual assault,
human trafficking and domestic violence,
fake unique face unique barriers
and require specialized, individualized,
confidential community-based support.
With the end of ar RPA funding, we are now expected to serve
more survivors with more complex needs with less money.
Without intentional investment in sexual assault
and human trafficking, we are actually being positioned
to take money away from critical services
like domestic violence.
The need for rape crisis services is undeniable nationally.
One in four girls and one in 13 boys will experience child
sexual abuse, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
queer, and questioning people.
Black, indigenous and other people
of color face significantly higher rates of sexual violence
and significantly fewer pathways to safe and trusted care.
In Chicago, the Chicago Police Department receives about
3000 sexual assault reports each year,
and yet that represents less than a quarter of the assaults
that actually occur.
Thousands of survivors never report to law enforcement
and instead rely on organizations like resilience
for the only safe, confidential support they can find
in Chicago, we always celebrate the reduction
of violent crimes as we should.
However, the city's own data shows criminal sexual assault
continuing to increase year to date.
Police themselves are also situated to rely on our services.
They refer to us to meet advocates confidentially in the
emergency rooms and attend police interviews,
help write protective orders, attend court dates,
provide access to free therapy,
navigate safer housing options, provide access
to transportation, to all these things,
and that's just a small range of our services and the rights
and optional options available to survivors in Illinois.
Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Jessica.
Jessica, er Raul.
Is Jessica. Okay.
Hi. Good morning everyone. Good morning. Thank
You.
Uh, my name is Jessica.
I'm the first out trans teacher in Chicago, CTU,
uh, now retired.
Uh, and that gave me the opportunity to be the trans liaison
for the center in Halstead, uh, for a number of years.
And I ran programs there for trans youth
and I met a lot of them
and I, I've known myself my whole life, uh,
known I was trans since I was about two or three.
Uh, many of the people I met, young people I met also, uh,
had the same experience.
And contrary to the previous comment, it's quite natural.
It exists all over the natural world.
Uh, as humans were just sort of trying to come to terms
with it and I just would encourage you to continue
to support our trans children.
Uh, they need it, um, with the support they turn out
to be pretty nice, decent people, uh, like the rest
of us without it, uh, it's a really a struggle.
Uh, I experienced a struggle, I made it through,
but I have lots of scars.
I would like, uh, the next generations not to grow up
with those kinds of scars.
So I, uh, encourage you to continue
to support the trans youth in the city of Chicago
and the county of Cook and the state of Illinois
and hopefully the whole country and world.
Appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Thank you for your comments.
Uh, our next speaker is Mira Fulton.
Good morning. My name is Mira Fulton.
I have been working as a transgender voice therapist
for the last two years, and I am a member
of the trans community here in Chicago.
I am here to express my support
for resolution H 0 0 1 8 7 5 1 8 7 5 7,
which would condemn the ile, the illegal cuts
to gender affirming care taken by many local,
local hospitals here in Chicago.
As a gender affirming care provider, I've seen
how this care drastically improves the quality of life
of people in this community.
And as a proud trans woman myself,
I've seen it improve my own, which is why it upsets me
so much that so many providers in the city have cowardly
submitted to federal threats that have no legal basis
and are in fact in violation
of the Illinois Human Rights Act.
I want this resolution heard
and passed by this committee for the safety
and wellbeing of trans people here in Illinois.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for your comments. Our next
speaker is Violet Johnson.
Hello, I'm Violet Johnson.
I'm a resident of the 35th Ward.
I'm a transgender woman
and also proud member of the Chicago
Democratic Socialist of America.
Uh, I am rising today to inform the committee
that I am here not as a, uh,
native of Illinois.
I moved here from Texas in order
to escape the legislative persecution
that was occurring in that state.
Uh, and since moving here, I've seen the same sort
of persecution begin in our city of Chicago.
Uh, I am not naive enough to believe
that the attacks of the Trump administration will end
on transgender minors,
and I fully believe that we are on a path
to see the persecution of all trans people, uh, in America.
And I think it is incredibly important
that this committee do everything in its power
to see our 20 25 0 0 1 8 7 5 7
passed by the city council in order to condemn the cuts
to gender affirming care for youth at hospitals such
as Lurie's and Rush Memorial.
Thank you.
Thank you for your comments. Uh,
our next speaker is Melissa Tulle.
Good morning. Uh, my name is Boggo Tulle.
I'm a, uh, resident of the 48th Ward in a member
of the Chicago Democratic Social of America.
Uh, today I wanna speak on H 0 0 1 8 7 8 7,
which condemns the actions of Chicago based hospitals
who have restricted gender affirming care
for patients under 19 across the country,
hospitals have restricted this care
after baseless threats in federal government
to full poll healthcare funding.
While it's true of the loss of federal support,
would be disastrous for leery children's rush
and other institutions, they are in vi blatant violation
of the Illinois Human Rights Act on with their actions,
the rollback of top surgery,
but not breast reductions of puberty blockers,
but not treatments for menopause represent the restriction
of care based on protected characteristics.
Chicago is a city that cares about the transgender community
as shown through initiatives such
as the Trans Femicide Working Group.
We know the political climate is the worst it's
been in decades for trans people.
We need public officials, including the members of the,
of this committee to condemn the actions of these hospitals,
um, and to pass this resolution.
Um, yeah, thank you.
Thank you for your comments. Uh,
our next speaker is Dee Patterson.
Hello, my name is Dee Patterson.
Um, I am a member of the 35th Ward
and here with the Democratic Socialists of America, uh,
I've come to ask this committee to, uh,
bring resolution 0 0 1 8 7 5 7 to the floor as soon
as possible, and pass it unamended
under threats from the authoritarian Trump regime.
Most of the hospitals in Chicago have abandoned gender
affirming care for trans kids,
knowing the devastating effects this decision will have on
the health and lives of their patients.
And they're doing so in violation of Illinois law.
A city that purports to be a sanctuary
for trans people must not soften its language
or hesitate when condemning those institutions which
willingly capitulate to the fascist regime.
Uh, without strong condemnation and resistance on the local
and state level, these hospitals will soon comply
to bans on adult gender affirming care
and anything else, the Trump administration demands of them.
Um, we, the Chicago Democratics of Socialists
of America ask the city council to pass this resolution.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for your comments.
Um, our next speaker is Sayed Sanchez.
Bueno Diaz. My name is Saed Sanchez
and I serve as an advocacy and policy manager for Mu Latinas
and Ion, a dual organization serving survivors
of gender-based violence, many of whom are immigrant
and Latina Mujeres is located in the 25th ward
of aldermans, Joe Lopez.
I'm here to urgently support the city
of Chicago's investment in funding
of gender-based violence programming services
as an organization that meets the needs
of immigrant Latina survivors of gender-based violence.
The need for elevated resources
and support of immigrant survivors
are particularly cri critical in this
current political climate.
As survivors are being targeted
and made more vulnerable for their immigration status,
Chicago has a powerful opportunity
to reaffirm its commitment to meeting all the needs
of all Chicagoans inclusive,
of immigrant survivors at Mujeres.
Therefore, we understand immigrant
and survivor justice as inextricably linked,
and I urge the city of Chicago to uplift
and affirm its commitment to survivors
of gender-based violence in this critical moment.
