All right.
Good afternoon everyone. The meeting on public safety is
hereby call to order.
Uh, we will begin with the roll call, followed by a motion
for Rule 59, participation for some of our colleagues.
Uh, vice Chair Yancy. Alderman Chico.
Alderwoman Gutierrez, alderman Lopez.
Alderman Curtis Alderwoman. Tab Barez Alderman. CIO Lopez.
Alderwoman Fuentes. Thank you. Uh, alderman. Talley. Farro.
Alderman Pdo. Alderman Vasquez.
Alderman Knutson. Alderman Gardner, uh,
alderman Martin Alderwoman.
Minna Haworth. Alderwoman Hadden.
She is here. Uh, Alderwoman Silverstein.
Okay, we do have a quorum.
And we also have a motion for Rule 59, participation
by Alderman Martin Gardner
to Barez Curtis
and, uh, non-member
who will be participating in today's meeting as well.
Alderwoman Taylor, can I have a motion
to allow Alderman Conway?
Oh, right. That's correct. Alderman Conway is also a
non-member and is, uh, has a matter up before us
and will be recognized appropriately.
Please add him to the attendance roll call along
with Alderwoman Taylor.
Uh, and then a motion to authorize, uh oh. Okay. Thank you.
Felix. Alderman Cardone as well.
Um, rule 59, participation moved by Alderwoman Fuentes,
hearing no objections.
So ordered. We will confirm.
Uh, virtual presence by Alderman Curtis.
Present. Alderman Martin, present chair,
and Alderwoman tab present.
Thank you. Alderman Gardner as well. Chairman. Oh, got you.
Alderman Gardner. You're, uh, thank you, sir.
You're now listed. Oh, he is not listed. Oh, okay. Gotcha.
You are listed. Thank you. Thank you, sir. All right.
Uh, first item is public speakers.
Uh, first speaker is, uh, apostle Santos. Norman.
Good morning, everyone.
Uh, I greet, uh, the council and everyone here,
and for the record, my name is Apostle, Dr.
Sandy, uh, Norman.
And so I wanted to have an opportunity to come,
um, to this meeting.
I'm showing up, uh,
because I'm definitely a part of public safety
as I'm always in the streets of Chicago in Red Zones, um,
doing real violence intervention and prevention.
Uh, one of the things that I, I wanted to mention, uh,
to the council, um, today is, um, even as we,
we talk about the Chicago Police Department,
and I do wanna say I honor, um, CPD,
and so we had a shooting over in the Austin community.
I don't know if you all know about that.
In, in the parking lot of the police station.
Uh, we've had, uh, shootings all on the west side of Chicago
where funerals are being, uh, shot.
And so, you know, with this new ordinance that they have,
I just wanna say that it's so much that the police have
to deal with, um, already, um, as far
as CPD underfunding and other things that I see.
Um, and so I really wanted to just speak out, um,
somewhat about that when I, you know,
see the police department, you know,
when people can come into the police, uh, lots
and, you know, you have shootings
and crime going on, unsolved, I don't know
how the police is gonna really be able to deal
with the issue of ice.
Um, also as well, and this is no disrespect to anyone, um,
because ice is not just a Hispanic issue,
it's just a issue I feel for, for all.
I do wanna bring also, um, attention to the teen, uh,
the curfew, um, that particular ordinance.
I do agree with the ordinance,
but I wanna just be honest and transparent.
I was once a teen, I was one of those teens
that rode and stolen cars.
I was one of those youth that were, um, really,
really out of control.
And so, when you are a person that have gone through that,
I do wanna say that, um, I believe that that ordinance, um,
to have a curfew, kids need boundaries.
But we have to have, uh, programs, we have to have somewhere
for these kids to go.
We have to have places, um, that these kids can go even in,
um, after hours,
because kids are not gonna wanna stay in the house.
And so there has to be funding, there has to be, you know,
pla uh, places in our communities
where these kids can go in the after hours
and even in the, uh, evening, I was just with a young man
that was shot in the mouth.
He was shot in the neck and in the hand,
and he's only 15, uh, years old.
And so I'm working with the young man now.
But again, we can reach the kids.
And I think that if we have things in place for the teens,
we will begin to see change.
And we need the right people sitting on these boards
that understand what's going on in the street.
And this is not just for black and brown.
This is, um, this is for everyone.
Uh, because kids are kids and kids get in trouble.
Let me just say that, um, everywhere.
And so again, I do feel that, um, a curfew, kids have
to have boundaries
because the Bible says, when I act like a child, I,
Okay, uh, thank you.
Please add, uh, alderman CIO Lopez
and all the women hadden to the attendance roll call
for purposes of quorum as committee members.
Uh, next speaker is Dennis White.
It's amazing that we over here have a crime
that's getting outta control every year
under this administration.
This year, we are the third day of February,
and right now we got 28
that's been shot and killed.
103 wounded altogether, 1 31
homicide, 31, but the mayor
and half you aldermans,
you all focusing on ice, you focusing on
Tom Holman and Greg Bovino.
So what Brandon Johnson did, he wrote a ridiculous
executive order to have the police investigating ice, ice.
Now, everybody know who have a half a brain
that you cannot challenge the federal authorities.
But Brandi Johnson, with his flunk, with his,
with his con people like Jeff Ententes, central Lopez,
Andre Vasquez, who over here fighting with that,
you focusing on the wrong thing.
You're not focusing on local crime
because you wanna protect the illegal
aliens here in Chicago.
Then you over here citing what happened in Minnesota
because two white liberals, Renee Good
and Alice Prety got involved interfering with ice.
Now, half of you are too old for this.
I'm too old for this. They too old for this.
But you all focusing on one thing
and one person, and he's over there in 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue, not here in the city of Chicago.
So if you really want crime to go down
and want public safety to go down,
you all need to hire more police.
You all need to do more reform with these kids
that's doing criminal act,
because when they do adult act,
there always be adult consequences.
That's what I brought up.
But you all don't want that as long,
that the victims are black
and they are on the south and west side.
You all are good. But Brandon Johnson
is, is the mouthpiece for the Chicago Teacher Union
and all these socialist things to keep up more chaos.
Uh, thank you for your comments.
The next speaker is Isaiah Burton.
Morning, everybody. My name, Isaiah Burton.
I'm a young person who live on the north side of Chicago,
a leader with communities united
and a survivor of gun violence.
Myself. Young people need year-round programmer
where we could earn money and support for our families.
As bills continue to pile up
and rent continue to rise, many of us have to step up
to support the sub, the substitute ordinance,
disruptive youth gathering.
There's nothing to address that.
Instead, it has power to the police department to
decide if we will get arrested.
And it's up to the police officer
to decide if we committed an offense.
This, how does this substitute
ordinance make our community safer?
It doesn't. It ignores the real root causes of safety.
We need investments in systems of care.
Round trip paid programming
where young people can learn skills
and build a future, invest in a pipeline for young people
to get into trade school.
So we get a union job.
We need safe spaces together,
build community with our friends.
The solution is clear.
We need funding for bay after school programs.
Invest in safe, safe community spaces
and ensure young people are leading the decisions
that affect our lives.
We need support, trust,
and places where we can feel we belong.
Thank you.
Uh, the next speaker is Ramya. Tansky.
Tki.
Good, good evening. My name is Ramiah Simone.
I am a senior in high school. I'm 18 years old.
I'm also a youth leader with Communities United
and Voice as a youth leader.
The substitute ordinance, the Destructive Youth Gathering,
affects me and my friends
and the young people who we engage.
We often attend school events, school games, um,
programming, and we are usually in a large group
that is more than three.
You know, usually now if the curfew is declared, we have
to go through a set of questions like,
who is this actually benefiting?
Um, is this actually targeting safety issues in our city?
But safety, to me, does not mean over-policing us
or putting up curfew.
Safety to me means getting to the root cause
of gun violence, youth mental health.
Then rather than targeting young people for wanting
to be a part of their community,
the cur the curfew is not a real solution to public safety.
More investments in mental health resources
and not criminalizing young people actually targets
and tackles the root cause in gun violence.
When making decisions on public
safety, I feel that are the people.
I feel like you guys should consider youth voices
and community voices as those are the people
who are impacted constantly every day with those decisions
that you make as young people.
We also value safety in our communities, and we also value
and care about public safety.
Let's talk about real solutions to our public safety
and rooted in young voices.
You know, we are asking you guys to do community work
with the community who's already doing the
work in those communities.
And then I also like to say like, the curfew doesn't stop
bullets from targeting young people,
or the curfew doesn't stop young people from being
taken and kidnapped.
We talk about young people and how their actions doing,
but there are also adults who are doing gun violence
and who are kidnapping young people
and sexually assault and stuff like that.
So that is not the root cause.
The curfew is not a root cause of all those problems.
And I'm done.
Uh, please add, uh, committee member Jay Lu Gutierrez
to the roll call for purposes of Quorum.
Uh, the next speaker is Aisha Davis.
Good afternoon, chair
Hopkins and the rest of the committee.
My name is Aisha Davis and I'm Senior Policy Counsel at
the A CLU of Illinois.
I'm here today to express our opposition
to the substitute curfew ordinance for two main reasons.
First, it would embolden the police
to use heavy handed tactics against young people.
And second, that shift in police authority will necessarily
have a chilling effect on First Amendment activity,
especially for communities and groups that are
and have been historically overpoliced as drafted.
