AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/police/)
Austin lawmaker La Shawn Ford pushed the proposal, which will ban police from stopping a vehicle solely because there is an item hanging from the rearview mirror, windshield or side windows. The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2024.
The first of three in-person forums will be held April 11 at the Kehrein Center for the Arts, 5628 W. Washington Blvd., and there will also be a virtual forum on April 25.
15th District Commander Andre Parham called the reduction in crime in Austin “unprecedented.” He officers, residents and community groups for working together.
Stop by Moore Park, 5085 W. Adams, from 5 to 7 p.m Aug. 2 to spend time with your neighbors and prevent crime. There will be free refreshments, games and giveaways. Wear red, and bring a chair.
Austin lawmaker La Shawn Ford said the new state budget includes $12 million to fund Illinois’ witness protection program. The Leaders Network has been pushing for the funding for years.
At this month’s meeting of the 29th Ward residents aired concerns about vaccine appointments and the alderman shared how the Chicago Police Department is preparing for summer violence. Residents also heard an update about a new grocery store that will be opening in the now-closed Salvation Army building in the 5300 block of West Chicago Avenue.
Advocates continue to push for more civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department. Panlists discussed a proposed ordinance before the Chicago City Council that would take power from the mayor’s office and give it to a civilian-led commission.
Akua Njeri and Fred Hampton Jr., the fiance and son of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton Sr., attended a pre-release screening of “Judas and the Black Messiah” last week held at Kehrein Center for the Arts.
High school juniors and seniors at Austin College and Career Academy – as well as the district’s dozens of other high schools – will be learning exclusively at home. The school is still deciding whether to keep its two school resource officers. Two other Austin high schools – Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School and Frederick Douglass Academy High School – have already voted unanimously to keep their officers.
ROYAL, a group of youths from Oak Park, led a march through Austin, Garfield Park and Oak Park last weekend. They were protesting police brutality and commemorating the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who died while walking home from work last year in Colorado and after police put him in a choke hold.