I thank you for your consideration
and to Alderman LaSpada for bringing forth this motion.
Thank you for your comments. Uh,
our next speaker is Imogen Smith.
Hello, um, I am Imogen Smith.
I'm a member of the 20th Ward
and I'm here with the Chicago DSA.
Um, I am here to, um, express support for
and um, for, uh, this, um, c
this committee passing, um, resolution 0 0 1 8 7 5 7.
Um, currently there are fierce attacks on the trans
community, um, from the federal level,
and while Chicago overall is a, uh,
relatively safe place for trans people,
it is not the case in the rest of the country
and it is not somewhere that will stay
that way if we do not take firm action.
Um, and a firm stance, um, to keep it that way.
Um, it is important to, um, take to,
it is important to not allow for complicit
complicity with, um, a fascist government.
And that is what a great deal
of hospitals in this area are doing
because it sets a dangerous pre precedence of complying
with fascist political whims
that are not based on any degree of reality.
The trans community right now is basically standing alone on
this and we have not seen any real support
and we ask for that support. Thank you.
Thank you for your comments. Our last, uh,
speaker is online.
Diane Gris, are you there?
Diane, are you there?
No. Okay. All right.
We are done with public comment
and now we are going to go to our first item of business,
uh, is the approval of the Rule 45 report.
Can I get, I get a motion to approve the July, 2025
Rule 45 report.
So moved by elder person, Ava,
all those in favor signify by saying Aye.
Elder Woman Cruz, are you there?
Yes, chairman, I'm here.
Okay, thank you. All opposed,
say nay in the opinion of the chair.
I have it. Rule 45
report has been approved.
Our first matter for today is R
2 25 0 0 1 7 5 5 1 introduced
by Alderman LaSpada calling
for hearings on the implementation
of gender-based violence prevention services
and programming in Chicago.
Can I get a motion to accept item
R 20 25 0 0 1 7 5 5 1.
So, so moved by other women. Howorth.
All those in favor of accepting this item,
please respond by saying aye.
Opposed say nay.
Let's wake up everybody in the opinion of the chair,
the eyes have it.
Um, I would like to say something before we, uh,
before I pass it on to Alderman LaSpada for his remarks.
Um, we know that, uh,
gender-based violence is a huge problem in our society.
We know that it is grossly underfunded
services prevention and,
and we know that we have a lot of work to do
to protect people, um, in our city.
I think this particular moment call for us to
really reflect and listen to what is needed
because this is only going to get worse as we see,
uh, the situation unfold before us, right?
The more stress, the more tension, the more scarcity
that is placed onto families, um, the more likely it is
that we are going to have more cases
of gender-based violence.
And at, at this point we know
that we cannot leave anybody behind.
Um, we need to protect everybody
and this conversation is fundamental
for us to be able to do that.
Um, so I'm going to pass it, uh, to Erman LaSpada
to get us started in the hearing.
Uh, you can offer remarks
and then please introduce, uh, our guests
and if everybody can make it a point to introduce yourself,
um, after Alderman LaSpada is done, that would be great.
Thank you very much. Chairwoman.
I I wanna start off by thanking you
and your staff for your support
in putting this hearing together.
And I want to call out the uniqueness of this
because it's almost exactly five years ago that myself
and other alders, including many folks in this room,
submitted a resolution for hearing on gender-based violence
and the need for additional funding.
And that resolution was sent to rules
and we were told we were not permitted
to discuss gender-based violence until
after budget season was over.
And I'm, I'm thankful, deeply thankful
for the way the culture
and the compassion of this body has shifted
over those five years that needs to be named.
Um, this hearing felt important to me
because we're a, a dual crisis, if not more than
that when it comes to domestic
and gender-based violence in this city.
It's a crisis both of violence and of funding.
And what I mean by that is it is
great on a daily basis.
We can inarguably say there is less violence in this city
than there was two or even three years ago.
The the numbers speak for themselves.
Um, if you go to the city's de like violence reduction
dashboard, if you filter
and look specifically at domestic violence victims,
it is an entirely different story for while
homicides overall are down in the city.
Homicides specific to domestic violence, victims are up 18%
while shootings,
fatal shootings are down overall in the city.
Shoot, fatal shootings for victims
of domestic violence are up 46% in the city.
It is, it's a hidden violence
for many in our city
and it is often a, an aspect of
funding and services
that we often marginalize if we're being honest.
Um, I am grateful for in the last four years how
that has started to shift in this city, particularly
through the Chicago Recovery plan that passed.
Geez, I think we're talking about three,
four years ago at this point,
but that brings us to the other crisis, a crisis of funding.
The fact that so much of that work, whether it was related
to rapid rehousing, which has been remarkably successful,
whether it's related to the survivors fund,
which has been remarkably successful, we are at a cliff.
We are staring at the end of this year
and a hard cutoff of that funding
and figure out figuring out where we are, what needs
to be done and how do we get to the services
that survivors need, that victims need,
that potential perpetrators need for safer Chicago
for everyone is why I asked for this conversation today
and why I'm grateful that so many have
chosen to be here today with their wisdom,
with their vulnerability, and with their courage.
Thank you very much, chair.
We can now start with introductions.
Let's start from this side and we can move to the end.
Good morning, I'm Kimberly McGee.
Hi Jackie. Co. She her, I'm the director
of housing advocacy at the network
advocating on domestic violence.
Good morning. My name is Carla Altmeyer
and I am a co-founder
and co-director of Healing to Action,
an organization in Chicago working
to end gender-based violence by building the leadership
and collective power of communities most impacted.
Good morning. My name is Colleen Montgomery
and I'm here from Chicago Children's Advocacy Center.
Good morning, Carla Gutierrez with Mo Latinas Ion,
where I serve as a vice president of programs.
Um, I'm also here as the chair of the task force.
Good morning, I'm Jennifer Rosen,
senior program director
for domestic violence at the Michael Reese Health Trust.
Thank you. Um, you can start with statements.
Good morning council members.
My name is Kimberly McGee
and I'm not here as the executive director
of a large agency.
I'm here as a survivor.
I'm here as someone who has lived
through gender-based violence who has used these services,
who knows firsthand how the system works
and how it fails.
I took time today from my job because this is personal.
It is urgent. It cannot wait.
You'll hear from large organizations today
and you'll hear numbers like 27 million
to sustain their budgets.
But let me tell you something, they will not say not all
agencies are effective.
Some pick and choose which survivors they serve.
Essentially, survivors have to
overcome the hurdle of eligibility.
I know because I was one of the people turned away,
I was told I made too much money to qualify for help
as if my paycheck determined whether I was worth safety,
whether my bruises and my scars somehow mattered less
because of a salary.
That is absurd. Violence doesn't check income brackets
before it enters your home.
It does not discriminate. This is the reality.
Thousands of survivors face every year in Chicago.
Some are denied shelters because the beds are full.
Others are told to come back later
for counseling appointments
and worse, the majority never call for help at all
because of shame, stigma
and fear of not being believed or helped.
Unfortunately, it is easy
to see the violence on the street broadcast
by the news media, but
where do you think violence goes when it's not there?