This ordinance will permit the superintendent
of the Chicago Police Department
to unilaterally issue a dispersal declaration for any event
that he believes will lead to a disruptive youth gathering.
A term that allows a superintendent to make assumptions
or predictions about what minors may
or may not do prior to the gathering even happening.
The ordinance goes on to say
that the superintendent can rely on social media posts,
flyers, or a historic history of disruptive youth gatherings
to support his belief
that a disruptive youth gathering will occur.
Essentially, this ordinance would allow the superintendent
to preemptively announce
that he will disperse gatherings based solely upon
who plans the gathering before any young person shows up.
And before any offense is committed.
And while the ordinance purports to prohibit snap curfews,
the only difference is that this version requires a
little bit more advanced notice.
Otherwise, this dispersal ordinance is a snap
curfew under a different name.
Both as defined are declarations that are made
to inform minors that they cannot
or are not, I'm sorry, permitted
to gather in a set geographic area
during a specific time period
before the gathering has occurred,
or any disruptive behavior has been even happening.
While the ordinance directs the superintendent
to promulgate written directives
and rules to prevent disrupting first amendment activity.
The very active telling young people they cannot gather at a
specified time and place based on assumptions about a given
group or location chills First amendment activity.
Additionally, although there is language about First
Amendment activity being a defense
for the dispersal declaration, such a defense does nothing
to mitigate the chilling effect caused
by a dispersal declaration in the first place.
We do not need another policy
that would expand police power in this moment,
especially in ways that will limit the ability
of our communities, which includes our youth
from voicing their beliefs.
Instead, we should listen to
what young people have been saying.
The best solution is to provide alternative safe spaces
for them to gather and offer
activities where they feel welcome.
Thank you. Thank you.
Uh, the next speaker is Ariana Brand.
Good afternoon. My name is Ariana
and I'm from the west side of Chicago.
I am currently a senior in high school.
Honestly, the curfew does not make us feel safer.
Instead, it often make us feel like we are automatically
assumed to be doing something wrong, simply
because we are teenagers.
Many of us feel stressed trying to get home from work
or school events because we worry about being
stopped or questioned.
Our communities already face serious safety
concerns due to gun violence.
And now we also have to worry about interactions with police
who may not properly be equipped to engage with youth,
which could to us being mishandled or misunderstood.
I understand that the curfew is meant to help,
but I don't believe it addresses the root causes
of violence or harm.
In some cases, it can actually make things worse.
Like when teens feel forced
to rush home late at night without reliable transportation.
Youth voices should be included in these decisions
because we are the ones living with these rules every day.
What I think many adults misunderstand is
that most teens are not trying to cause trouble.
We want to be safe, respected, and supported.
Instead of a curfew, the city should invest in solutions
that actually help such as safe spaces for teens,
better transportation options, and community-based programs.
Before make a decision that impacts us.
I want the city council members to know that listening
to teens is not a weakness.
It's necessary. Thank you.
Uh, thank you. The next speaker is, uh, nor Islam.
Hassan Khan.
Good afternoon. My name is Nora.
I am a 16-year-old Muslim youth from the Westridge
neighborhood and a youth intern with Communities United.
I'm here to oppose the disruptive Youth
gathering substitute ordinance.
This ordinance harms our communities, our families,
and youth like myself.
Youth needs to be at the forefront in decision making, on
and on anything that affects us.
This policy treats young, young people as a problem.
This substitute ordinance threatens our freedom to gather,
to move, and even to practice our faith.
It forces youth who explain our faith
to police officers just so
that they can believe us and let us go.
How is this freedom? How is this youth investment?
Why should I prove my religion to avoid criminalization?
We also need more mental health resources for young people.
I have friends who get together to enjoy the outdoors,
to escape not just from their homes, but from their minds.
They distract themselves.
And there are a lot of responsibilities
young people need to carry.
I urge you all city council members
to vote no on this harmful ordinance.
And I urge you to ask us, meet with us and take action.
Based on what we share with you, we hold the answers.
You cannot continue to send this dangerous message
that youth need to justify their existence to be free.
Thank you. Uh, the next speaker is Zoe Lee.
Uh, the reason why y'all don't have any investments in
y'all, um, communities is because they stealing the money
and it's never going to get any investments
because they're stealing the money.
So you don't have anything in your, in our communities
because they're stealing the money.
Just like the $245 million
that Cook County judge just saw
that y'all misspent over here when it came to, uh, our roads
and stuff, you know, it went to other things.
Incept, incept the roads, like the potholes and stuff.
And then when we get a tire messed up, then we gotta pay
for it because the city won't pay for it.
But y'all still in $245 million.
So that's what they're doing with the youth jobs.
Anything, anything like that, all that money's being stolen.
So when they got you coming down here telling you
that it's the police and stuff, it's really the people
that work in this building
because they have no oversight on the money.
So it's called a forensic audit kids, right?
And you need to start asking your parents
and stuff what that is,
because that's what they need down here.
Alright, now I got one minute and 51 seconds.
I want to talk about a few more things.
Um, I wanna let y'all know about the First
Amendment protected speech.
So I have the constitutional right to speak on history,
politics and party affiliation.
Whether you agree
or not, that's more than you, than can be said
for this local government
that prioritizes unlawful immigration policies over the
rights of its own citizens.
That's why y'all don't have no money either.
'cause they given to the illegal aliens.
So that's also, also, I want y'all to know
that the student walkouts are a public safety issue
and they're breaking the law.
When politicians, teachers, or unions organize
or encourage students to walk out during school hours,
they are removing minors from a supervised environment
that violates a school's duty of care
and puts children in traffic, public transit
and unsecured public spaces.
Under Illinois law schools are responsible
for student safety during instructional time.
Allowing or encouraging walkout shifts liability away from
adults and onto parents in the public.
That's reckless endangerment.
That also violates education laws.
But y'all don't know that 'cause y'all don't know the US
constitution or the laws.
So if we're gonna play this game
with y'all doing these unnecessary walkouts when we have
so much crime on the south side,
and you guys don't care about that, we're going
to flip this city red.
The next speaker is George Blakemore.
Problem is business
and economic development in these ghettos,
they don't have business,
they don't have any economic development.
And that creates high cries.
These black communities on the west side
and the south side over, uh, one said,
Monique said, shed a 3000 vacant lots
and abandoned buildings.
Black people have not learned a golden rule.
Business and economic development. You have no business.
So tend to your business
and your youth will reflect that you are tending
to your business or you not tending to your business.
You have no economic development to hire them.
Your schools are inferior
because of business and development.
No economic development. The golden rule.
He who has a gold rule, racism is alive here.
Our people are being gentrified out.
So they are reflecting their community when they have high
crime, no business and no economic development.
No job, no workforce, poor school,
12th grade and reading on a fourth grade level
because of the old people have have
miseducated, the young black people.
But what money is this Black history month
where we would celebrate our a achievement?
Um, it's shameful.
You go to the lobby, you see nothing about black history
and uh, it's shameful.
You know why? These old ones, these old men
and women, not our youth, our young gifted
and black youth, these old ones are failure.
Well, why? They don't have anything.
No economic development. Now you looking at me?
No poverty create all type of crime.
All type of crime
because black people don't know how to tend
to their business and economic development.
So this is why their youth is out of control,
because these old blacks sitting in high places selling
their community out no, to your business.
And when you talking about HCUL
or whatever, that Jewish organization I used to call them
and all, they're white.
They're white. We are black people.
That was ca over here and enslaved over here.
When you know your history, you'll use them.
What to say, the miseducation of the black man
and the black woman and the black child.
So we have to learn to tend to our,
Our final speaker is Judith Va Vasquez.
Judith Vasquez.
Good afternoon. My name is Judith Vasquez Delgado.
I am a 14-year-old freshman and youth leader with Voice
and Communities United.
The substitute ordinance,
disruptive youth gathering personally affects young people
like me because I can be stopped and asked for my age
and the reason why I'm outside simply on my way home.
This approach feels similar
to the way federal agents are operating in our communities
where people are stopped, questioned,
and detained based on suspicion rather than harm.
The difference is that federal agent, federal agents, claim
to target immigration status.
While this ordinance targets young people simply
for existing as public spaces, both create fear,
anxiety, and mistrust.
And both make communities feel watched instead of supported
what we what if we can't always get rides home.
Most of us use public transportation.
Young people need more investments
for our mental health and safety.
Instead of putting all focus into how
to take young people off the streets,
I think the biggest issue is
that the youth is not being taken into consideration.
This ordinance prioritizes,
prioritizes comfort over youth wellbeing without
keeping youth at the center.
Thank you. This concludes our public comment.
Uh, we have six items on the agenda today.
Uh, two of the six, uh, will not be called for a vote today.
Uh, and will be held in committee, uh,
those two being the enhanced penalties for offenses
and student safety zones, uh,
and the revised curfew ordinance.
Those two will, uh, remain in committee
for continued revision.
Uh, the first item is approval
of the Rule 45 report from January, 2026.
Uh, we have a motion to approve the Rule 45 report
by Alderman Spto, uh, hearing.
No objection. The motion carries So ordered.
Uh, the first item, uh, actually, we'll,
we'll announce this item and then hold it in committee.
Uh, it's proposed Ordinance 2 1 6 9 8
amendment of the, uh, municipal code section 8 4 3 55,
enhanced penalties for offenses committed in student safety
zones, parks, or playgrounds.
At the request of the sponsor, alderman Viegas.
