Juneteenth celebrations and services are expected across Chicago Friday, calling for an end to systemic racism on the annual day commemorating the end of the slavery in the U.S.
And as demonstrations continue calling for police reform, a new report from the independent monitor overseeing the Chicago Police Department's federal consent decree shows that the city has missed the majority of its deadlines under the court-ordered agreement to implement reforms.
Here are the latest on protests, demonstrations and fallout happening across the Chicago area today:
Faith Leaders March to Grant Park
More than 500 faith leaders are expected to participate in a march in downtown Chicago Friday, calling for an end to systemic racism on Juneteenth.
Demonstrators will gather at 12 p.m. at Roosevelt and Columbus and march north on Columbus to Grant Park, organizers say. The march is expected to draw thousands of people, including several elected officials like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.
Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star Community Church in Bronzeville says the movement has five pillars: systemic racism, housing, economic development, physical and mental health as well as pushing for legislation aimed at these goals.
More information can be found here.
'March for Us' to Chicago City Hall
The "March for Us" plans to take its policy demands straight to Chicago's City Hall.
Beginning at 11 a.m., demonstrators will march from 701 S. State St. to Daley Plaza, calling for community investment, reparations from the federal government, police reform and transparency, access to high-quality healthcare and equity in the education system, among others.
More details can be found here.
Chicago Police Missed More Than 70% of Deadlines in First Year of Consent Decree, Report Says
A new report from the independent monitor overseeing the federal consent decree to reform the Chicago Police Department shows that the city has missed the majority of deadlines issued on those reforms in its first year under the court-ordered agreement.
The report, made public late Thursday, shows the city missed 89 deadlines and met just 35 in the first year of the decree - failing to meet more than 70% of those deadlines. The report was published by independent monitor Maggie Hickey, who was appointed by a federal judge to oversee the sweeping changes and report back to a judge on whether the city was fulfilling its obligation.
The aim of the consent decree is to improve reforms on training, discipline and supervision within the department. It was put in place following a lawsuit from then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who sued the city to enact reforms following a 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Justice that found a history of civil rights violations by officers.
That Justice Department report was the culmination of a years-long investigation sparked by the 2015 release of dashcam video showing Officer Jason Van Dyke fatally shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times the year before. Van Dyke was later charged and convicted of second-degree murder.
Among the items in Thursday's report with missed deadlines were a review of tactics and training during foot pursuits leading to uses of force, and a requirement to put in place guidance for officers to interact with members of religious communities.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said in a joint statement saying that the report "illustrates how the level of transformational change and reform that we are working towards cannot be achieved overnight.
Chicago Businesses Celebrate Juneteenth
While it’s not a federal holiday, many in Chicago will observe Juneteenth this year, thanks to employers who say they are taking part in a fight for inclusivity, equality and diversity.
While some cities are debating whether to observe Juneteenth as an official holiday, including Chicago, many area businesses are deciding to halt normal business operations on their own, adding the holiday to their official calendar.
Lightfoot Calls ‘Scooby-Doo' Meme of Her Posted by Chicago Teachers Union ‘Clearly Racist'
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday denounced a cartoon the Chicago Teachers Union posted on Twitter - depicting her tied in a rope and surrounded by the characters from "Scooby-Doo" - as racist and "deeply offensive."
"If that kind of tweet, which is clearly racist, had been put forward by a right-wing group, we would rightly be denouncing them and I think our scorn should be no less because it was put out by the CTU," Lightfoot said when asked about the image at a news conference, admitting that she had not yet seen the tweet itself but that it had been described to her.
The tweet in question was an image of the cartoon characters from "Scooby-Doo" surrounding Lightfoot, depicted wearing a Chicago police uniform and tied up in rope like one of the show's villains. One of the characters appears to be holding a mask of a police officer above her head.
More details here.
Illinois Supreme Court Ruling Affirms Chicago Police Misconduct Records Should Not Be Destroyed
The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of upholding the City of Chicago’s request to preserve all police misconduct records, a decision widely watched by police reform advocates amid protests against police abuses.
The legal challenge brought by the Chicago Chapter of Fraternal Order of Police, which represents roughly 12,000 Chicago officers, is considered to be a setback for the union.
The 6-to-1 ruling dealt with a single legal issue about whether the City of Chicago had a contractual requirement with the Chicago Police Union to destroy misconduct records older than five years.
More details here.