It's happening in our homes behind closed doors
in the very place that should be our refuge, our place
of safety and peace.
And the truth is the reported cases
are only the tip of the iceberg.
The real numbers are double, maybe triple
because so many never report.
That is why I'm asking you to allocate 40 million
for survivor services.
Not 27 million, just enough to keep the lights on
for the largest agencies,
but a true investment that doubles your current budget.
Budget of 21 million million.
All survivors deserve help
and service, not just the ones told.
Uh, not no one deserves to be told they don't qualify.
Trust me, when someone is showing up for help,
they are at their lowest and most vulnerable point.
Harboring bruises, brokenness, scars.
You can see and many you can't
and still finding the courage to seek help.
We are obligated as Chicagoans
and as fellow humans to answer that call.
And as city leaders you can and you must.
Safety requires investment in prevention, healing
and community-based peer-to-peer programs such
as those offered by agencies like healing
to action and can win.
We've seen proof that when you put resources
directly in the hands of survivors
and the community organizations closest to them,
lives are saved.
Literally far too many survivors seeking
safety are turned away because of income-based rules.
Some agencies use federal poverty guidelines just
15,650 for a single adult
as a strict means test.
Even at say 300% of that,
the cap is only 46,950 for one person
or 63,450 for two.
When I applied for help, my income was just above that line
and I was denied.
I went without help and I suffered for a long time
before finding stability.
This practice leaves thousands unprotected
and in the cross hairs of violence.
We must invest in alternative strategies
and organizations that reject these harmful means tests
and put a focus on safety, not salary so
that every survivor has access to life saving resources.
Council members. I am not a statistic,
I am not a line item on a budget.
I am a survivor who is still standing
who had the audacity to survive and who came here today
because I refuse to let the next woman, the next child
faced the same barriers I did when I was a young child.
I never said when I grow up I wanna be a survivor leader.
Yet here I am and I am proud to speak
and stand for all those survivors who cannot.
Survivors across this city are depending on you.
Please approve 40 million budget proposal
show that Chicago does not turn its back on those
who need safety the most.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Thank you so much for your testimony.
Thank you for using your life story to advocate for
people who are incredibly vulnerable right now.
We deeply appreciate your time, um,
and you sharing with us.
Go ahead
Dear members of the Chicago, can
You get a little closer to the mic?
Just put it so that we can hear you. Thank you so much. Is
That better? Yes. Okay,
perfect. Dear members
of the Chicago City Council, thank you for the opportunity
to share more about our work on behalf of survivors
of gender-based violence and the needs
of survivors throughout Chicago.
My name is Jackie Zrich ETH
and I'm the director of housing advocacy at the Network
Advocating against Domestic Violence.
The Network is a the leading anti gender based violence
partnership organization here in Chicago,
bringing together 45 plus service providers across the
Chicago land area to advocate for better funding services,
systems and laws for survivors of domestic violence,
sexual assault, and human trafficking.
We also operate the Illinois Domestic Violence
Hotline for the entire state.
Coordinate the local survivor fund,
the country's largest cash assistance program
for gender-based violence survivors
and produce quarterly research reports to educate lawmakers
and stakeholders about the needs of survivors.
Since pre pandemic 2019, contact
to the Illinois domestic violence
hotline has more than doubled.
Receiving 18,830 contacts from Chicago in 2024
shelter remains the number one need among survivors
who contact the hotline
and shelter capacity cannot meet the demand for 130 days.
In 2024, there were no beds
or crits available in Chicago domestic violence shelters.
In my role as director of housing advocacy,
I spend each day working with survivors experiencing
or facing housing instability to create individual
and systemic solutions.
Every member of my team feels the cost when we have no safe
spaces for survivors
because we are the people that navigate
that housing crisis every single day.
SARS also reach out to the hotline for many other reasons
beyond critical housing needs like seeking legal help
or information to get them started on the arduous process
of exit exiting an abusive relationship.
We are seeing dramatic increases
for these other services too, via the hotline
and have been able to double the number
of referrals we make from the hotline
to other service providers to try and meet these demands.
But this increased demand from survivors comes at a time
when our community is hitting a perfect storm
of problems while Chicago is seeing a decrease in rates
of crime for shootings and homicides.
Overall, that trend does not extend
to domestic violence related shootings and homicides.
So far this year, as of September 20th,
we have seen a 47% increase in fatal domestic violence
related shootings compared to this time last year.
Service providers have experienced deep
cuts at the federal level.
Such deep cuts that even larger increases from lawmakers in
Springfield in recent years have not been able to undo
our community estimates.
Estimates, estimates having lost 40% of its funding due
to federal changes to the victims of Crime Act funding,
and this has not been fully made up despite state
funding increases.
The increase of needs from survivors also comes at a time
when less survivors are reaching out to law enforcement
for help or to report a crime.
According to federal crime,
victimization data from the Federal Department of Justice,
more than half of survivors
of domestic violence did not reach out
to law enforcement during the victimization.
Again, this is an incredibly diff difficult confluence
of events when it comes to gender-based violence,
higher rates of lethality
and harm, less funding for survivor services,
more demand from survivors for services
and more demand coming to us
as service providers than to law enforcement.
Too often the response from local government is
to increase police resources when confronted
with these problems, but that is not what our community
of survivors and service providers want or need.
What we need is a deeper investment from all levels
of government, including here in Chicago,
to ensure survivors have access to services like housing,
legal advocacy and counseling.
We should also deepen our investment in
and create more innovative programs like the Survivor Fund
or peer-to-peer support programs
to truly meet survivors everywhere.
All of these services would allow survivors
to meet the varied needs they have
and more safely exit abusive
relationships when they're ready.
We appreciate the opportunity to speak today
and urge you all to listen to the survivors
and service survivors and your wards,
including our community members speaking today,
and create more long-term sustainable funding streams
for survivor services like the ones our community provides.
If there was ever a moment to step up
and be bold for survivors across the city,
this year is the year.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for your testimony.
We can go to the next one.
Can folks hear me? Yes.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here today.
Thank you for Alderman LaSpada for setting this up.
My name is Carla Altmeyer and I am a co-founder
and co-director of Healing to Action,
a grassroots organization in Chicago working
to end gender-based violence by building the leadership
and collective power of communities most impacted,
including black and brown survivors, LGBTQ plus survivors
and survivors with disabilities.
I am here today on behalf of the survivor Leaders Healing
to action collaborates with to advocate for the city
to invest in the prevention of gender-based violence
through alternatives to policing models,
specifically peer-based models.
My colleagues have just shared how fatal homicides related
to domestic violence and criminal sexual assault
assaults are up.
Here's the bottom line.
We can't say violence is down if
gender-based violence is up.
If we want to reduce crime, we need to start
by addressing gender-based violence
beyond the current response strategies
and tap into the innovative solutions
that survivors are advocating for.
The overreliance on police based responses has
disproportionately erased the experiences of survivors,
especially black and brown survivors.
Just last year, Jaden Perkins, a 10-year-old boy,
was killed protecting his mother from an estranged
ex-boyfriend who attacked her in her apartment.
Jayden's mother actually went
to the Chicago Police Department
but was denied a res restraining order even
with a restraining order.