Uh, this matter will be held in committee.
Uh, the next item is proposed ordinance 2 2 4 9 3
amendment of the municipal code section 8 23 60
to replace the term churches with places of worship
in noise sensitive zones.
And to present that matter is Alderman Conway.
The chair recognizes Alderman Conway.
Uh, just as a point of order,
I think you missp I think it's eight dash 32 dash oh six oh.
Just to correct the record, you said eight dash 23 dash oh
6 0 8
Dash 32 0 6.
Yeah. And you said 23, correct? Correct.
I just wanna make sure. Yeah. Eight dash 32 0 6. Yep.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, it's no secret. Then.
The past few years we've seen an increase in hate crimes
that target people based on religion,
particularly those targeting our, our Jewish neighbors.
We've seen demonstrations outside
of synagogues across Chicago, including, uh, notably just a,
a few blocks away here at the Loop Synagogue
where a serious issue happened about a year ago.
And I, in this city, everyone, uh, has the right
to gather safely and worship without fear.
And it's important that our laws reflect that.
Now, I introduced this ordinance amendment
to add much needed clarity
to the noise Sensitive Zone ordinance
and enable any of us to attempt to establish a zone
outside any place of worship
that is experiencing targeted harassment.
Updating the language from church to place
of worship better reflects the diverse religious communities
across Chicago.
Uh, and I, and I also appreciate the fact
that the original Noise Sensitive Zone ordinance was
originally led and championed by by yourself.
Chairman Hopkins, and I appreciate your help
in, in making this change.
Uh, we are joined today
by Natalie Glick from the Jewish United Friend Fund,
who will share more about Ju F's work
to support Chicago's 42 Jewish congregations
and the potential impact this amendment will have.
Uh, but in closing, this is, this is a common sense change
that adds clarity to this law
and reaffirms our commitment to the many
religious communities that gather throughout our city.
And I respectfully ask for your favorable consideration
of the ordinance at the appropriate time.
Yeah. Uh, thank you. Alderman Conway, uh,
alderman Vasquez is recognized for purposes of quorum.
Also, Alderwoman Taylor has joined us under Rule 59,
and, uh, her item will be presented
after the conclusion of yours.
Uh, and we'll come back to you, uh, to close. Uh, Ms. Glick.
Good afternoon. My name is Natalie Glick
and I'm here representing the Jewish United Fund,
Jewish Federation of Chicago.
I'm speaking in support of the proposed amendment
to the Chicago Noise Sensitive Zone ordinance
that would change the ordinance language from churches
to places of worship.
As the foundation of Chicago's Jewish community.
JUF provides funding
and security to 42 synagogues, congregations,
and gathering spaces that serve thousands
of Jewish chicagoans throughout the city, as well
as a multitude of social service organizations
that support half a million Chicago area residents
of all face, regardless of status or background.
Despite an increase in anti-Semitic activity,
our synagogues remain vital community spaces.
However, congregations can be especially vulnerable
because of religious symbols
and language that is visible on buildings.
Over the past decade, anti-Jewish hate in Chicago has risen
to make up 37% of all recorded hate crimes
and incidents in the city, despite Jews only compromising 3%
of the total population.
We are a community that is no stranger
to noisy threats and violence.
And we continue to survive
and thrive as well as partner with faith communities
of all types across Chicago.
The proposed change to the ordinance language recognize a
large change of religious expression
and reflect the variety of religious communities
that call Chicago home.
We stand for this vital value of pluralism
and religious diversity.
Thank you so much.
Uh, thank you Ms. Glick, uh, for purposes of discussion
and Chair recognizes all the women.
Silverstein.
Thank you Chairman. Um,
I too am supportive of this ordinance.
Um, the 15th Ward is, in my opinion,
the most diverse ward in the city of Chicago.
So not only do we have synagogues there, uh, and churches,
but we also have many mosques and temples.
And I think that, um, this ordinance makes it
so much more inclusive of everybody's religion.
I happen to be an observant Jew,
and I attend synagogue regularly,
and I can tell you that when we're there
and we're praying, um, it's a very serious place.
And, um, it would require quiet around there.
And to have noise like
that would be extremely disruptive.
And, um, I think that it's very, very important
that we change the wording of this.
I also wanna say, um, for the Jewish community that in many
of our synagogues, uh, they require
armed guards because of we are always on high alert,
and many of the facilities have had to put in extra safety
measures around the building to keep them safe.
And so, um, I think this just isn't added protection
for the Jewish community,
but I also think it's important for all places of worship
as it states in the ordinance. So thank you so much.
Thank you. Wo Silverstein, uh, Alman Lopez.
Thank you, chair. Thank you chairman, and good afternoon.
Members of the committee. Um,
I too support the inclusionary, uh, language
and commend my colleagues on this
and look forward to joining as a co-sponsor.
But I have a question because this still requires
by ordinance, the designation of
a noise sensitive zone, correct?
Yes. So at some point, as we continue to see
hyper political activism taking a very different route,
as we've seen even those under the guise
of journalism crashing
and interrupting services, um,
though it's not part of this ordinance,
it's part of a greater discussion.
Do we need to start just having a mandatory, uh,
set space designated for all religious places
of worship moving forward, as opposed
to individually listing every single church, synagogue,
temple, mosque, and so on and so forth?
Should that just be the law of the land moving forward?
Um, and I open that as discussion, not trying
to amend this today, which is
Certainly implied now, but I'll yield
To the speaker. Yeah.
OO only thing I would note is that the,
the full ordinance requires
a record be shown that they're having a, they're,
that they're an issue is they're having an, you have
to get a finding from CDPH
and another department to indicate that there's,
there is this continuing,
I think should think it's the police department as well
as CDPH have to sign off on it.
So you do have to show a record of problematic activity.
And, um, I believe the purpose of that,
although it was not its original drafter,
I believe the purpose of that is to, to ensure that we
don't run a, run a foul of any freedom
of speech issues in the First Amendment.
And this is, and as drafted, this is
clearly a very, uh, uh, first amendment allowed time, place,
and manner restriction.
And I, and I think you have to have
that record to avoid that.
Well, well, chairman, I think that,
well, first off, thank you.
Second, I think, chairman, I'd love to revisit this issue,
uh, in the future with your team as well
as whoever else is interested
because I, I personally, um, as my colleague, um,
consider myself a very, uh, observant religious individual,
and I don't wanna have to wait until there's a problem
to try to figure out something.
Um, I'd rather know that our, our churches are free
and clear of this kind of harassment, um, even if it's
during their, their stated business hours
or what have you, service hours.
Um, so at some point later we'll hopefully have
that discussion and see what we could do so
that we are being more proactive, uh,
rather than reactive. Thank you. Yeah.
Alderman Vasquez. Yeah. Thank you very much, chairman.
Um, I really appreciate, uh,
our colleague Alderman Conway's, um, kind of revisiting
to kind of make that change, I think when we think about
whether it's a church or a synagogue or a mosque, right?
There's, there is, especially in the time we're living now,
some risk to be taken on even as you're trying to worship.
Um, I do think that looking at it, um,
too broadly might lead to the kind of concerns that
Ottoman Conway raised up related to the First Amendment.
And so I do think that there's a thoughtfulness in
how it was initially drafted.
So thank you chairman for that.
Um, that takes into consideration
what activity has occurred, rather than having kind
of broad legislation that could open up the city
to more liability when we're talking about
what activities actually been
concerned as opposed to just general.
So, um, I do think it's a good balance.
I do think that having the conversation makes sense
and appreciate that we're thinking about things
to what's an incremental lens,
to make sure we're not doing something
that could lead the city to more exposure.
Sure, Lord knows we can't pay a lot
of the bills we already get.
So thank you very much for that.
And thank you Chairman Alder, miss Pido.
Thank you, chairman. Uh, certainly something I support,
but just looking for a little bit of clarification.
So, so people would, so let's say somebody wants
to go out on the perimeter of a church or a synagogue
or a mosque or anything, and they could certainly protest
with their signs, but they,
are we saying they can't use amplified sound?
They can't storm the gates? I know.
Certainly don't believe they can storm the gates.
So is that what we're saying? They can't use
amplified sound?
I'm just looking for a clarification.
Yeah. So that, that is, uh, one
of the restrictions within noise sensitive zones.
Um, but of course, the
specific location would still have to be, uh,
would still have to be codified at this point, just opens to
That. We have to, so
we have to name every church and synagogue
and mosque in the, in the city
and say, you can't do it there.
Well, it, it would,
this right now does not change the law.
It merely opens up the ability to do so
for synagogues and mosques.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, yeah. And just to add, uh, some context
for the genesis of this ordinance, it was the use of noise
as an intentional disruptive technique
targeted at a specific institution.
Uh, so we got around first
Amendment clinic.
You can't use amplified sound or anything like that.
It was amplified sound in particular, right?
It was also sirens
and noise makers, uh, any, any device designed to
engage in disruptive noise, in violation
of the noise control ordinance.
So we've already got laws, as the sponsor has pointed out.
Uh, we also have laws for dealing with these types
of demonstrations when they, um,
become disruptive in other ways.
Blocking traffic, blocking entrances,
which has happened at places of worship in recent times.
We've all seen the news coverage, right?
So we all, we actually have existing laws
to deal with that right now.
This goes beyond the existing laws
for specifically using noise as a technique to
attack someone else ex exercising
their first amendment rights.
