CLOSING FEB 25
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO
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Faith Ringgold, American People Series #16: Woman Looking in a Mirror, 1966. Oil on canvas; 36 × 32 inches (91.4 × 81.3 cm). Baz Family Collection. © 2023 Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York.
SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY The South Side Weekly is an independent non-profit newspaper by and for the South Side of Chicago. We provide high-quality, critical arts and public interest coverage, and equip and develop journalists, artists, photographers, and mediamakers of all backgrounds. Volume 11, Issue 3 Editor-in-Chief
Jacqueline Serrato
Managing Editor
Adam Przybyl
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Jim Daley
Senior Editors Martha Bayne Christopher Good Olivia Stovicek Sam Stecklow Alma Campos Politics Editor Labor Editor Immigration Editor
J. Patrick Patterson Jocelyn Martínez-Rosales Wendy Wei
Community Builder
Chima Ikoro
Public Meetings Editor Scott Pemberton Visuals Editor
Kayla Bickham
Deputy Visuals Editor Shane Tolentino Staff Illustrators Mell Montezuma Shane Tolentino Director of Fact Checking: Savannah Hugueley Fact Checkers: Christopher Good Bridget Killian Micah Clark Moody Jess Nalupta Lauren Sheperd Rubi Valentin Layout Editor
Tony Zralka
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Malik Jackson
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Mary Leonard
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Susan Malone
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Pat Sier
The Weekly publishes online weekly and in print every other Thursday. We seek contributions from all over the city. Send submissions, story ideas, comments, or questions to editor@southsideweekly.com or mail to: South Side Weekly 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637 For advertising inquiries, please contact: Susan Malone (773) 358-3129 or email: malone@southsideweekly.com For general inquiries, please call: (773) 643-8533
IN CHICAGO
IN THIS ISSUE
Johnson declines to renew ShotSpotter In our February 1 issue, we published the results of our months-long investigation of ShotSpotter, the controversial gunshot-detection company that has thousands of microphones in more than half of the city’s police districts. Our reporting revealed that internal company emails showed an official at the Office of Public Safety Administration complained to ShotSpotter about missing a fifty-fiveround shooting in December 2022, and we obtained data from the Chicago Police Department showing it reported that ShotSpotter missed hundreds of reported shootings last year. We also uncovered ShotSpotter’s efforts to lobby Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office to renew the contract. Apparently, those efforts fell short. On Tuesday, the Mayor’s Office confirmed earlier reporting by the Sun-Times that Johnson will not renew the city’s contract with ShotSpotter. Chicago will continue using ShotSpotter until September 22, according to a press release issued by the Mayor’s Office. The statement said the city “will deploy its resources on the most effective strategies and tactics” to reduce violent crime. The long-anticipated announcement is the culmination of a campaign promise by Johnson to cancel the contract, which was made possible only by years of organizing by activists with the Stop ShotSpotter campaign, which responded to the news by lauding the decision and promising to “continue organizing for a Chicago that invests in its people.”
gassing up black chicago culture
South Side Grammy winners South Side Chicago made a splash at the 66th Annual Grammy awards February 4. Two local artists took home awards. Poet, author and South Side native J. Ivy won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for his album The Light Inside, his third overall. As sitting president for the Chicago Chapter of the Recording Academy and National Trustee, Ivy was seminal in creating a spoken-word poetry award category which debuted at last year’s awards, expanding the category to now be R&B, Rap & Spoken Word Poetry. Ivy won two awards at last year’s Grammys for his work on the gospel album The Urban Hymnal and winning the first Best Spoken Word Poetry Album award for his album The Poet Who Sat By The Door. Rapper and fellow South Sider Lil Durk won the Best Melodic Rap Performance Grammy for his multi-platinum single “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole. This is Durk’s first Grammy win and Cole’s second. In the single, the Englewood rapper speaks on his roots and the scrutiny he has faced in public life. The song’s chorus, which features a youth choir, was considered by many as a departure from Durk’s roots in drill music.
best of the south side best comfort pizza: de arco's pizza #2
Mass layoffs in healthcare RUSH University Medical Center and University of Chicago Medical Center announced layoffs at the start of the month. While the number of employees impacted at RUSH was not disclosed, in a statement UChicago Medicine specified that 180 employees were laid off and received severance packages. “This decision was not made lightly or easily but is necessary to position us to deliver on our mission and enhance the quality of care that we provide,” said the UChicago Medicine statement. The employees laid off comprised around two percent of the roughly 13,000 staff at UChicago Medicine and were not “directly patient-facing.” UChicago Medicine cited the layoffs were due to “the same challenges” as other health systems. Further details have not yet been made public.