We've seen how that alone isn't enough
to protect someone like Corina Gonzalez who placed an order
of protection in 2023 and was killed by her abuser.
Survivors are constantly slipping
through the cracks in the system
that is hemorrhaging with holes.
Over the past 10 years, nearly 90% of sexual harm reports
to the Chicago Police Department did not
result in an arrest.
Survivors aren't slipping through the cracks
because the system is working with a few minor exceptions.
Survivors are dying
because the system isn't working
to stop the violence in the first place.
With the current indiscriminate targeting of Latin A
and immigrant communities by immigration
and customs enforcement, some
of the most marginalized survivors have no choices.
Today already less than 31% of survivors actually report
to the police many for fear
that they might be criminalized themselves.
Just yesterday, a teenager reached out to an heal,
to a healing to action survivor leader asking if someone
could accompany her to the domestic violence courthouse.
Given the recent address by ice,
the current system is inaccessible
to those most vulnerable to violence.
In our work with hundreds of survivors,
there are two strategies
that survivors continuously advocate for that would go
beyond responding to gender-based violence
and work to reduce it prevention efforts
and peer-based efforts.
Starting with prevention. In 2025,
the city invested only 3.6% of a 21 million budget.
$21 million budget under the Department
of Family Support Services to prevent gender-based violence
for 2.7 million Chicagoans.
In that same year, the city invested $4 million
to hire victim services specialists under the Chicago Police
Department to provide referrals to survivors who report
to police a move opposed by survivors
and Antivial Antiviolence.
Advocates prevention efforts are now in dire
crisis with Chicago.
Public schools facing federal budget cuts
to programs like sexual health education
that prevent gender-based violence for the next generation.
If we reinvested almost $2.8 million from the vacancies
of the victim services program into prevention strategies,
we might actually start to see results
Prevention strategies may look like survivors facilitating
consent and healthy relationships
work workshops in their neighborhoods.
It looks like having a robust, well-funded
and intergenerational sexual health education program in
Chicago public schools and it looks like an increased shared
understanding among community members to identify
and prevent gender-based violence.
These strategies go beyond the response
and begin to address the root cause.
The key to making these prevention strategies successful is
leveraging peer-to-peer or community health worker models.
Peer models or community health worker models are powerful
to address the stigma and shame
around issues like vaccinations and gun violence
and work to reduce violence
or increase outcomes to support the health of the community.
We've seen how violence interrupters have created safe zones
in the Austin neighborhood leading
to major declines in shootings and carjackings.
These peer-based models
for gender-based violence already exist at healing
to action an average, uh, an average of each.
Each survivor leader last year reached about 28 individuals
and over a third of those individuals disclosed violence,
decreasing the shame
and the stigma that survivors were facing
and in increasing access to services.
Now imagine if Jaden's mother had been able to reach out
to a peer leader in her neighborhood when she learned
of the release of her abuser.
A peer would've helped reduce the isolation
and stigma associated helping her feel supported.
Perhaps a peer could have helped her navigate existing
services or could have offered to stay
with her when the abuser was released.
The peer maybe even could have worked with the landlord
to ensure safety measures were taken
to prevent strangers from entering the building.
If we work to merely sustain what we have,
survivors will continue to die.
But if we double the gender-based violence budget
to $40.1 million,
reinvesting almost $2.8 million from the vacancies
of the Victim services program into prevention strategies
and peer-based models to reduce gender-based violence,
we actually then will have a chance at stopping the violence
and saving Chicagoans lives.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Thank you for your testimony. You can go ahead and start.
Good morning, chairman Lynn and members of the committee.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.
It is an honor to be here alongside my fellow speakers
survivors whose grit and bravery inspire me not only today,
but every day, and my fellow Advocates Act organizers
and activists whose unwavering dedication
to making Chicago safer is just one
of the many reasons why I love this city.
My name is Colleen Montgomery
and I serve as a program director at Chicago Children's
Advocacy Center or Chicago, CAC.
Since 2001, Chicago CAC has coordinated the city's response.
When children experience sexual abuse or serious harm
or witness violence, Chicago CAC brings together experts
from DCFS, the Chicago Police Department
and the Cook County state's attorney's office to work
with our staff under one roof, all with a single vision
to deliver high quality trauma-informed services
to children and their families.
By working together under one roof, our staff
and partners are able to collaborate effectively
and leverage each other's resources so that the children
and families who come
through our doors can focus just on their healing,
not navigating a complicated system of appointments,
retelling their story and finding resources.
In this work we see firsthand
how interconnected different forms of violence are
nearly one third of the families that come
through our doors report.
Also experiencing domestic violence
and broader research suggests
that number is likely closer to 60%.
When children witness violence growing up,
they are more likely to choose violent behaviors as adults
or accept it as normalized behavior perpetuating cycles
of harm through generations.
These patterns have tangible impacts on a society including
sky high healthcare costs and overburdened court system
and high risks of homelessness and poverty.
For almost 25 years,
Chicago has supported Chicago CAC in interrupting harmful
patterns for child survivors of sex abuse.
And we know that you believe that survivors of domestic
and gender-based violence deserve the
same level of intention.
That is why over the past four years,
Chicago CAC in partnership
with the network over 40 community-based organizations
and survivors themselves has built Chicago's First Family
Justice Center called Chicago Advocacy Network
for Hope or Can Hope.
Just like children's advocacy centers,
family justice centers bring together partner agencies
to work collaboratively under one roof so
that survivors can choose their own path of healing
during just one visit.
Opening this October in Chicago's West side,
can Hope will offer adult survivors
of domestic violence in Chicago a new choice, a space
where they can access resource navigation, counseling,
legal aid, culturally specific supports
and healing all in one place.
Police will not be onsite at can hope.
However, if a survivor chooses to work with the police,
we will support them in that choice
and provide them with a trauma-informed space to engage
with law enforcement safely at can hope.
We also work closely
with the domestic violence court system,
the Cook County Sheriff's Office, CPD,
and the city, so that when survivors choose
or are forced onto a path that includes those institutions,
we are ready to support them on that journey.
Can Hope will be the first Family Justice Center in Chicago,
but family justice centers are not a new idea.
They have a 30 year history
of evidence-based results across 400 centers in the country,
including one in Illinois and Rockford.
Family Justice centers have been linked
to reductions in homicide due to domestic violence,
increased prosecution of sexual assault
and feelings of greater hope among survivors
who access their services.
When survivors feel a greater sense of hope,
they are more likely to reclaim their sense of self
and power and break cycles of violence.
When cycles of violence are broken,
children stop learning abusive behaviors,
survivors regain stability
and neighborhoods grow stronger and healthier.
Chicago needs this now more than ever.
Gender-based violence is not going away
and as you've already heard today, it is escalating.
Thankfully, Chicago already has the tools, the services,
and the partners to change that trajectory.
So today I urge you to stand with survivors
by investing every resource possible into canned hope
and the network of gender-based violence services
that work together to make our city safer.
Together we can ensure that Chicago is not only a place
where violence is addressed and prevented,
but where healing is inevitable.
Justice is accessible and hope is real.
Thank you for your time
and for your commitment to the wellbeing of all Chicagoans.
Thank you for your testimony and all of you for your work.