So that's why we don't need to go any farther,
because there's already laws to deal with the other types
of activities that sometimes happen in those events.
That's technically we're talking a place of worship.
So if somebody's having a rally
and there's counter protest, there's out there
with amplified sound and banging pots
and pans, they could still do that or they can't do that.
Are we saying is just, this is just for places
of worship? I'm just trying to
No, there's other, other institutions could
potentially be covered by this.
We're changing the language.
Uh, that was, I I would argue, uh,
it was a flaw in the drafting.
There was no intention to exclude other places of worship.
Somebody put the word church in there thinking it was a
generic term that could cover all places
of worship, and it really isn't.
So it's a correction of that, not necessarily an expansion
of the types of institutions that would be covered by this.
Although if you use the strict definition
of the original language, it is an expansion.
So right now we're just clarifying.
And then unfortunately, it looks like we have
to label every church, synagogue and mosque
or other places of worship in the whole city
to say you can't do it at that particular place.
That's kind of sad, but I don't
The attorney sponsor to clarify that again.
No, certainly if to add a location
as a noise sensitive zone in this city, you have
to get a finding from CDPH and the police department
and then change the, the locations within the ordinance.
'cause the ordinance will say, from this street
to this alley, to this street, to this alley.
So this merely allows that process to happen for,
in a, in a, for more broadly for places of work.
So Pastor Smith caused the police that there's a group
of people out there use using amplified sound, banging patch
and pans, doing whatever to do to disrupt the police come.
Do they go by their opinion? Do they go by a noise meter?
Do we know exactly how they're gonna
to, to us, it's a no brainer.
We know what people are trying to do,
but I know you gotta cross every dot and, uh, cross every t
and dot every I and cross every t nowadays.
So I'm just asking Yeah, who, I mean, deter.
So the police come out with a, with a noise meter then?
Is that what determines if you
No, no, no. It is,
it involves the device
that they're using. Okay. It becomes a thing.
Amplifi sound no banging drum
A bull horn.
Okay. Amplification. Okay. Um, great.
Right. So it is specified.
Okay, good. All right. I
didn't know how to spell it out like that. Thank you.
During the discussion for the original ordinance, uh,
the question of using decibel measuring devices did come up.
And, uh, the police actually requested that we not, uh, put
that in there because they currently have the ability
to use their discretionary judgment
about the noise control ordinance as it exists.
When noise becomes disruptive, when noise is in violation,
um, of the ordinance, rather than try
to get scientific about it, uh,
and use decibel devices, which first of all,
most police officers don't carry those devices around.
So there's a question of, you know, availability. You're
Lucky if the district has one of 'em. So
Then there's a question of, uh, calibrating them,
using them, uh, in a proper way.
You've gotta be trained for it.
Uh, it's not, it's not as simple as holding up something
and saying, oh, it's red.
That means you broke the lot screen. It means you didn't.
Um, so there's other guidance in there
that we piggybacked on for police officers to use, uh,
their discretion to be able to tell
if the noise is heard from a distance,
if it disrupts the conversation,
if it exceeds the ambient level of sound, all of
that they need to use their professional
judgment and their discretion.
And they felt that that was, uh, vastly superior to try
and impose subjective limits using
objective tools to measure it.
That just wasn't work for them, wasn't all right.
So that's not part of this ordinance here.
Yeah, I, so, so, I, I think my question was answered.
Thank you. I just, in this litigious world we live in,
I was just concerned about people saying
I'm not violating anything.
So I appreciate it. Thanks
for the clarification, and, and I'm done. Thank you. Okay.
Alderwoman hadn't, no, you're good. Okay.
Uh, further comments
or questions, if not Alderman Conway to close.
I have, uh, my hand up chairman. Oh, I'm sorry.
Uh, Alderman Gardner.
Alder. Alderman Gardner, I didn't
see you. Sorry about that. It's
Okay. No problem. Thank
you. Um, I, I just wanted
to echo some of the sentiments shared by Alderman Lopez,
um, recently.
Um, as you all remember, um, I just introduced a resolution
that all of you co-signed on gratefully, um,
forbidding violence based on political or religious views.
Um, as we witnessed the intensity of protest
rapidly growing, um, we are unfortunately seeing
what may be a preferred way of protesting
or gathering outside
or even inside houses of worship
as we witnessed in Minnesota,
and we're witnessing in other areas.
Um, so I think by taking these measures,
I think it's a smart, it's a wise move.
Um, and I would like to work with members of this committee,
including Alderman Lopez, uh, on ensuring
that we're doing everything possible, uh,
to impede these forms of gatherings outside
or inside houses of worship in Chicago.
Thank you. Alderman Gardner. Alderman Conway, to close.
Yeah. Thank you. Uh, alderman Gardner, what I,
I'd only add, you know, we discussed here
regarding the First Amendment, the freedom
of speech that came up.
Well, let us not forget what is another part
of the First Amendment, and that is the freedom of religion
and that element of the First Amendment,
we are actually strengthening by including this, uh,
by adjusting this language.
So, based on that and the rest
of our discussion, I'd ask for your support.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and thank you committee members.
Thank you, alderman Conway, uh, with
that Alderwoman Silverstein, uh, enters a due pass motion.
Uh, any objection to said motion? Hearing none.
Motion passes. So order. Thank you.
Uh, next item on the agenda is
proposed Ordinance 2 1 0 2 3, amendment
of the municipal code section four dash 4 3 0 6, uh,
to require search warrants, subpoenas,
or other lawful procedures for police
to request video surveillance footage, uh,
from licensed premises.
Uh, this matter will also be held in committee, uh,
for further amendments, uh, in conversation
with the superintendent's
office. Yeah.
Uh, with regard to this, can this matter be referred?
If this is in regard to the police department?
Um, I, I would like to, for this item to be re-referred to
on the Committee on Police and Fire,
or perhaps a joint committee on police
and fire and public safety.
But certainly if, if we are also talking about, um, um,
businesses and licensees, uh, we may want to consider also,
um, including somehow including that, um,
particular committee as well.
Yeah. Thank you. Uh,
chairman of the Police and Fire Committee.
I, I don't think we can refer directly to another committee.
I think we'd have to send it to rules.
No, I don't, I believe we would have to go back to rules.
Yeah. And then, and then we refer,
but, uh, for future consideration,
'cause I know we bring this up a lot, uh,
where there's matters of public safety as well as police
and fire in consideration.
Um, but if the matter directly speaks
to the Chicago Police Department, um, and actions
and procedures, actions of procedure and rules
and regulations, they should go
before, um, the Committee on Police and Fire. Okay.
Do you wanna put that in the form
of a motion to refer to rules?
I, I sure would, yes. Okay.
So, uh, alderman Lopez, on a point of order.
Thank you, chairman, we've seen other committees refer
directly to corresponding committees.
Um, I don't necessarily believe that it has to go to rules.
You can, if only there was someone from the law
department to opine on this.
Oh, okay. So I can, I can report it out of it. Got it.
Okay. So I'm told by counsel, I can report this matter out
in my next committee report,
and at that time, it can be re-referred
to a joint committee rather than
passed at the council level.
So I, why don't we do that? Okay. Thank you, chairman. Okay.
Thank you. Uh, I'm not, I'm not sure.
We need a motion then for that. Yeah, yeah.
So we will, it won't have a due pass recommendation.
So there's, it'll be mentioned in the committee report
and re-referred to a joint committee
of Public Safety of police and Fire.
Alright, thank you, counsel. Uh, what's next?
Uh, the next matter is a, uh, subject matter hearing
regarding the Mayor's Office of Reentry.
And we have Alderwoman Taylor, uh, who has joined us remote,
uh, along with several, uh, invited witnesses that, uh,
she will introduce Alderwoman Taylor.
Uh, can you acknowledge please?
Dear Chairman. Thank you. Okay,
Thank you.
Uh, please proceed on the matter.
Good morning, chairman Hopkins, members of the committee,
um, I'm sorry, my camera wasn't on.
Um, I wanted to us to have a subject matter hearing
around the Office of Reentry.
Um, we know that folks who come from
the jail system have it very hard, from housing
to employment to job security.
A lot of those times, those folks returning home
do not have the support that they need
because we don't know the organizations that do the work.
And so for the last two years, my office, along with
other members of city Council, have put on a conference
where we bring those resources together,
but we also have, uh, real life conversations, um, about
reentry and coming back, um, to our city.
And so I'm excited that we have Deputy commissioner, um,
Gary and Gatewood
and Director Maps who have been supportive on the efforts
of the city, but want to talk about it as a whole.
So a, that the city council
and the city of Chicago knows that we are taking care
of folks returning back to our communities.
Thank you, chairman.
Uh, thank you Alderwoman. Taylor, do you have slides?
Okay. Are we, we queued up here.
Ah, there we go. Okay. Thank you. Please proceed.
Good morning. Uh, or good afternoon, I'm sorry.
Chair, members of Council
and Colleagues, thank you
for the opportunity to speak today.
Before I begin, I'm, I'm accompanied by the Reentry Team,
the Office of Reentry Team,
and I would like to take this opportunity to allow them
to introduce theirselves.
Begin with Christina. Good
Afternoon. Christina Williams,
senior Project Manager in the
Mayor's Office of Reentry.
Good afternoon, Halle Levin,
policy Analyst in the Office of Reentry.
Good afternoon, Jasmine Valez,
project Manager in the Mayor's Office of Reentry.