Arionne Nettles talks about her new book We Are The Culture. evan f. moore............................................4 individuals incarcerated in cook county jail become authors
The writing program in Cook County Jail was organized by ConTextos. micah clark moody.................................6 individuos en la cárcel del condado de cook se convierten en autores
Desde 2017, cuando comenzó el programa ConTextos dentro de la Cárcel del Condado de Cook, diez grupos de hombres han escrito libros. por micah clark moody traducido por jacqueline serrato.......7 dreams of work and play
Black Youth want to thrive in Chicago, but generational inequities in South Side communities restrict space to grow. michael liptrot......................................9 lasone nathan.......................................11 cps students walk out for palestine
Students from several schools walked to City Hall ahead of a cease-fire resolution vote that ended up passing. text by weekly staff, photos by freedom messiah.................12 sidewalk-plowing pilot planned for next winter
Plow the Sidewalks pilot coming next winter will focus on areas with limited mobility residents and high public transit use. rob reid...................................................14 public meetings report
A recap of select open meetings at the local, county, and state level. scott pemberton and documenters. ......... 18 the exchange
The Weekly’s poetry corner offers our thoughts in exchange for yours. chima ikoro, jocelyn martinez-rosales......................19 johnson stops shotspotter
The Mayor’s Office announced it will not renew the contract—but sources say the city has a new request for proposals ready. max blaisdell and jim daley..................20 shotspotter monitors north side billboards for free
The gunshot-detection company put sensors in Jefferson Park at JCDecaux’s request. jim daley and max blaisdell..................21 calendar
Bulletin and events. zoe pharo................................................23
Cover photo by Ajah Jolly
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Gassing Up Black Chicago Culture
Arionne Nettles talks about her new book We Are The Culture. BY EVAN F. MOORE
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lack culture is often duplicated, yet underappreciated and misunderstood by the dominant pop culture zeitgeist. At the same time, Black America is expected to have ample knowledge of what’s going on in whitedominated culture. Englewood-born-and-bred journalist Arionne Nettles, a journalism lecturer at Northwestern University, has the receipts when it comes to what Black folks, particularly Black folks with Chicago roots, continue to offer the larger culture via her book, We Are The Culture: Black Chicago’s Influence on Everything (Lawrence Hill Books, April 2024). If you’ve seen the gif where Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is gassing up his teammate Kevin Durant ahead of a game, that’s the feeling I believe Nettles’s book is giving Black Chicagoans far and wide. Throughout We Are The Culture, Nettles sets a righteous sense of place where we as Black Chicagoans are constantly in conversation about where we’ve been, where we are, and, perhaps most importantly, where we’re going. The history of the Black press is a constant throughout Nettles’s book. She discusses what it meant to her growing up. She talks about seeing her byline in Black publications as well as the trials and tribulations of being one of the few Black reporters in the places she worked. Nettles explores how the Black press often highlighted people and discussed talking points white media missed or ignored. All of this is prefaced by the music Nettles was listening to while writing the book; she names specific songs that hold a special place for her. Ahead of our interview, I told Nettles that I’ve visited Kenwood’s Brooks Park to pay homage and to give thanks to Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks
“commitment” to inclusion. Arionne Nettles sat down with the Weekly to discuss the place of the White Sox fitted cap in sports and hip-hop culture, her hopes for the Black Press, her favorite Black Chicago historical figures, the importance of fashion for Black women, and more. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Evan Moore: Reading the book’s introduction got me really hyped up. What was the thought process to get the reader hyped about the South Side, the culture, and everything else? Photo by Ajah Jolly
for seeing something in me I had no idea existed. Back in 1993 as an eighth-grader, I was one of the Illinois Poet Laureate contest winners. The Sun-Times wrote about my accomplishment. Decades later, I became an award-winning culture and entertainment reporter. In those days, Brooks would personally call the winners and pay the prize money out of her own pocket. Nettles quipped, “Maybe you were the ‘harvest’ [Brooks] was thinking of.” Every now and again, my mother reminds me of who gave me my first writing award. In the book, Nettles succinctly states what Black journalists are often subjected to in newsrooms, including and not limited to unpaid sensitivity reads—that’s when white reporters and editors ask Black journalists to read over stories to track any and all things that won’t enrage Black people. During the summer of 2020 when so many tragic events took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Black journalists experienced being confronted by white editors with the “Are you going to be a journalist or an activist” riot act when
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covering protests that took place in the neighborhoods where many of them live. Nettles writes: Today, Black journalists aren’t legally shut out of newsrooms, but that doesn’t mean it never feels that way. We are often underrepresented in the mainstream, our voices edited out of stories—if the stories we want to report even make it past the pitching stage. As Black journalists, our perspective is often seen as a hindrance to the obtuse idea of objectivity, with nonBlack editors telling us we aren’t able to cover certain stories fairly—that is, until we are called on to be the unofficial (and unpaid) consultants to other journalists on Black life: Is this a term you’d say? Is this hair a dreadlock or dreads or locks? What does this tweet mean? We are good enough to be translators, sure, but in those same rooms, we often aren’t trusted to guide coverage and aren’t seen as good enough to be decision-makers. In many newsrooms, we are there for promises of diversity, and yet that diversity is just for show, to be able to check off a box on the next news survey that comes around to show their
Arionne Nettles: I think I really wanted to show that I was coming to this work from a really authentic place of love. That's why I think the emotional piece is really important because I want [the book] to try to prioritize the parts of Black Chicago, Black Chicago history, and Black Chicago creativity that I have personal ties to... I wanted it to feel more like the start of a conversation, and not just about this book, but about how do we think about Black creativity in Chicago and Black innovation. What has that meant for us all together and outside of this book, how we feel about it? About the book proposal process: What points did you want to get across? What was your thought process while putting together the proposal? I was really focused on pop culture, so the original name, I think, was “Black Chicago” or the subtitle was “Black Chicago’s Contribution to Popular Culture,” because I wanted to try to take an academic look at pop culture. I think that a lot of times what we think is popular is looked down on and it’s not seen as important as
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it is. But the more I wrote, and the more the book continued to develop, my editor was like, “No, this is on everything. This is not really just focused on pop culture.” But within that proposal, a goal of mine was to show the important influence on even the things we think are small or frivolous or the things we take for granted, and how big of a cultural impact those things have been.