Um, we can go to the next testimony when
We might have messed y'all up
'cause we switched the order,
but, um, thank you Alderman Lafata
and the committee for convening the subject matter hearing
and for your dedication to preventing domestic violence.
Um, I'm Jennifer Rosen Kranz, the senior program director
for domestic violence at the Michael Reese Health Trust
and a member of the city
of Chicago's gender-based Violence task force.
Today I'll share a little bit of information with you about
how Michael Reese seeks to address domestic violence
and along with Carla Gutierrez provide information about the
city of Chicago's gender-based violence task
force at Michael Reese.
Our vision is a healthier future for every Chicagoan
and you cannot be healthy if you don't have a safe home.
We seek to break the cycle of violence
by supporting both survivors and people who cause harm.
For more than three decades, Michael Reese has worked
with partners across our city to advance ideas
and opportunities that will have the greatest impact on
health and Chicago land
and domestic violence is one
of our main priorities at Michael Reese.
We have spent decades working
to address domestic violence from all sides.
That means keeping survivors safe,
preventing violence from occurring or reoccurring
and building healthier families.
This year alone, Michael Reese worked on new initiatives
to support survivor health,
financial security, and safe housing.
We have supported stipends for survivors,
so they are compensated
for their work on the city's survivor-led working group.
We partnered with the City
of Chicago on the Safe Transfer pilot project to help
survivors rapidly move to safe housing
with wraparound support.
We worked with the network on a guaranteed income pilot
that provides unrestricted cash support to survivors,
helping them meet their needs
and maintain their independence.
And we have also supported wings to convene providers
and experts on traumatic brain injuries, bringing new focus
to the impacts of TBI ON survivors
and expanding their work in this critical area.
We are passionate about reaching survivors
with the support they need
and centering their voices in our work.
But we know true support for survivors must include work
to prevent violence by addressing people who cause harm.
To that end, Michael Reese engaged in a year long landscape
scan of services for partners
who cause harm in Cook County to stop violence.
We have to expand our efforts to reach this population
and this study will guide that work.
To be clear, reaching partners who cause harm
with effective services is survivor centered from survivors
who live with their partners
and want the violence to stop to those who co-parent
or want to stop a former partner from hurting someone else.
This is work that empowers survivors and keeps people safe.
Our findings show real gaps in programming
and coordination in this area as well as real opportunities
to make significant progress in the coming weeks.
We look forward to sharing our research
and laying out our immediate priorities as an organization.
I also want to acknowledge the city's support
for peace within Chicago's Home.
A program that seeks to provide services
for people who cause harm.
It is critical to support innovative programming
that reduces violence at the source.
There is so much to be done to support survivors,
keep families safe and break the cycle of violence.
We're grateful to this committee for their partnership
and look forward to our work together in the months ahead.
As related to the gender-based violence task force,
I'm proud to be serving in a second term on the city
of Chicago's gender-based violence task force.
The task force was established in 2021,
and thanks to City Council is formalized in the
Municipal Code of Chicago.
It is designed to ensure that all the whole
of government partners to address domestic violence,
sexual assault, and human trafficking, we bring the voice
of those impacted by violence
and those who work with survivors to the city.
We advise the mayor and city staff on the needs of survivors
and programs and policies to best meet those needs.
How to make best use of limited resources,
and you've heard some of those ideas today, how
to improve law enforcement's response
to gender-based violence
and how to create alternative responses
that do not rely on the criminal legal system
because we know many survivors do not feel safe engaging
the criminal legal system.
And now I'll turn it over to Carla to share
with you more about the task force.
If I can have a second
before you start, for the members of this committee
who are also members of the Committee on Housing,
if you could head to the Committee on Housing
for Quorum call and then come back.
I would really appreciate it. Go ahead.
Good morning. Thank you so much for your time
and for allowing us to be here.
Um, so Jennifer got to share a little bit about, uh,
what we do ask the task force.
Um, and I'll share a little bit about who we are.
So we are a group of 10 to 21 appointed members.
Uh, as part of this group, we do have one member, uh,
who's part of our advisory council and women
and one member who is part
of the advisory council on lgbtq plus issues.
Uh, we do have two subcommittees alternative response
and challenging cultural norms.
We are a group of volunteers. We do not get paid for this.
Uh, as, uh, Jennifer shared, I am the chair, uh,
and we have a vice chair, Theresa, uh, who we were appointed
by the mayor, uh, and we meet on a quarterly basis.
Our next meeting will be on October, October 21st
to be exact, um,
and, uh, of course additional meetings as needed.
Um, I will switch over to talk a little bit about ion,
which I'm also representing today.
Uh, we service over 5,000.
Sorry, I, depending on how I turn, my voice gets louder.
Uh, but, uh, we service over 5,000, uh,
participants each year.
Many of those through our gender-based violence services.
Um, let me get there.
So who we are, uh,
we are the longest standing Latina led
organization in the nation.
Uh, this includes our local programming.
Um, so it includes our parent support program,
which provides parenting psychoeducational classes.
Uh, we do work with DCFS involved families,
but also community referrals, really ensuring
that we're providing that psychoeducation information.
And also, uh, all of our services are culturally specific.
Our domestic violence program
and our sexual assault program are the most similar.
We are the only, uh,
culturally specific dual service provider.
Uh, and through this we provide the psychoeducational,
culturally responsive work on learning some
of the cultural myths of gender-based violence, uh,
providing therapy services across the lifespan.
Uh, also providing
that legal advocacy accompanying survivors to court, uh,
really explaining the process of that, completing the orders
of protection with them, uh, and providing that advocacy
and support that is most needed at this time.
Uh, we also have a supervised visitation
and safe exchange, so we work with, uh, court mandated
and non court mandated families in both Chicago
as well as the suburbs.
Uh, we have our medical advocacy that's
provided by a sexual assault team going to the hospitals,
really being an advocate, but also support for survivors
that are, uh, in, in that situation.
Um, and then we do have community, uh, engagement.
So our res are really in the community.
They are being amplifying the voices
and experiences of survivors, um, as we do
with Moez, Latinas, and Axion.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for your testimony as well.
Uh, our last speaker is going to be talking
to us in Spanish, and then we will have interpretation.
Okay. Trujillo
Can hear interpretation now.
Hi, can you hear me? You could, yeah. Okay. Hi everyone.
Just a translation of what Margarita said. Good morning.
My name is Margarita
and one, I'm one of the Latina leaders
from healing to Action.
I'm a mother of five sons and I am Mexican.
I'd like to tell you why I am here.
When I was recruited by healing to action, I wanted
to understand what gender-based violence was
because, excuse my ignorance,
and perhaps you might think that that's the case
that everyone already knows what that is,
but I did not, I had thought that that was something
that really only existed in the L-G-B-T-Q community,
but that's not the case.
I learned that gender-based violence is everywhere
and impacts men and women.
So I became a bit more interested
because it was a situation in which I had also experienced
and that was occurring in my community.
I had also been psychologically abused,
and I decided to get more involved with healing to action
to learn more about them.
And here I am representing folks from there.
We want more investment in healthcare and in services
and in centers, uh, where we can receive support so
that we can help combat against gender-based violence.
And I'll explain a little bit more.