Thank you. And I wanna begin by saying this plainly,
the Office of Reentry exists
because many of you saw the need,
raised your voices and took action.
So I want to thank the entire city council
for your partnership.
Thank you for recognizing the office.
And that reentry is not just an individualized challenge,
it is a constant citywide transition.
And I also want to acknowledge champions
who may not be in the room today,
but who passionately push for this office
and help make this moment possible.
And those people include, uh, vice Mayor Walter Burnett
and Alderwoman Stephanie Comey.
Their leadership mattered
and it helped shape the what, what we are building today.
I also want to thank Mayor Brandon Johnson
for keeping his promise
to make reentry a priority in this administration signaling
to the entire city that all Chicagoans deserved support
and that returning residents are not outsiders,
but Chicagoans returning home.
And I want to recognize Deputy Mayor Gary Gatewood
for its unwavering belief that stability is community safety
and for champion, the kind of coordinated, people centered
approach that makes reintegration possible.
Each year, an estimated 12,000
to 16,000 individuals returned to Chicago from county,
state, and federal jails and prisons,
and national research shows
that nearly one in two Americans have a loved one
or a close family friend who has been incarcerated
that's nearly half this room
that tells us something important.
Reentry is not an individual journey.
It is a collective experience.
It impacts families, neighborhoods, workplaces,
and institutions across this city.
And we are seeing what's possible when we invest in
people and communities.
Chicago is experiencing the lowest rate
of violent crime since 1965,
and that progress is due in part to the strength
of community violence intervention workers.
What deserves mentioning is that nearly 70%
of CBI workforce is made up of system impacted individuals.
Individuals are not just returning home,
but they're striving to make our neighborhood safer.
And the conditions people are returning
to home are deeply challenging.
Nearly 60% remain unemployed.
Uh, one year after they're released.
Over 57% of adult women
and 68%
of adult men experience homelessness are system impacted.
And nearly 70% of incarcerated individuals are living
with a mental health or, and a substance use disorder.
These realities are not the results of individuals with,
with not the results of individual failures.
They are the products of fragmented systems, access, uh,
gaps and policies that were not designed
with re returning residence in mind.
The of Office of Reentry exists
because the challenges our city faces
are the challenges our city faces requires a coordinated
response, one that uses the full force of government
that bridges gaps between systems
and centers, the voices of those directly impacted
and the communities they return to.
So people are not navigating this transition in isolation.
To be clear, the Office
of Reentry is not stepping into this work alone.
As all the woman Taylor mentioned annually,
her Reentry Summit
and Alderwoman Fuentes Community Convenience have created
momentum and accountability across this city.
Our commitment is to take that momentum further
and to work with any alderman who wants
to strengthen reentry in their wards by, uh, connecting them
to returning rec, connecting, returning residents
to available services.
Our next slide, please.
In doing this, I wanna be clear, our our mission is
to bring systems together to convene, communicate,
and coordinate efforts to create an equitable
and holistic, uh, reentry process that values the dignity
and the, uh, needs of returning residents, their families,
and the communities they're returning to.
As I've said before,
this population faces extraordinary challenges, challenges
with difficulty in obtaining,
sustain sustainable employment,
being 13 times more likely to experience homelessness,
limited access to culturally competent
and culturally responsive mental health supports
and navigating across five
to 10 community-based organizations
before having their needs met.
And that's nothing against community-based organizations.
The reality is it's difficult to meet all
of any person's needs in one place,
and it should not require MAs to access support.
Next slide, please. So, our vision is
to make support services accessible, easy to navigate,
dynamic and consistent.
That is why we were intentional about setting our priorities
based off lived experience.
We have engaged people who are currently incarcerated,
people who have been released, families who are impacted,
and service providers on the front line,
and partners responsible for the custody
and care of these individuals Across these conversations,
the same barriers surfaced again and again.
And those are housing challenges, employment challenges,
mental health service, navigation,
and policies that make all of it harder than it needs to be.
Next slide. Please. To understand why we are
so dedicated on coordinating these efforts,
we must understand why coordination matters.
We need to look at where individuals are returning
so we can equitably deploy resources to help support those
that are in most need.
Returning residents,
as you can see from the slide on the right,
predominantly are concentrated in the south
and west side of Chicago.
But as you can see, upon further inspection,
they're returning to all areas of Chicago.
This impacts every region, every ward,
and every system we all rely on.
My office also recognized
that this work requires collaboration,
and that collaboration can be exhibited through
what we call the Community Reentry Support Centers.
You may be familiar with these
because they've already existed
before we step into this world,
but we recognized that they were doing great work
and it was essential to continuing that work.
That's why my office continued to fund them.
We partnered with the Department of Family
and Support Services to strengthen the standard of care.
So their returning residents received consistent support
no matter where they walked into.
We understand require reentry requires a three-pronged
approach that supports the individual, uh,
strengthens the family and community,
and addresses barriers institutionally.
Next slide, please. Through our individual level approach,
the Community Reentry Support Centers, which I will continue
to refer to as CSCs have referred,
nearly 2000 individuals
have referred nearly 2000 individuals
to employment assistance in 2025 alone.
They've also supported nearly 2000 individuals with, uh,
system navigation and supportive services.
And we've also partnered with the, uh, city's office
of the Treasurer's Office.
Excuse me. We've partnered
with the city's Treasurer's office to, uh, introduce
economic empowerment to, to the adult transitions
and the adult transition centers in Chicago.
But much more than that, we've created a returning
with Hope Micro Grant,
where we invested in 32 organizations across the city in
collaboration with Department of Family
and Support Services,
and United Way this year to stay responsive
to the involving needs, we worked again with Department
of Family and Support Services
to rezone the community reentry support systems across the
west, north south and far south side.
So we can be anchored in the community
and act as coordinating bodies to ensure
that community based organizations
and city funded organizations are working in tandem
to support those returning to this population.
Next slide, please. And reentry is not limited
to the individual families, communities
and institutions are affected too.
Reentry impacts families and communities long before
and long after release.
That is why we are utilizing the co-governance model
to develop community inspired
and community led initiatives to support families impacted
by incarceration, including last year's first
city's reentry toy drive.
And we launched in last December,
the advising Chicago on reentry policy.
And this is a policy group
that keep lived experience at the city of our policy design,
at the center of our policy design.
One of the most tangible ways
that this approach shows up in our community,
reentry Sports Centers.
Next slide is, uh, recognizing that, uh,
community reentry support centers our critical points
of access and the outcome speaks for their self.
Nearly 26,000 individuals were engaged.
Nearly over 20,000 calls were received to these centers,
and nearly 2000 individuals were, uh, assisted
with employment referrals.
And in, in addition to that, recognizing that we had
to be responsive to the populations we serve women
is the fastest growing population of returning residents.
So that's why this year, our office in partnership
with Department of Family and Support Services
and Women's Justice Institute launched the nation's First
City funded, uh, women focused
Community Reentry Support Center.
Next slide, please. And we are intentional about this work.
Community reentry support centers,
although they are critical,
they do not stand alone in this ecosystem.
We recognize that there's hundreds
of community-based organizations around the city
that's providing supports, but we wanted to be intentional
and focus on those organizations
that were supporting the returning population.
And in our first year, we've identified 111 of them,
and we've intentionally engaged with over 60 of 'em
to identify shared challenges, explored solutions
and strengthened coordination.
Next slide, please. Our role is not
to replace this ecosystem,
but to strengthen it
through intentional engagement and collaboration.
Effective reentry requires collaboration across city,
county, state, community, and private sectors.
We intentionally engage people with lived experiences,
service providers, and policy makers,
because sitting at multiple tables allows the Office
of Reentry to transform community insights
and policy influence.
The reality is it is not difficult to, um, excuse me,
and that collaboration has already produced meaningful
outcomes and systems alignment and responses.
Next slide. We embedded community voice into policy design
through surveys, engagement and intentional listening.
We advocated for equitable funding mechanisms
to strengthen small and mid-sized organizations.
And we expanded reentry support across the lifespan,
including the creation of our first youth reentry guidebook
building on this foundation.
We are now focused on
what sustainable reentry looks like moving into 2026,
the final slide.
Our 2026 priorities focus on policy influence,
fair chance hiring, with continued emphasis on mental
health, housing and systems coordination
and lived experiences will remain central
through our advisory bodies like
advising Chicago on reentry policy.
A court. This work is about moving from fragmented systems
to coordinated efforts.
One that allows returning residents not just to survive,
but to contribute and thrive.
And ultimately, this work is measured not in just systems
and services, but in the lives and leadership.
It helps to make possible.
I want to close by personalizing this work. Truly.
I am currently a second year graduate student at
the University of Chicago.
I serve on multiple strategic advisory committees.
I have stable housing,
and I work in this capacity to help shape policy
for the city of Chicago.
None of that happened by accident.
I am a returning resident.
It happened because I was supported by people, by programs,
by systems that believe I could contribute meaningfully
if given an opportunity.
And while this is my story, it is not u unique.
Looking at the slides, you can see across this city,
there are returning residents who are executives, advocates,
educators, policy advisors, business owners and caregivers.
People who are contributing every day
because someone invested in their reentry.
What the offensive reentry seeks to do is make
that pathway less exceptional, to ensure
that support is not based on luck,
but on intentional design.
To move from fragmented responses to coordinated systems
and to affirm that returning residents are not problems.
To be managed with, assets to be cultivated.