Did you read any books in preparation for writing your book? I read so many books during the process. Maybe not just in preparation for the book, but throughout the process. I read books and talked with some authors throughout the process, but I think most of the books that I read were very specific. So it might be that I’m reading a book that is just about the history of Soul Train, or I’m reading a book that is just about the Black museum movement. And so it’s these very specific pieces of work. Now my Kindle app is filled with all these books that I would buy in the middle of the night and just start reading. And so because of that, it actually took me a much longer time than I thought it would be... So hopefully, you know, a lot of the authors that I’ve talked to are cited and see it as a good expression or interpretation of their work. In the book, you talked about the importance of the Black press—Ebony, Jet, and other publications—and the impact of Black journalists telling Black stories. Why is that important to add to the story? I have always wanted to be a part of the Black press. That was always like a dream, you know. And I think that I had a huge respect for it as a big important essential part of the industry. But I think the more I've learned about the details of it, and especially this growth in Chicago, it's made me want to continue to support places in Chicago like The TRiiBE and national publications like Capital B, all these places that are doing this really important work. But even when you bring up music and entertainment, lot of these bigger [media outlets] still do not employ Black people to cover a lot of this Black culture, right? And I think that that’s important.
And so, when we talk a lot about the nuance that’s available when you’re watching a movie, when you’re listening to what album, it’s just certain things that we are going to be able to pick up on. And it doesn’t mean that we have to be the only people talking about it, but our voices need to be included [Black people] had the manpower at different points in time to perhaps let people be heard in a different way and we just don't necessarily have these infrastructures to do that anymore. But I think that we have the talent to do it. And so on the bright side, I've never seen so many amazingly smart Black creators, right? Like we could do some amazing stuff. We know how to work the internet like no other. We know how to utilize and make some stuff out of nothing. We know how to utilize the free platform. We know how to do all these things. And so, I got a lot of hope for us. I just, maybe we don’t know
telling people that they’re gonna be like Phyllis Wheatley, but I did. And then when I was like seven or so, I was obsessed with Sojourner Truth and I would go around reciting “Ain’t I a Woman?” to people all the time... But I just did not have [any] idea how many of these stories originated in Chicago. As a journalist, I love Ida B. Wells, and I admire her and she’s my hero. I am fascinated by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable; I wish we knew more about him. I feel like there’s just not enough. As a child, I was fascinated by Gwendolyn Brooks and I still am. I used to read a lot of her poetry and I still love it so much. The White Sox fitted cap is often an identifier for South Siders. Why was it important for you to include the branding’s major contribution to fashion and hip-hop in the book?
not. There are certain things like my hair being done. My definition of “done” might be different than somebody else's definition of “done” but my hair needs to be done right. So it’s, like, certain things as Black women are very important in how we are put together, and we know that for some of those reasons behind it, different prejudices and discrimination have taught us that we must be “presentable.” But I think that we have also transformed a lot of that thinking into it being a sense of pride and how we walk outside and present ourselves to the world. The last thing I want to talk about is the aspect of culture in Black Chicago, whereas I feel like you can find out a lot about someone by where they went to high school, where they go to church, what fraternity or sorority they’re in. Can you speak to that aspect of how these questions are an icebreaker for Black Chicagoans who don’t know each other?