Several years ago, I decided to change my own situation
and was able to find a support center.
And do you know what they told me? Then?
Fortunately for me, in order to be able
to receive the support that I needed, I had
to have been physically abused.
And that's how the system works.
It deeply saddened me
because I felt that psychologically I was not well,
it did not seem fair.
I wish I would've had the emotional support that I needed.
That is why I ask the folks here,
the authorities present here to see that these situations
that are happening in our community, I have volunteered
to give talks and workshops in our communities against
gender-based violence so that our women can feel empowered.
In one of our last meetings that I joined
and facilitated, I was left surprised to see that
among our group, there still exists fear to not talk,
to not wanna talk, and not really knowing how to put limits
so that we can stop gender-based violence.
I know it's not some magical solution
that will appear overnight,
but if we have the appropriate resources, we're going
to have healthy people and not statistics.
I hope that you have heard some of the stories
that happen in our communities,
but I also know that our needs are in your hands,
and if we have access to all these things,
we'll have healthier families.
Thank you so much for interpretation.
Uh, we reached the end of our speakers,
or do we have any more speakers?
I want to acknowledge that we have representation from the
Department of Health, um,
and we have, uh, representation from the department of the,
from the FSS as well.
Uh, so if anybody has questions for the departments,
you are welcome to ask.
Uh, do I have any questions or comments about this item?
Yes. Alman Lawson.
Thank you, Madam Chair. You know,
I I always have a question or two.
Um, and I, I'm not sure who can answer this,
but I, uh, a a couple quick things.
So when we talk about the 3.6 million in the prevention
budget, I believe was the figure that, that I heard,
um, uh, Ms.
Altmeyer, uh, right, you you spoke to
that I I wanna talk about prevention generally,
but that was that, am I getting that right? It
Was 3.6%.
Oh, okay. Of a 20 mil of the $21 million budget,
and I think it's about 700,000.
Okay. A little over $700,000.
Glad I asked. Um, does that go, is that, uh,
is that being, uh, sent to our community partners
or are there city employees doing the work?
Uh, the direct work with prevention, I,
I will leave that question for DFSS,
but I know that some of that is going to community partners
and some of that is going internally, but
Testing
Good morning.
Uh, Danny Castaneda, deputy Commissioner
for Gender-Based Violence and Human Services
at the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services
or DFSS for short?
Uh, yes. The just over 750,000, uh, funding that we have
for prevention is fully going to, uh,
community-based organizations. Okay.
Okay. Um, maybe while you have the mic, um, walk me
through, if someone calls 9 1 1 and someone calls 3 1 1
or maybe the hotline, what, you know, what if,
if they're calling 9 1 1,
they're gonna get a police response.
Are we training our police officers at all, um,
on gender-based violence issues?
Um, that seems like it should be.
I mean, there's probably always gonna be some interaction
or, or there enough interaction that our police need
to be, uh, better trained.
Um, but just sort of walk me through,
if someone calls 9 1 1, they get a police
response, sort of what happens next?
Or if it's 3 1 1 with a, um, you know, a, a care worker
or social worker response?
Um, Sure.
I think, um, depending on what, uh, again,
Danny Castane a deputy for gender-based violence at DFSS.
I mean, I think it really depends on what the service
that is being requested.
Obviously, if you're calling 9 1 1, uh, the hope is
that you're actually calling
because there's an immediate danger to your,
uh, physical wellbeing.
Otherwise, if you're calling 3 1 1,
you're likely calling 3 0 1 to request shelter
or a wellbeing check.
Excuse me. Mm-hmm. Um, which, you know, someone,
someone experiencing harm, uh, could be calling
through on one for, for a wellbeing check.
I think our unified messaging is that if you are in need
of support because of gender-based violence
or domestic based violence, we certainly want you
to call the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline or text
or chat online, whichever is the, the safest way for you
to access that resource.
Um, but really the response, um,
varies depending on the actual need
that is voiced over when making that call.
Uh, but yes, uh, our division on gender-based violence at
DFSS, uh, does work in a number of ways
with the Chicago Police Department to ensure, um,
that they're equipped, but the information,
especially their victim services specialists
who are often making referrals
to the community based organizations, uh, that we fund.
Um, and in regards, uh, to policing, I'm gonna take that
through the chair so that we can get you
what the training is and how it
Does. Great. Because you
meant I'm the, the victim specialists.
Um, are those sworn or civilian positions?
Civilian. Civilian. Okay.
Um, but unfilled is, I think
what I'm reading as well.
I was Wondering if Kimberly could
maybe share a little bit about her
Experience with the police.
Yes. Wait, can you, this works okay. Yes.
I can share, uh, a little bit about my experiences, um,
having used some of the services.
So, um, there was an instance where I did call 9 1 1
and I did have, um, police come, um,
and I live, uh, on a college campus.
And so there were two responses that came part
of the response, um,
from the services on the college campus, uh,
was a victim support person, a woman, um,
who was there to talk with me, asked me, you know,
like, is now a good time?
My clothes were torn and things like this.
While there were still, uh, police around, you know, police,
uh, CPD, um, you know, asking questions
and things, I was treated very respectfully.
I was treated with a lot of care.
Um, I had a lot of services, I think
because I was on a college campus and I was,
and when I talked to other survivors,
my situation is very unique
because of the resources where I live.
So I'm very cognizant of that.
Um, there was, uh, I also had support
at 5 5 5 West Harrison, which is, it's extraordinary to go
through that process.
Um, there, there's not always support available.
Some agencies at the time, I think I,
I had support from Family Rescue, which was extraordinary.
I think there was some, uh, city of Chicago services,
perhaps it was through D-F-F-D-F-S-S, is that right?
Okay. Um, where there was a person who could just be with me
and go through that process, which is arduous.
And so emotionally taxing, there's almost no way to explain
how, how arduous, how much it takes,
how long the process takes.
We're talking about a year or more.
And, um, services where people are able to
have a person meet a victim is very, very helpful
because as a survivor, you can't think straight.
And I'm someone who was trained, you know,
to help other survivors.
I've worked on a rape, rape victim crisis hotline.
I'm trained, I'm also a licensed social worker.
I know all the things, but when it happened to me,
I could not think straight for myself.
I needed help. And so these services are, are critical.
They're not even nice to have.
It's, it's so important to have someone, uh,
in a peer-to-peer situation.
Um, whereas I think I mentioned that, um,
I made too much money, or I was told I didn't
qualify for a lot of services.
The peer-to-peer services would be able
to help in those situations immediately,
because I went a long time with without help.
And I basically survived off the generosity of strangers
that I didn't even know.
So if it wasn't for those folks, I honestly don't know
how I would've made it through.
So I hope that helped answer your question a little
Bit. Thank you. And
tha thank you for being here
and telling your story today.
Um, it, it's, it's enlightening important, important for us.
So, um, and finding your voice and your power in it.
So thank you. Thank you for that.
Um, I guess the, uh,
other question I had is around prevention, right?
I, you know, what, what, what could we do to stop this?
Obviously there's a lot of talk about CPS,
which we have less control over than
we did a couple years ago.
Um, I remember seeing marketing campaigns
that were targeting beauty shops, right?