When we invest in reentry, we strengthen families,
stabilize communities, and build a safer,
more equitable Chicago for everyone.
Thank you for your leadership, your partnership,
and your com continued commitment to this work.
Uh, thank you for the presentation, uh, for questions
and comments from the committee.
Uh, alderman Pido, followed by Alderman Talley. Farro.
Thank you Chairman. Thank you director.
Thank you for that. Uh, thorough report. Should be great.
If we could get it, uh, uh, email to us, I'd love to see it.
Uh, one question. I'm a true believer.
Uh, people changed their lives.
I've seen it firsthand in my family.
Close friends, uh, people
that done stupid stuff when they were young adults
and now they're middle aged or older adults
and something like that
shouldn't haunt 'em the rest of their life.
Um, a few months back, I dunno if you remember,
I called you about something we were doing in this council.
Yes. So does this apply to everybody
or do those people that were part of January 6th, 2021,
they're not eligible to be a returning citizen.
Thank you for that question. Ultimately,
And I'm not trying to trick you, I just, I think you know
what the vote was like, you know, 45 to four or 43
or whatever it was, everybody's saying
that you can't be forgiven for that.
I'm a forgiving person. People do
find God and change their lives.
Um, and even if they don't find God,
some people change their life for the better,
and I don't think they should be
held down the rest of their life.
So, uh, just, you know, tracking back to that,
does this stand for everybody?
Uh, does it stand for rapists and murderers?
Does it stand for January 6th? Uh, trespassers?
I mean, I'm guessing it applies to everybody. Correct.
So thank you for that question, alderman. Thank you.
So one of the things we, uh,
pride ourself on doing is trying
to educate everyone about what's the goal of our office.
First, we begin with sharing, uh, people,
people first language.
So we identify people not by the acts
that they've committed in the past,
but by the people in the potential they stand to be today.
So our office try to support
and help everyone
through this transition back into the community
with supportive services
and connecting them to resources
that can help them reintegrate
and become, uh, well connected
with their families and communities.
We do not, uh, discriminate from trying
to connect individuals to the supports they need,
because we believe when people are given a second chance,
they are given the opportunity to thrive.
So, as far as you're concerned,
and as far as I'm concerned, somebody that did that
five years ago, they should be able to, if they so chose,
apply for a job for the city that shouldn't hold 'em down.
So, thank you again.
Each city department has different criteria for how they,
uh, apply and how people can be vetted
to work within those departments.
So this office cannot speak for any city department as
to the criteria in the Got it.
We're, we're just trying to help people,
as you're telling me, then, yes,
we're just saying you shouldn't be held down, speaking up
for them, being a voice for them, so on and so forth.
Yes. We're trying to ensure
that people are connected to supportive
Services. Thank you. Thank
you, chairman.
Okay. Uh, and Alderman Podo, the, uh,
slide deck is already in your inboxes.
We mailed it out to everyone. Um, alderman Tall Farro.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, um, director Matt.
Thank you so much. And your team, uh,
for the great work that they're doing.
Um, as you're familiar with, um, the number one, uh,
community in which a lot of our returning, um,
citizens are returning residents, uh, come to exhaust, uh,
which is, which is, um, predominantly the ward that I serve,
um, on the west side of Chicago.
So I, I certainly appreciate your work
and the work of, um, um, certainly Congressman Danny Davis,
who's made a reentry, a cornerstone in, in his leadership,
um, as well as, um, some community organizations like, um,
Ben Lee of Nafi, um, who continues to do great work, um,
with returning residents.
Um, my question is, um, essentially, do you
and your organization or your department rather, uh, work
and partner with, um, IDOC, um, in, in
what capacity do you do that?
Do you get there and, um,
and perhaps work with returning, uh,
residents prior to their release?
Um, what's your, what's your relationship
and partnership like with ideal C and that Thank you.
And that, I want to say pretty much prior to, um, our, our,
um, returning residents getting out.
Thank you for that question.
My office believe reentry begins from the point of contact
with the legal system.
So we connect
with individuals early throughout that process.
Yes, we have a great relationship with the department,
Illinois Department of Corrections.
I have a standing meeting with the IDOC director monthly,
and we also work with their team to develop processes to
how we can help those who are returning back
to Chicago be well supported.
We've shared information with 'em as far as
what resources are available,
what telephone numbers they can call upon release once they
re uh, return back to the city.
And the IDOC has helped us disseminate this information,
so individuals returning back
to community can be well prepared
and know who they can call when they're in need.
Thank you. And, and, um, with regard to those that you
and your department worked with, um, do you know
what your recidivism rate is?
I, and if I missed that earlier, I apologize.
So, recidivism, that is a metric that's measured.
And, uh, we relied on a recidivism rate that was offered
by IDOC last year.
Their recidivism hasn't been properly tracked,
so it's difficult to say that,
but I, I am mindful to recognize that recidivism assumes
that individuals are receiving all the supports they need.
They're given access able housing
and all these things that's required to contribute to, uh,
Chicago, the fabric of Chicago,
when those needs are not met, survival decisions kick in.
So for that reason, my office is trying to get ahead of that
and ensure people are well supported,
so they want face the likelihood of recidivating.
Mm-hmm. And, and that's why I, I really want to, um, I,
well, one, for us, as, as a department
and as a city, um, to track those
that we have worked diligently with, um,
is, is very difficult.
Um, you know, to track those that don't want
to partake in services, um, that the city may offer, um,
and that the county and state may offer.
Um, um, but I would like to track
and see if we could have a, um, an ability to see
how effective we are, uh, with those
that we are providing services for.
So, and I can probably understand that, you know, um,
that is something that your department will,
will track in the future,
and that's, of those that are working
and that you're, you know, um, diligently working with, um,
uh, what's the percentage of those returning,
um, back to custody.
Um, again, thank you so much for your work.
I, I understand the need for it, um,
because, you know, you've done a great job and,
and others that, you know, um, that have done a great job
after incarceration, um, have made, um, not only the quality
of life in, in their communities, much better, um,
but have made their own personal story, uh, one
to be shared as an example.
So I thank you for that,
and providing that example to young men
and women that have faced some tough times in their lives.
Um, I stand up for you. I salute you.
Um, and thank you for not only just looking at your inner
self, but seeing that, um,
I can pass this along to someone else.
Mm-hmm. And, and, and with the hopes that they will too, um,
recognize in their lives that, that they can do great
and, and even do greater.
So, thank you so much, and I, you have my blessings
or my, my heart and my prayers.
And thank you for your team.
Uh, the chair recognizes Alderman Curtis on
remote participation.
Uh, alderman, please unmute.
Uh, followed by Alderwoman Fuentes.
Hi, uh, good afternoon everyone.
Um, I, I want to congratulate you, uh,
number one, uh, director.
I'm gonna turn my face on here.
Uh, I really appreciate, uh,
the work that you've been doing.
Uh, we've had conversations, uh, about this.
Also, I want to congratulate, uh, alderman Taylor.
I mean, ultimate Taylor.
You have really, really been a person that I've really come
to admire a lot
because you are like a super advocate
for any situation.
And, and I do appreciate that.
Um, I, um, I always tell people
that, uh, you know, don't,
don't let your past dictate your future.
And in doing that, I've helped so many people, uh,
try to get wraparound services and, and things like that.
I've, I've had different conversations with City, county,
and state, because I feel that, uh,
they have not opened the floodgates
of employment, uh, to our, our second chances.
And I think that should wanna be one of our main goals.
Um, uh, it's, it's difficult sometimes, you know,
we can get them in programs
and they make that minimum wage in a program, uh,
with a non-for-profit or something like that,
but they really can't support a family, uh,
at all, a minimum wage.
And I do believe that they need that opportunity if they go
through the program to get a city, county, or state,
and even a federal job, if, if that's the case.
So, I'm standing here willing to work with any
of my colleagues and you, uh, to, uh, do just that.
Uh, give them an opportunity of a lifetime to make the money
that they need to make
so they don't go back out into the street to do
whatever they did to be, um, an ex offender.
So that's my, uh, that's my statement.
Uh, and again, I really didn't have a question
because I know of the work that you are doing.
So I do want to be included on trying to
do whatever we can to, um, make, uh, open the doors more
for our, um, common citizens.
Thanks.
Uh, thank you Alderman Curtis, uh, Alderwoman Fuentes.
Thank you Chairman. Uh, director Map.
I just wanna thank you for you and your office's work.
You came to meet with my, uh,
committee on Community Safety in the 26th Ward.
And so many of those organizations are still talking about
the access to your office,
and you know, how proud they were to have had a conversation
with you about how they furthered their work on reentry.
Uh, we know we, we have safer communities,
and we build a safer city when we take care of our residents
who are returning home, and to make sure
that they have the wraparound supports so
that they're not making survival decisions.
They put them, them at risk, and other residents at risk.
Uh, we're committed to continuing to do
that work in the 26th Ward, in addition to all, uh,
community safety and violence prevention work.
And this is an important pillar, uh,
and I do agree with, with Alderman Talia Farrell, in
that it may be worth tracking, uh, the type of, uh, impact
that our work has.
And with that, I know that that's, that's budget ask, right?
It's a tracking system that's more capacity, uh,
but definitely one I'm willing to support
and entertain as we're going into another budget season.
Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that.
And I wanna, uh, return back to that statement.
Recidivism is one of the metrics that we do like to look at,
but as I stated before, the IDOC has been having trouble
with, uh, adequately, uh, tracking that.