“Looking at sports as culture, when If you went to a certain high school, now I can make, I guess, assumptions about maybe we talk about the White Sox and the the neighborhoods you went to, or maybe that you lived in or if you didn’t live in that White Sox hat, Black people really neighborhood. Maybe you were bussed in, you know? So you can make a lot of guesses. I probably know some people who know made that popular.” exactly how we’re gonna do it. But I think just us thinking about it and just keeping it at the top of our mind, prioritizing it, is important. I got a two-part question for you: What did you learn in school about Black history and who are some of your favorite Black Chicago historical figures?
I learned a lot in school about Black history, actually, because my CPS school I went to Parker Community Academy in Englewood. We made Black History Month a really big thing. I don’t think I did not know how many of the people I liked were from Chicago and how their stories were tied to Chicago. I was telling a friend how I had a period where I was just totally obsessed with Phyllis Wheatley. I was like: “She is a writer and a poet and I am smart and a writer and a poet. I’m going to be just like Phyllis Wheatley,” and I just don't know how many six-year-olds go around
Looking at sports as culture, when we talk about the White Sox and the White Sox hat, Black people really made that popular. That’s fashion; we made that hat popular. We made it popular for some reasons, but that is specific. So, it’s when you think about it being for everyone and everyone loving it, and being a part of a culture and the city, and leaving a big imprint on us as a society is kind of how I wanted to view it. In the book, you talk a lot about the importance of style, brands, and fashion for Black women. You mentioned your mom, and I see your Instagram stories; you like to show out. Explain why it was important to describe fashion for Black women in the way you did. I think because fashion is subjective in that way, right? So you know, for me, maybe when some new [Air] Jordans is fashion in a way that maybe for another woman it’s
you. And I probably know a little bit about where you grew up because high school is such an important time in your life that grows you up really fast. And so you know that neighborhood that you go to high school and it’s so important, and then where you go to church, like if you went to maybe a more historic church, right?... Every Black Chicagoan is two degrees away from each other. We all are grandkids of the Great Migration, or kids, or great-grandkids, and we all have these very similar things that happened to us. And so when we ask certain questions, it's just us connecting better and better, you know? ¬
We Are The Culture: Black Chicago’s Influence on Everything, by Arionne Nettles. 224 pages. Lawrence Hill Books, 2024. $28.99 Hardcover. Evan F. Moore is an award-winning writer, author, DePaul University journalism adjunct instructor, and a third-generation South Shore homeowner.
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Individuals Incarcerated in Cook County Jail Become Authors
The writing program in Cook County Jail was organized by ConTextos, a non-profit dedicated to using literary arts and education to heal individual trauma and interrupt community violence.
BY MICAH CLARK MOODY
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hirty-four people became published authors and were recognized at an event in Cook County Jail last month. The writers completed the ConTextos memoir-writing program together and released their work into the world. Their peers, facilitators, supporters, and family celebrated together in a gym in the jail’s Division 6, a ceremony that included the new authors walking across the stage to receive a paperback copy of their book. “We was just so proud, I couldn’t say that enough. I was just so proud, so proud,” said Tarshe Anderson, sister of author Allante Anderson. “I wish I could have hugged him.” Tarshe could not hug her brother because the jail administration forbade physical contact at the event. The writing program was organized by ConTextos, a non-profit dedicated to using literary arts and education to heal individual trauma and interrupt community violence. ConTextos was founded in El Salvador and expanded to Chicago. Here, ConTextos has events for people outside of jail and a memoir writing workshop inside the jail, which started in 2018 and runs every six months. Authors and facilitators—some facilitators work for ConTextos on the outside and others are jailed—explain that writing memoirs with a group of men is a profound experience, leading them to access emotion and process trauma in a new way. “This means everything to me,” reflected Kendall Brown who published his memoir Brainstorming. “[I] put all my background in one book to express to the
New authors at Cook County Jail celebrated the completion of the ConTextos memoir-writing program on January 19, 2024 and received a paper back of their memoirs. Photo by Micah Clark Moody
world.” Brainstorming is not only for the world, according to Brown, but for his daughters too. “I’m a girl-dad,” he said smiling, turning to the pictures of his girls in the memoir. Through this book, Kendall hopes they can better understand their dad and his temporary absence.
“Walking over I was just so proud,” Tarshe remembers. “I was just so proud of the way he evolved when he started going through that program. It’s completely changed…how he was in the situation and it gave him hope.” This hope came because ConTextos “gave him something to do,” Tarshe
“There are people who want to change and do something positive. All they need is a chance…”–Allante Anderson The Anderson family has financially and emotionally supported Allante through ten years of pretrial incarceration and two years of post-trial jailing while he appeals. Anderson celebrates his sister’s love in his memoir, Misrepresented.