Let's talk about it places where we're sort of targeted
to women, where women gather.
Um, as an LGBT person, I, I know that this is everywhere,
but is there any sort of push where we working maybe with,
um, you know, private partners on, on marketing,
on a messaging campaign, not only for, you know,
what we're doing in CPS,
but also what we can be doing broader
to have conversations in every community.
I appreciate this question.
One thing that I wanna point to is what Margarita said is
that gender-based violence, when it's talked about,
people don't really think that it applies to them.
And so I think that's the first step.
And so I know a lot of organizations like Mo Latinas
can win and healing to action.
We're working to have promot
like Margarita, like Kimberly, who are going
to the community and having actually a dialogue
with everybody there to say, what is gender based violence?
Right? And by opening that kind of dialogue,
that will then help people, one, identify it,
but also disrupt that shame
and stigma that prevents people from coming forward.
Um, and we see that oftentimes.
So I think a, a media campaign is one piece,
but it's not enough to actually disrupt this kind of more
accepted or cultural norms that exist
around gender based violence.
Um, thank you for that. And then, um,
I'll just ask specifically on, on the LGBT side,
who are our partners there?
Um, and are they receiving any city funding?
And that, that can be through the chair.
Um, if we don't have it right now,
We can get it to you, Paige.
Great. Great. Alright. Thank you very much.
And thank you to everybody for being here,
for telling your stories and for the amazing work you do.
I know it's very, very difficult.
I've had friends that do this work.
I've, I've, I've heard a lot
of really tough stories about the time, um, and frustration.
And back then the judges didn't make any sense either.
Um, what do you mean two girls got in a fight? Come on.
Um, so, uh, the conversation's much different than it was a
few years ago because of that.
And obviously it needs to be
because of the increases we're seeing.
So again, just thank, thank you all
for the important work you continue to do. Thank
You. Thank you Alderman Lawson.
Um, I want to acknowledge, uh, Erman Robinson
that has joined us today.
And non-member Alderman, Matt Martin,
who also wants to ask some questions.
You have the floor.
Thank you, chairwoman. I really appreciate you
convening this hearing.
Always, uh, an important and sadly a very timely topic.
Also, uh, sharing my thanks to mid LaSpada
for introducing this resolution as well as
to everyone in the box as well as your colleagues.
'cause you all are not one person. Teams.
You, um, are working closely
and collaboratively with a number of people, uh, some
of whom are here in the back, many of whom are not.
Um, so I wanna express my gratitude, um, my office
and I have, um, been lucky to work with many
of you since I got into office in 2019.
Sometimes it's been, uh, around time sensitive issues
where someone, uh, reaches out
to our office late on a Friday
and says, I am, uh, in a very challenging situation.
I need to find housing immediately, uh,
especially when there are younger children involved.
Um, we wanna prioritize that.
And I know that many
of you have been instrumental in us being able
to serve our communities
and our constituents at tremendous times of need and trauma.
So, thank you. Um, I, I wanna uplift a few things.
One is, um, not included on this, uh,
on some budget related requests,
but I think still something that's important
and can be done, um,
on a year round basis is permanent supportive housing.
I think a lot of great work has been done in recent years
around rapid rehousing
and other, um, supports, uh,
using in part federal covert relief dollars.
But I also know that, um, our ward has been the beneficiary
of some city resources to,
I think in the coming months break ground on our city's
first permanent supportive housing development for, um, uh,
families who've experienced, uh, domestic
and gender-based violence.
And to be able to have those sort
of onsite support services, uh, that are informed by many
of your organizations is something I'm very much looking
forward to having
and I know is, uh, uh, welcomed, uh,
across our North Center community and beyond.
Um, also wanted to uplift one of the items
that was discussed, um, around Can hope.
Um, and I was hoping maybe we could get a little bit more
discussion, not just around what, um, is, is soon
to be available, but also some of the, the larger scope
of this important initiative.
Because the city has already set aside $5 million to fund,
I think the full vision for Can Hope as well
as Senator Durbin has earmarked a million dollars.
There's still more that the city
and the state hopefully working together can do.
And I was hoping you could underscore, uh, some of
that larger vision because especially in terms of, uh, the,
the physical space
or, uh, for can hope to have a permanent home being adjacent
to the existing, uh, resources
and offices at Chicago, CACI think is, is very important.
Yeah. Thank you Alderman Martin.
Uh, my name is Colleen Montgomery from Chicago Children's
Advocacy Center, and we appreciate all your support, um,
for gender-based violence services and Can Hope.
And what you're talking about is the, the full vision
of Can Hope, um, which will be a new building at Chicago
CACs, uh, campus in the Illinois Medical District.
There'll be a three story building
with at least one floor dedicated to Can Hope
and Partners being onsite with us at that location.
Um, the project, the phase of the project
that we're opening this October is just the first phase
of the program, and then there'll be continuing phases
as we get to that larger building
and secure more funding from the different places
that you've already mentioned, alderman Martin, at
that full location, we will be able to have many,
many partners who provide all different kinds of services
that survivors can be looking for,
and will also be serving, uh, survivors
of not only domestic violence, but sexual assault
and human trafficking and stalking at least.
Um, different family justice centers have partners in their
centers that include hair salons
and free clothing stores for survivors to come in.
Um, in particular, if they fled a violent situation
and had to leave everything behind, they can go
to their local family justice center
and get everything that they might need, including working
with a housing provider who's on site
and city officials who could help them apply
for public benefits that they might need, um,
when they're going out on their own.
That's what Canned Hope will be bringing to Chicago.
Um, it exists in Rockford, so far in Illinois,
but that's the only place, um, in Illinois
and we're proud to, to be the second place in Illinois
to offer those services.
Great. Thank you very much for that explanation.
And it would encourage any colleagues who haven't
yet had an opportunity to tour Chicago CAC to do so.
I think it's very illuminating
and inspiring to see so many different levels of government
collaborate on site in a way that is designed both in terms
of the, the physical layout as well as the services that are
provided on site to, uh, be informed
by survivor's experiences.
Um, uh, so, uh, kudos to you, um, and,
and your colleagues for continuing that work.
Um, I was hoping, uh,
that DFSS could share a little bit more information about,
um, funding for domestic
and gender-based violence, specifically
for the current fiscal year FY 2025.
Approximately how much has the city allocated towards this
important set of initiatives
and what percentage of that is ARPA funded versus, uh,
funding streams that we control as a city council?
Uh, thank you Alderman Martin, Danny, again, deputy
for Gender-based Violence at DFSS.
Uh, so in 2025, uh,
the division on Gender-based Violence at the FSS, um,
had budgeted, uh, 21.3 million, um,
of which 5.5 million is ARPA dollars.
Uh, 2.1 million is C-D-B-G-A federal grant,
and 4.5 is corporate funding.
And then 9 million is the DV Home Share Fund,
which is also corporate, just a, a special revenue fund.
Noted. Um, thank you.
I, I know that for a number of years we've been looking, uh,
to augment these services
and understanding that about a quarter of the funds
that we've been spending this year, maybe a little bit less,
uh, have come through arpa.
I think that, um, we should be looking not just
to maintain those funds,
but to expand, I think at a time when public safety
continues to be top of mind
for many Chicagoans across every community area.