So I don't wanna report numbers out. That's not verifiable.
The second part is, in addition to recidivism rates,
we also track stability.
Are they housed? Are they employed?
Are they, uh, civically engaged in any community activities?
We want to measure the holistic view of
how people return back to community.
Some people just want to get a job, be with their family
and go about their lives,
while others also wanna make amends for some of the mistakes
and the missteps they've made.
And we want to create opportunities
for individuals to do that.
I think that was a great, uh, point
that he lifted up about employment
and a need to ensure that individuals are employed.
So I would like to pass it to, uh, my, one
of my team members, Jasmine Valez,
to talk a little bit about the work we are
doing around employment.
Thank you, director. Matt, Jasmine Valez, uh,
project manager, again with the Office of Reentry.
Um, something I'm working on.
Um, so I am the Economic Mobility Lead within the Office
of Reentry, and I am working heavily on implementing best
practices and policies surrounding Fair Chance Hiring.
Um, the Office of Reentry has participated in the corporate,
the Fair Chance Hiring cohort with the Corporate Coalition
and Care Collective.
Um, we are also working on various independent
and collaborative initiatives across the administration
and with, um, in partnership with city departments
and agencies, as well as external partners, um, including,
um, uh, fair Chance Hiring Toolkit for businesses with small
to mid-size operations,
and as well, as well as expanding the capacity
of the community reentry support centers
to provide job readiness training
and employment placement assistance, um, such
as career coaching, transportation assistance,
uniform stipends,
and, um, in, in addition
to those wraparound supports that they offer.
Thank you. Um, alderman Lopez, followed
by Alderman Knutson.
Thank you, chairman. And again,
good afternoon members of the committee.
Good afternoon, my friend.
Where did, what neighborhood did you learn
all these fun things from?
So he's talking, uh, alderman Lopez
and myself worked together on several community violence
initiatives in the back of the Yards community.
I could not be happier to see you up there, director.
Um, but I, I, there are some things in your slide that make
me pause and give me concern,
and that is that we still see
and exorbitantly high unemployment rate
amongst returning citizens here in the city of Chicago.
I think think your slide said 60% of those returning 60%
need work and or are unemployed.
That's cor. Correct.
Now, two administrations ago, uh, this council
and the city had what was referred to as Ready, um,
which was an employment opportunity
for returning citizens
where they were working in our communities, paid
for directly from both city as well as philanthropic
through our delegate partner.
Do we still have ready
or comparable organizations like that at our disposal
to higher individuals at the
direction of the city of Chicago?
Yes, we are collaborating with organizations like that.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned, 12,000
to 16,000 individuals are released annually.
That's in addition to those
who are already currently in the city.
So the supply of available jobs
that's sustainable is very limited.
That's why we've partnered with the Corporate Coalition
to invite other business owners
to look at their hiring practices, to begin
to create pathways to hire those who are returning.
We also collaborate with Rural Business Chicago.
We also, uh, work with the Chicago Cook Workforce, uh,
partnership to try to expand opportunities
for many individuals returning back.
So oftentimes you've heard,
and I've heard that people would, uh, spend a lot
of time talking about getting individuals workforce ready,
but part of that challenge is getting the organizations
and companies, uh, workforce ready to be able
to understand the, how to work with this population,
how to collaborate
Well, I would slightly disagree with that
because I think having workforce ready helps,
but it's not helpful if there's no workforce to go to.
And oftentimes those same individuals you just referenced
don't have the capacity to actually hire anybody,
or they're an, an unease in hiring those individuals.
Sometimes you call it for what it, it's,
but when we had programs like Ready
and others, we put people to work.
We had them cleaning in communities, we had them being
as delegate partners to our departments like Streets
and Sanitation and others.
So again, the question is, do we have that still in effect
at this point in time?
So we have like-minded organizations.
We have programs like Spring Ford
that's hiring individuals within, uh,
department of Streets and signs.
Well, like I said, the demand
for employment is very high. So
If you could provide through, I'm sorry, excuse me, I,
'cause I know I've got a lot.
So, um, so if you could provide to us, to the chair
who those partners are,
because you are a hundred percent correct.
So I was keeping track of some of the things that I saw,
and when you have almost 2000 individuals
being directed towards employment assistance,
and we're only able to get barely 10% of them employed,
I think that's a failure on all our parts that we need
to start figuring out how we make that go from being,
getting employee assistance to actually
an employee paycheck.
I want people to have pride in having that job.
Again, that's what they're looking for as well.
You know, this, and I know this,
and all of our colleagues need to hear this
because if we're not actually putting the dollars
to actually raise up these numbers,
260 people who've been, who are reentering
our neighborhoods is nothing, it's not a success
for us to be celebrating.
Hmm. Because there's so much more we can do.
We know this, we see this, and we get the calls.
You're getting the calls for that.
Um, your id, OOC Parolees that showed Communities by Ward.
Can you bring that back up please?
Now, when I look at the com, so
what is the total, obviously this is not an apples
to apples comparison 'cause this is ones by community, one's
by Ward, but for example, Roselyn,
which is almost a hundred percent in the ninth Ward,
the i, is it cut off on your graphic that we're not able
to see what the IDOC number is for the ninth Ward?
Was there something, was there additional information in
there, or is that just based on the top?
So for the Ninth Ward,
I have on my PowerPoint 351 individuals,
and that's for a fraction of the year. That's not the
Complete year. Right, because I see
this is just from April to June.
Correct.
Yeah.
S**t.
So thank you. Uh, alderman Knutson followed
by Alderman Sin Lopez.
Actually, I wasn't, sorry, I wasn't done.
Sorry, I wasn't done. Oh, sorry.
Um, okay. So that makes more sense. Okay.
So then I, if you could also share through the chair then
what all by Ward, everyone that's not on this list as well.
Um, what year do you have the full year for?
Is 2024 the last year? You have for,
So we've been working with our partners.
We compiled this information from both the DOC
and our academic partners at Loyola
and the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
So some of this information they provide us as they,
as they compile this information.
Okay. Um, the reason I'm asking is
because I think that for us to be able to raise awareness,
we all have to know exactly
how many individuals we're dealing with in our communities
that fit this profile, that need the support.
And that when you look at, for example,
just statistically speaking, you can extrapolate based on
what you've shared with us, that, for example,
and I'm, I'm not, I'm picking on the first ward on top
of the list, the ninth Ward,
they had 351 individuals from April to June that returned
from IDOC.
Based on what you've shared with us today,
we can safely assume
that three outta 351 have found employment,
because statistically
that's where we're winding up right now.
We have to do better.
And I'm, I'm not, that's not a knock on you.
It's, it's an awareness that we need to make
because truly, if we're trying to help give people
that direction and have that your success story be theirs,
then we have to be one aware of just
how many we are missing, how many are falling
through the cracks, and what we can do to elevate
that part of the conversation.
And I don't think until all of us see just
how many individuals are in our own communities in our midst
that fit that profile, will we actually take this seriously?
So I look forward to working with you as always
to help elevating that, um,
because I think that's a very important part
of this conversation that is that we're missing.
Thank you, chairman.
Thank you. Alderman Lopez.
Alderman Knutson, followed by Alderman Central Lopez.
Thank you Chair. And I'll, I'll make it quick.
I just wanted to really thank the director for the report,
which, um, I know we will receive.
And I, I think I,
I'll definitely send this out to my community.
I think knowledge is power
and it's impactful to even see the list of
where people are employed.
Um, I think that self markets to different, similar,
you know, companies and nonprofits
that should be making these hires.
And I just wanted to congratulate, um,
you two on the leadership
with the Microgrants on mental health.
I think it was a really important next step.
I mean, there's, there's no question when, um,
someone comes out and they're over 50
that there's therapy is gonna be a very strong thing
and important even before entering the workforce.
Um, so I thought that that was a, just a great
announcement a few months ago.
In addition to other announcements like the Center in
Pilsen, there's a lot of really good impactful progress.
And it just shows that this office being scaled into an
office was the right thing and it should keep being scaled.
So thank you to your whole team for,
um, for all that good work.
Thank you. Yeah, thank you.
Alderman Knutsen, uh, alderman Sin Show Lopez, followed
by Alderman Chico and then Alderwoman Taylor to close.
Thank you. Oh, I gotcha. Okay.
Thank you Chairman and, uh, uh, appreciate the Office
of Reentry Fund your team for, for all your efforts.
I know that you were recently in a award talking about
with the woman's, uh, um,
justice Center talking about, um, efforts to make sure that,
uh, people who come back to our communities,
especially women, are given the necessary resources.
So I appreciate all the efforts of your team.
Uh, one of the things that have come out as a chair
of housing, uh, we recognize is the shortage of, of housing.
And as, um, we heard even from the testimonies that they,
um, that reflects the, the huge need.
I mean, and this is not only for people
who have been ally incarcerated,
but especially, you know, for low income families, people
who are really making, trying to make meet.
So in terms of housing
and things that perhaps we can do as a, as a city
to support the programs that you see available, um,
how are the efforts that we can address these?
And, and the other second part of the question,
what other challenges you see,
and again, I commend you for these efforts
that I think they had to do a lot with, um, the, uh,
improvement in safety
that we see in, that we've seen in our city.
Thank you for that question.
I will begin with some of its challenges.
Some of the challenges is there's a housing, a shortage
of housing, available housing stock for all Chicagoans.