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explains. “Because for a long time, he just been sitting. Sitting, trying to wonder how he got himself in this situation. So, I was just proud at that moment,” dancing across the stage to take a picture with her brother and his newly published memoir. Basheer is a ConTextos facilitator and
author of two memoirs: A Son of a Gun with the Heart of a Bullet and Anx: Turn Me Inside Out. After the event, listing all the moments that made him proud, Basheer paused to reflect, “I always said they could do it. And now they have.” The connection built among the participants through the ConTextos workshops was evident in the speeches they gave at the event. As people spoke, they cracked inside jokes that only the participants understood and called out their peers' achievements. Most speakers shouted out the memoirs of their fellow authors, pointing out where they connected with each other’s stories. “One thing I realized from this class is that we are not special in our struggles,” Anderson reflected. “Whether you are from out West, over East, or the south suburbs, whether they Chicago, New York, or California. The poverty, violence, and hopelessness of the ghetto is universal. Different faces, different accents, with the same struggles, the same trauma, and more often than not the system gets the same results.” Thanking the group facilitators for the role in the class, Anderson explained, “you made us comfortable enough to share. [We shared] not only the things that make us happy, but also the things that hurt us, even something that most people would be embarrassed to admit or speak about. But you didn’t judge, you just gave us a voice to keep going. This class was like therapy for me and I thank you.” This sharing was particularly powerful for fathers in ConTextos who are separated from their children, explained Kendall, the
LITERATURA “girl-dad.” Adam Flores, a father sitting next to him, nodded in agreement. For Flores, talking in the group didn’t come naturally. In his memoir Decisions, he shares more. “Whenever I talk to Monica and my son hears my voice he says, “dad” in a curious way,” Flores writes. “Hearing him say “dad” and [him] recognizing my voice puts a genuine smile on my face and brightens my mood. At least I know he still knows who I am. I sit and talk to him and he babbles away saying a word here and there. I’m excited for him to start talking so we can have full conversations on the subfloor so he can tell me what’s wrong when he’s crying.” After the publication event, guards walked the authors back to their cells in Division 6. “I feel like we did something wrong, shit, walking us out of here like this,” an author said. By 2:00pm, authors were locked in their cells. Later that night, authors sought out the anticipated memoirs of their peers. Basheer explained, “We’re all seeking out each other’s books, asking around to make sure we get to read them all.” One reason the publication event is unique in Cook County Jail is that the author’s lives are otherwise routine. Flores said that, after class, authors “come back to the deck and we’re locked up right away. [We] go into the cells and we come back [out of cells into common space], like a couple hours later…[We] watch TV or play chess, workout. Make food, cook. And it’s that same thing every single day.” Anderson explains, “instead of rehabilitation…[jail] bring[s] more hopelessness and frustration. So if you know how hopelessness and frustration play a part in our neighborhoods that’s written without us, imagine how it plays when you have 440 hopeless and frustrated people trapped in one tier year after year with nothing to look forward to except a continuance [in their criminal case].” The wellbeing of people in jail is connected to the wellbeing of Chicago. “A lot of us are going to be released,” Anderson added, “whether we [are found innocent and] beat our case or get time served [and are released immediately after pleading guilty or trial]. [We] are released to the streets more criminalized.” The ConTextos program is only accessible to men jailed in a subsection of two of seven jail Divisions. According to
Antonio Porter, the Cook County Sheriff Office Director of Programs, limited programs are offered because “a lot of our programming is offered by volunteers.” Porter oversees in-house programming such as religious programs and educational opportunities. “For this specific ConTextos program, they started in just one division and are now in two divisions. So as they expand, this particular program can expand to other individuals in custody,” he added. Relying on volunteers for programming places the burden for “rehabilitation,” one justification for denying people freedom, on private volunteers and funders. This ConTextos program is partially funded through government grants to the Cook County Sheriff ’s Department and partially funded by foundations and individuals that make up the broader ConTextos budget. Since 2017, when the ConTextos program began inside Cook County Jail, ten groups of men have written memoirs. The most recent group, circle ten, was the first circle to hire alumni facilitators alongside Contextos staff who facilitate circles. Anderson, after twelve years in Cook County Jail, argues that the programming available is not sufficient or accessible. “Personally, I’ve been trying to get into a program for the last ten years with no luck. When I came to Cook County Jail in my 20s, I was too young. When I made it to my 30s, I had too many—I was told I had too many—infractions from when I was in my 20s. And it was five months ago only by a stroke of luck that I found out ConTextos existed. So while I appreciate this opportunity I was finally given, I can’t help but think about the pretrial detainees in Division 9 [maximum security] that have been there multiple years and have never gotten this opportunity.” “There are people who want to change and do something positive. All they need is a chance.” You can find books published through the writing program on the ConTextos Issuu page. ¬ Micah Clark Moody works at Civil Rights Corps where she investigates pretrial jailing systems across the country, particularly in Los Angeles. She is also a researcher who has worked as a court watcher in Cook County Bond Court.