It's important that we, uh, really acknowledge
and address, uh, public safety in a holistic way.
And I think, uh, we need to make sure
that we are doubling down on our investments in, in services
that are both working, but are sadly, um, there to
serve a growing problem.
Um, and so when we know that anecdotally
and statistically calls
to the DV hotline have grown over the last number of years,
especially since the start of the pandemic, I think
that we need to take these evidence-based approaches
and fund what works.
And clearly what we are doing at the city level is working.
We just need to expand it to scope.
Um, last question I have is a weedsy one in terms of budget,
know, there was a discussion around
civilian specialist positions.
How many total positions are there
and how many of them are currently vacant, if anyone knows?
I believe there are 52 in total and 29 are vacant.
And, uh, sorry to put you on the spot, miss, uh, the spot,
miss Altmeyer, do you happen to know if there are, um,
if any of those vacant positions are currently, um, uh,
posted for purposes of filling?
I think they are actually, yes.
Okay. Uh, we'll all have some separate, uh, questions
to share with CPD.
Um, but again, just wanna reiterate my gratitude
for having this conversation, um,
to you Alderman LaSpada for spearheading this.
And that's all I have. Thank you Chair.
Um, alderman, do you have a question? Alderman? LaSpada,
Thank you so much, vice Chair.
Um, I wanted to thank again everyone
for being with us today.
This, this work Conversations with You always
leaves me with a productive, motivated anger,
and I thank you for that.
Um, I am grateful for a budget.
I won't even describe it as ambitious.
I will describe it as necessary.
Um, and I wanted to ask about two aspects that
I feel like I should know more about.
Uh, number one, when we talk about support systems described
as supervised visitation and Safe Exchange,
and also the Innovations
and Pilots line item, could someone speak more about those
items and how they impact the work
that we're trying to accomplish?
Sure. I can speak to our programming.
Uh, so the supervised Visitation
and Safe Exchange is, uh,
facilitated out of one of our sites.
We have three offices, Brighton Park, north Riverside,
and our Pilsen location.
Um, our supervised visitation program allows us
to have the visits on site.
Uh, we have visitation, uh, supervised visitation specialist
who are able to be part of those, ensure the safety
and wellbeing of the child, uh, and then also work.
We, we do have a therapist who can work with, uh,
whether it's a, a kiddo, a youth, uh,
but also engaging the family in those services.
So we typically have the residential parent who's a part of
that as well as our, the visiting parent.
Uh, and through these family sessions,
we've actually seen a lot of those participants, uh,
the families in particular, uh, whether it's, uh,
the visiting parent who caused harm
or the residential parent, uh, who, um, is a survivor
engage in our parenting, uh, through our parent support.
And so it's been really wonderful for us to provide
that wraparound service, uh,
and of course, the safe exchange as well.
Uh, for us, you know, one of the things
that we're really thankful for is that we're able to do this
not only for families in the city of Chicago,
but also those in the suburbs, uh,
that are court mandated or not.
And especially given, uh, the current climate, uh,
it's been extremely beneficial for families to be able
to come without having that, uh, court referral
or that will allow them to participate in these services.
Um, and, uh, alderman Lara,
I can speak towards the innovations and piloting line.
Um, so one thing that, um, the, the thought
of that, or the thought behind that is related to
just being able to be nimble
and responsive to what survivors have been saying
or the gaps within, within the system.
Um, so for instance,
peer-to-peer models are currently not funded
by the city of Chicago.
Um, I believe there was an r uh, RFP, um,
by DFSS last year,
or this year finally with one RFP to fund
innovate innovation or innovative responses like
peer-to-peer models.
And so that's something that, um, that, you know,
an innovation line item would allow for these emerging, uh,
practices to be implemented or applied here in Chicago.
Who, who does fund peer-to-peer models,
Private philanthropy and individual donors.
Thank you. Michael Reese Health Trusts
is actually one of the partners. Yeah,
A sincere thanks.
Thank you for being an example for us. Thank you. Thank you.
Vice chair.
Any other questions by committee members? Okay.
Seeing no further questions, can I get a motion
to approve item R 2 0 2 5 dash
0 0 1 7 5 5 1.
So move by Alderman Robinson.
All those in favor of approving this item
respond by saying aye.
All those opposed by saying nay
and the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
I will report, I will report this recommendation at the
upcoming city council meeting.
Thank you so much to all of our guests in the box.
Thank you.
Oh, okay.
Great. Next on the agenda is item R 2 0 2 5 dash
0 0 1 5 7 2 8, introduced by Alderman Robinson,
calling for an issuance of formal apology from City Council
to black citizens of Chicago
for historical injustices of slavery.
I would like to now pass to Alderman Robinson
to share any remarks.
Good morning, Um, chair, um, Sanchez
and vice chair, uh, Ramirez
and fellow members of this committee.
I'm here before you today to ask for your support
in demanding that our city and state issue a formal apology
and take more substantive,
substantive action to repair the harm done by slavery,
segregation, and institutional racism.
While Illinois was created to be a free state in 1818,
black Amer black Americans, excuse me, were subjected
to forced labor
and we know the harms that this has taken.
Um, certainly in today's climate.
After de after decades of disinvestment, discrimination
and disfranchisement, we continue
to experience disparities in wealth, health, outcomes,
education, employment, and economic opportunity.
While we're responsible for so much of
what makes Chicago the vibrant, beautiful,
and successful city that we all know
and love, we still face systematic racism.
This resolution is a reminder that this debt remains unpaid
and, and this reckoning is overdue.
We must demand that greater steps can be taken
to repair the harm that the African American
community has endured.
I ask that you stand with me in moving this resolution
forward and encouraging the city,
and again, the state of Illinois to take action
and right the wrongs of the past.
Thank you, vice chair.
Thank you so much, alderman Robinson,
are there any questions by committee members?
Any comments?
Oh, Alderwoman Hadden.
Thank you, chair. Um, just want to, um,
thank my colleague, um, Alder person Robinson,
for bringing this forward.
Um, I'm surprised we actually didn't have something like
this on the record already.
Um, so appreciate you for, for bringing it forward.
Um, happy to support this
and I think that these act, um,
though they may seem symbolic, um, some might not, uh,
appreciate them, I think they're important.
Um, as we look at what reconciliation looks like,
I know our city has already advanced our work
around reparations, but as we get to reparations,
true repair, um,
and reconciliation also requires, um, admitting harm
and taking responsibility.
So I appreciate, uh, Alder person Robinson. Thank you.
Um, happy to support this and to get
This, this on our books.
Thank you Alderman Robinson. Thank you Alderwoman.
Um, Maria Hadden, um, if there are no other questions
or comments from the committee members, um,
can I get a motion to approve item R 2 0 2 5 dash
0 0 1 5 7 2 8.
So moved by Alderman, uh, Bennett Lawson.
All those in favor of approving this item
responded by saying, aye.
All those opposed by saying nay
and the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
I will report this to recommendation at the
upcoming city council meeting.
With there being no further business before the committee.
Can I get a motion to adjourn?
Alder older woman had and so moves hearing no objections.
So ordered the meeting of the committee on health
and human relations is now adjourned.