So that's only compound when you have individuals
who are returning from incarceration that have to go
through the process of file, uh,
filling out applications at a price to, uh, seeking housing.
And that kinda takes away from what they can have as, uh,
relatable to move in expenses.
So that creates another barrier for individuals.
Secondly, I have my office have been working with the office
of, uh, homelessness with, uh, chief Homelessness Office,
Cindy Soto, to develop a plan.
And we were intentional about ensuring that the needs
of the returning population was considered in this five year
plan to end homelessness.
We have worked, uh, closely with them.
I've served on the advisory committee to ensure
that this population is being represented.
What I can ask of this council is that we look for ways
to dedicate funding toward affordable housing.
Some of the, uh, when we think about employment, one
of the underused benefits is the employment,
the work opportunity tax credit that many small
and midsize employers do not tap into
because they do not have the back office support
to realize those benefits.
If we can create some possibility
or some central office that can make that process easier,
where employers can benefit,
I'm sure they can look at those benefits
and expand the talent pool in which they draw from
so we can get more individuals employed,
and that way we can have more individuals
that can employ afford housing to stabilize theirselves.
Thank you. Yeah, I think that's, um, that's a great, um,
that's a great suggestion.
Perhaps that's something that we can discuss
with the county and state partners.
I think that that is, uh, an excellent idea in terms of, uh,
streamlining and identifying those barriers.
Uh, some, um, on behalf of our community,
we've seen the work very directly
and the impact that you have.
So our full support and any way we can help
with the housing component, you have our full support
and thank you and your team for your,
for your efforts is really, um,
is really making the difference.
Thank you Chairman,
Uh, Alderman Chico, followed by alderwoman, Minna Hop,
Penworth, and then Alderwoman Taylor to close. Alderman.
Thank you Chair. And thank you
for all your work you've, you've done.
Um, as somebody who was employed at at CC DOC, I'm kind
of curious, I know, I know we touched on IDOC,
but I'm kind of curious on the relationship
that your office has with,
with Cook County Department of Corrections.
Um, as I mentioned, somebody who's worked there
and seen folks leave out the front gate and,
and maybe given a piece of paper
that they ultimately crumble
or have seen a million times over
and just discard what's the office doing,
is strengthening the relationship with C-C-D-O-C
and what does that look like?
Thank you. We've established a relationship with C-C-D-O-C
through different avenues.
One is we recognize the need to collaborate
with other county, city, and state agencies.
So we've collaborated with the, uh,
the First Lady's office, uh, MK Prescott
with the former Director of Reentry, uh, Willette Benford.
And we went in to, uh, really talk
and get to understanding what's some of the challenges
that from the people who are incarcerated.
Secondly is we've worked with, uh, C-C-D-O-C
to share information about
what services are available early in that process.
Because when, as you mentioned,
when individuals are going home,
when they're being released, they're so
and so happy to be released, that at
that point it is difficult to catch their attention.
So we believe starting early in that process
by disseminating information about
what supportive services are available can help us move
further along that process of creating pathways
for individuals returning.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
And like I said, my shared experience, you know, talking
with, with, uh, inmates in my capacity at at
at C-C-D-O-C, um, you know,
they always didn't feel they were, were equipped
with the resources that, that were available.
So just wanted to make sure that we are equipping them,
that they, they know about that, um, upon returning them.
So I think something part, uh, important to lift up is
'cause as we think about metrics
and how to track what services are being successful,
my office has partnered with, uh, Metro 2 1 1
to really enhance the work
and be able to track what services are being useful.
I think I want to pass that, uh, question to Jasmine Valez
so she can speak a little bit more about that.
Good afternoon, alders. Thank you. Director Map.
Um, I am co-lead on the service navigation pillar with, uh,
senior project manager Christina Williams.
And we started working with 2 1 1 Metro
and our partners at DFSS, um,
to implement some screening questions
that will better navigate returning residents to services.
So the resource navigators have been, um,
at 2 1 1 Metro have been trained on how
to best connect those individuals to services.
We implemented a screening question in 2020,
in February, 2025, excuse me,
asking if the caller is criminal justice system impacted.
Um, we had, we implemented an additional question in October
of 2025, asking if the individual is returning home from
incarceration and whether
or not they need to participate in a conviction registry.
And the reason why we ask about the registry piece is
because there are additional barriers to
that individual finding employment
and housing if they do have
to participate in a conviction registry.
Um, there is a reentry system impact dashboard that, um,
we've been working in collaboration with, uh,
2 1 1 Metro on, as well as our partners at DFSS
that will be released in 2026.
Um, that will show, uh, it is a countywide dashboard,
so it will show the top referrals by need, by organization,
and also by community area.
And if you all are, uh, familiar
with the 2 0 1 metro system,
that is a public facing dashboard that is accessible, um,
to all users, and it's a resource database as well.
Uh, Alderwoman Haworth followed
by Alderwoman Taylor to close.
Thank you, chair. Thank you, director.
Thank you to your team for all your
work and, and for being here.
I learned so much today.
Um, I represent the side Edgewater in Uptown,
and I remember on election day, um,
I was helping somebody finding, find a polling place.
And he, he said that there was, you know, a lack
of awareness about employment opportunities,
and he was lucky to feel, feels lucky
to have found the CTA Second Chance program.
Mm-hmm. Um,
and what the, these last couple conversations also remind me
that I, I worked in the Cook County Healthcare System
as a physical therapist at the Cook County Jail
and at, at the Cook County Hospital.
And you're right, like the point of contact really matters.
You said that there's 16,000 that come,
come back to us, you know.
Um, so I am, I'm glad to know
that there are systems in place
and that we're utilizing 2 1 1 in all of our tools available
to track and manage the data.
Um, there's a lot of things that I'm,
I feel really hopeful about in your work.
Um, I'm also very concerned about our lack of housing
and generally keeping people
employed so that they can pay for or even apply for housing.
Um, one of my first questions is, what is,
what do you think is the biggest barrier
that we're facing right now?
And alter Sigj Lopez,
chair Lopez already talked about it a little bit,
but there's outreach.
People don't know these opportunities.
There's, um, you know, the monetary barriers.
There's also, you know, a lack of landlords that might know
that these services exist.
And then there's, um, then there's a process.
So what's your priority in the upcoming year to help
folks find housing, stable housing?
I think the most important part,
and thank you for that question,
the most important part is awareness.
Oftentimes, the resources are underutilized
because people do not know about 'em.
So our, my office has dedicated
to creating an awareness campaign in partnership with CTA,
where we've posted signs
and billboards so individuals can know no matter
where they are, if they look up
and see, hey, this is a resource that's available to me.
The second part is trying to identify potential landlords
who will be willing to rent to this population that is, uh,
part of the difficult challenge.
'cause also landlords in certain instances,
because they have a fear, whether warrant warranted
or not, they still have a fear about
trusting this population.
So it's about, uh, creating incentive, incentive incentives,
so, uh, potential landlords who can be more willing.
And it's also important for us to partner with county
and state partners that can help, uh, increase funds
that's available to kinda subsidize the house available
housing so we can get more people housed.
Thank you for that. I just wanted to, many
of my questions were already answered.
I just wanted to say thank you again for all your work
and please look to 48th Ward to be a partner in
what you are doing already in the city, um, to, to, to,
for everyone to find, uh, stability.
'cause that creates safety for everybody, for all of us.
Thank you. Thank you.
Yeah. Thank you, uh, alderman Howorth
and, uh, thank you director map
for this outstanding detailed presentation.
I'm sure it's not lost on you that you have the full support
of this committee for your important work.
Uh, and with that Alderwoman Taylor to close.
Thank you. Chairman Hopkins.
Too often we don't talk to the experts.
And so one of the things that I didn't hear
during this committee was the organizations across the city
that already do this work and do them well.
Um, housing is a human right, but housing is also a problem.
Um, director mapping
and I have realized that IDOC has no real communication
with the city of Chicago when it comes
to housing this population.
And the problem with that is the community is at odds
with people returning back to the communities.
'cause A, there's no real conversation.
And b, what's the protections for those people returning,
but also the community?
And so we got some more work to do.
Um, we're blessed to have organizations across the city
who employ one of the biggest employers of return
to citizens from the data that I received a couple
of years ago is actually CTA.
They do amazing work around return to citizens.
And so that's a program we need to look into.
What I would ask for this committee is to make sure
that they're connected with organizations in their ward
and across the city who actually do this work.
Um, thank you, uh, chairman Hopkins for keeping your word
and having this conversation.
Thank you, um, to city council members for wanting
to be a part of this, uh,
director maps to you and your team.
Thank you for your honesty
and making sure that this is, we keep folks
who are returning to our communities
a part of the conversation.
One of the things that we don't talk about is women
returning from prison.
Um, which is a, which is a large number which, um, direct
to map, if you can get the information about
men versus women returning those numbers
will be great for us.
Um, just so that we're looking at it
and we're having honest conversations.
Um, thank you Chairman.
Yeah. Thank you Alderwoman Taylor
for bringing this matter before us.
Uh, we need to return to an item on the agenda, 2 1 0 2 3.
The chair recognizes Alderman te
Farro on a procedural matter.
Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Um, I move to re-refer this matter, um, that item, um,
to a joint committee on police and fire and public safety.
Uh, thank you Alderman on the advice of council hearing.
No objection. So ordered, uh, there. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
There be no further business to come before the committee.
Alderwoman min Haworth moves, adjournment, hearing.
No objection. So order. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.