Individuos en la Cárcel del Condado de Cook se convierten en autores
Desde 2017, cuando comenzó el programa ConTextos dentro de la Cárcel del Condado de Cook, diez grupos de hombres han escrito libros. POR MICAH CLARK MOODY TRADUCIDO POR JACQUELINE SERRATO
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reinta y cuatro personas se convirtieron en autores y fueron reconocidos en un evento en la Cárcel del Condado de Cook el mes pasado. Los escritores completaron juntos el programa de redacción autobiográfica de ConTextos y lanzaron su trabajo al mundo. Sus compañeros, instructores, amigos y familiares celebraron juntos en un gimnasio de la División 6 de la cárcel, una ceremonia en la que los nuevos autores recibieron una copia de su libro en el escenario. “Estábamos tan orgullosos que no podría decirlo lo suficiente. Estaba muy, muy orgullosa”, dijo Tarshe Anderson, hermana del autor Allante Anderson. “Quisiera haber podido abrazarlo”. Tarshe no pudo abrazar a su hermano porque la administración de la cárcel prohibió el contacto físico en el evento. El programa de escritura fue organizado por ConTextos, una organización sin fines de lucro dedicada a utilizar las artes literarias y la educación para curar traumas individuales e interrumpir la violencia comunitaria. ConTextos se fundó en El Salvador y se expandió a Chicago. Aquí, ConTextos tiene eventos para personas fuera de la cárcel y un taller de memorias escritas
dentro de la cárcel que comenzó en 2018 y se realiza cada seis meses. Los autores y facilitadores (algunos facilitadores trabajan para ConTextos afuera y otros están encarcelados) explican que escribir con un grupo de hombres sobre sus memorias es una experiencia profunda que los lleva a acceder a sus sentimientos y procesar el trauma de una manera nueva. “Esto lo es todo para mí”, reflexionó Kendall Brown, quien publicó su libro titulado Brainstorming (Lluvia de ideas). "[Yo] puse todos mi pasado en un libro para expresarlo al mundo". Según Brown, la lluvia de ideas no es sólo para el mundo, sino también para sus hijas. “Soy papá de una niña”, dijo sonriendo, mirando las fotografías de sus hijas en el libro. A través de este libro, Kendall espera que ellas puedan comprender mejor a su padre y su ausencia temporal. La familia Anderson ha apoyado financiera y emocionalmente a Allante durante diez años de encarcelamiento previo al juicio y dos años después, mientras apela. Anderson celebra el amor de su hermana en su libro titulado Misrepresented (Mal representado). “Al acercarme a él me sentí muy
FEBRUARY 15, 2024 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 7
LITERATURA
orgullosa”, recuerda Tarshe. “Estaba muy orgullosa de la forma en la que él evolucionó cuando comenzó a participar en ese programa. Ha cambiado completamente... cómo se encontraba su situación y le dio esperanza”. Esta esperanza surgió porque ConTextos “le dio algo qué hacer”, explica Tarshe. “Porque durante mucho tiempo estuvo sentado. Sentado, preguntándose cómo llegó a esta situación. Así que me sentí orgullosa en ese momento”, cuando bailó por el escenario para tomarse una foto con su hermano y su libro recién publicado. Basheer es un facilitador de ConTextos y autor de dos libros: A Son of a Gun with the Heart of a Bullet y Anx: Turn Me Inside Out. Después del evento, hablando de todos los momentos que lo enorgullecían, Basheer hizo una pausa para reflexionar: “Siempre dije que podían hacerlo. Y lo hicieron”. La conexión entre los participantes a través de los talleres de ConTextos fue evidente en los discursos que dieron en el evento. Mientras ellos hablaban, hacían chistes que sólo entendían entre ellos y celebraban los logros de sus compañeros. Varios gritaron los títulos de sus colegas autores, señalando las historias que más impacto les hicieron. “Una cosa de la que me di cuenta en esta clase es que no somos únicos en nuestras luchas”, reflexionó Anderson. “Ya sea que seas del lado oeste, del lado este o de los suburbios del sur, ya seas de Chicago, Nueva York o California: La pobreza, la violencia y la desesperanza del barrio son universales. Diferentes rostros, diferentes acentos, con las mismas luchas, el mismo trauma y la mayoría de las veces el sistema produce los mismos resultados”. Anderson agradeció a los facilitadores del grupo por su papel en la clase y explicó: “nos hicieron sentir lo suficientemente cómodos para compartir. [Compartimos] no sólo las cosas que nos hacen felices, sino también las que nos hacen daño, incluso cosas de las que a la mayoría de la gente le daría vergüenza admitir o hablar. Pero no juzgaron, simplemente nos dieron voz para seguir adelante. Esta clase fue como una terapia para mí y se los agradezco”.
Autores encarcelados son reconocidos en un evento en la Cárcel del Condado de Cook el 19 de enero de 2024. Foto por Micah Clark Moody
Este compartir fue particularmente poderoso para los padres que están separados de sus hijos, explicó Kendall. Adam Flores, un padre sentado al lado, afirmó con la cabeza. Para Flores, hablar en el grupo no fue algo natural. En su libro, Decisions (Decisiones), comparte más. “Siempre que hablo con Mónica y mi hijo escucha mi voz, dice 'papá' con curiosidad”, escribe Flores. “Escucharlo decir 'papá' y [que] reconozca mi voz pone una sonrisa genuina en mi rostro y mejora mi estado de ánimo. Al menos sé que él todavía sabe quién soy. Me siento y hablo con él y él me platica diciendo una palabra aquí y allá. Estoy emocionado de que comience a hablar para que podamos tener conversaciones completas... y así él pueda decirme qué le pasa cuando está llorando”. Después del evento, los guardias escoltaron a los autores de regreso a sus celdas en la División 6. "Siento que hicimos algo mal al sacarnos de aquí así", dijo un autor. Para las 2:00pm, estaban encerrados en sus celdas. Más tarde esa noche, los autores vieron los libros de sus compañeros. Basheer explicó: “Todos pedimos los libros de los demás, y nos aseguramos de poder leerlos todos”. Una de las razones por las que el evento de publicación es especial en la
8 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ FEBRUARY 15, 2024
Cárcel del Condado de Cook es porque la vida en la cárcel es rutinaria. Flores dijo que, después de clase, a los autores “enseguida nos encierran... Miramos televisión o jugamos ajedrez, hacemos ejercicio. Hacemos comida. Y es lo mismo todos los días”. Anderson explica: “en lugar de rehabilitación... [la cárcel] trae más desesperanza y frustración... Imagina tener 440 personas desesperadas y frustradas atrapadas en un piso año tras año sin nada que esperar excepto otra corte [en su caso criminal]." El bienestar de las personas encarceladas está relacionado con el bienestar de Chicago. “Muchos de nosotros vamos a ser liberados”, agregó Anderson, “ya sea que [seamos declarados inocentes y] superemos nuestro caso o cumplamos la condena [y seamos liberados inmediatamente después de declararnos culpables o de ser juzgados]. [Nosotros] somos devueltos a las calles aún más criminalizados”. El programa ConTextos solo es accesible para hombres encarcelados en una subsección de dos de las siete divisiones carcelarias. Según Antonio Porter, director de programas de la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Cook, se ofrecen programas limitados porque “gran parte de nuestra programación la ofrecen voluntarios”.
Porter supervisa la programación interna, como programas religiosos y oportunidades educativas. “Para este programa específico de ConTextos, comenzaron en una sola división y ahora están en dos divisiones. Entonces, a medida que se expandan, este programa en particular puede expandirse a otras personas bajo custodia”, añadió. Depender de voluntarios para la programación coloca la carga de la “rehabilitación”, un determinante para negarle la libertad a las personas, sobre los voluntarios y financiadores privados. Este programa de ConTextos está parcialmente financiado a través de subvenciones gubernamentales al Departamento del Alguacil del Condado de Cook y parcialmente financiado por fundaciones y donadores individuales que conforman el presupuesto más amplio de ConTextos. Desde 2017, cuando comenzó el programa ConTextos dentro de la Cárcel del Condado de Cook, diez grupos de hombres han escrito libros. El grupo más reciente, el círculo diez, fue el primero en contratar ex alumnos para trabajar como facilitadores a la par del personal de Contextos. Anderson, después de doce años en la cárcel, sostiene que la programación disponible no es suficiente ni accesible. “Personalmente, he estado intentando ingresar a un programa durante los últimos diez años sin suerte. Cuando llegué a la Cárcel del Condado de Cook cuando tenía 20 años, era demasiado joven. Cuando llegué a los 30, tenía demasiadas (me dijeron que tenía demasiadas) infracciones de cuando tenía 20 años. Y fue hace cinco meses, sólo por un golpe de suerte, que descubrí que ConTextos existía. Entonces, aunque aprecio esta oportunidad que finalmente me brindaron, no puedo evitar pensar en los detenidos en la División 9 [máxima seguridad] que han estado allí durante varios años y nunca han tenido esta oportunidad”. “Hay gente que quiere cambiar y hacer algo positivo. Todo lo que necesitan es una oportunidad…” Se pueden acceder a los libros publicados de ConTextos a través de su página de Issuu. ¬
POLITICS
Dreams of Work and Play
Black youth want to thrive in Chicago, but generational inequities in South Side communities restrict space to grow. BY MICHAEL LIPTROT
W
hen Alycia Kamil was in high school, she would regularly take the bus to the Loop for an art program through After School Matters. As she rode from her home in Auburn Gresham to Gallery 37 at 66 E. Randolph, she saw her world change. “The travel from Auburn Gresham… to downtown Gallery 37 are just two completely different cities,” Kamil, now twenty-three, told the Weekly. “Just the amount of opportunities that are there— the amount of grocery stores, hospitals, just all the resources that you see just on one bus ride from one side of the city to the other.” For decades, Chicago’s “tale of two cities,” marked by economic disparities and racial segregation, has disproportionately impacted Black neighborhoods, and many Black folks are leaving the city for better opportunities elsewhere. “Many Black residents, regardless of income level, have left Chicago in the last decade in search of more affordable housing, higher performing schools, and safer spaces,” the preamble of the Chicago Urban League’s 2023 “State of Black Chicago” report, written in collaboration with the Loyola University Institute for Racial Justice. “What we want to continue to do is come up with data driven recommendations and… solutions to help inform policymakers, politicians, activists, (and) funders on how we can all work together to fix these conditions going on,” Vice President and Executive Director of the Chicago Urban League’s Research and Policy Center Dr. Lionel Kimble told the Weekly. Over the past forty years Black Chicago has been reeling from the effects of white flight, redlining, and disinvestment. Chicago’s Black population
Nita Kimble, a high school senior, and her father Dr. Lionel Kimble, Jr., Vice President and Executive Director of the Chicago Urban League’s Research & Policy Center, at Nita’s Photo by Jordan Esparza school, Kenwood Academy.
has left in large numbers, decreasing from almost 40 percent of the city in 1980, when it peaked at nearly 1.2 million, to just under 30% percent in 2020. In contrast, Chicago was once considered the “Promised Land” by Black Southerners, a city that offered good paying jobs, new homes and civil freedoms that were denied by Jim Crow. During the Great Migration, the largest mass movement in American history that began in the 1910s and continued through the 1970s, over 500,000 Black people came to Chicago from the South. Chicago’s Black population today stands at 787,551, according to the 2020 census analyzed by the Chicago Tribune. Over the last decade, it decreased by 84,738 people, a drop of 10 percent— the secondlargest Black population decline of any urban area nationwide, behind Detroit. As the South Side Black community navigates the realities of today’s disparities,
a younger generation of born-and-bred South Siders looks to whether they want to stay in the city. The Weekly spoke with two rising seniors set to graduate high school and college while facing a limited job market, an increasing rent burdened housing market, and crime, among other factors.
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isinvestment of social, economic and political resources takes many forms within communities. From average income to loan approval percentage to education level, the North and South Sides tell two different stories. During high school, Kamil moved to Woodlawn to attend Kenwood Academy, where she noticed these dynamics firsthand, especially the lack of well-funded youth programming. “Moving to Woodlawn, where I was close to Hyde Park, you still see those
disparities in neighborhoods that are even right next to each other, both on the South Side,” she said. “You definitely see that a lot growing up, but I saw that way more when I got older and I could move around the city.” During this time, rent increases in Woodlawn (which Kamil attributes to the growing presence of the University of Chicago), leading her family to move back to Auburn Gresham. Regarding income and employment, the Chicago Urban League’s 2023 report identified Black Chicagoans as having the highest rate of poverty (28.3 percent), unemployment (16.1 percent) and lowest median household incomes ($35,965). Comparatively, white Chicagoans have a poverty rate of 10.9 percent, unemployment rate of 9.8 percent and median household income of $82,294. Despite this, the report notes that the “racial differences in income and unemployment are not as stark as the spatial differences,” presenting maps of per capita income and percent unemployment across the city, with clear concentrations of higher income in the Loop and on the North Side and higher unemployment on the South Side. “The concentration of wealth in certain neighborhoods translates [to] the concentration of opportunities in these same neighborhoods. In other words, the rich will get richer, and the poor will get poorer.” The Chicago Urban League’s report observed that housing accessibility for Black Chicagoans “bears the costs of generations of systematic racism in the design and planning of the city as well as the housing market that existed since the Great Migration.” White flight from the South and West Sides in the 1960s and subsequent disinvestment from neighborhoods that
FEBRUARY 15, 2024 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 9
POLITICS
previously excluded Black people has had detrimental effects: vacancies, rent burden, homeownership, and homelessness. For prospective homeowners, these legacies pose real challenges when considering the housing market combined with education disparities and school closures. “Think about the school closures that happened in 2013 and how that set off a cycle of disappointment for the lack of investment in students in Chicago. That to me is probably the biggest example of disinvestment,” Kamil said. “We can live in a city where it is normalized for fifty schools to be closed down. What does that say about how our youth are valued in the city?” “Chicago needs educators who understand what it’s like to be a CPS student,” said Nita Kimble, a senior at Kenwood Academy, aspiring CPS teacher, and daughter of Dr. Kimble. Born and raised in Bronzeville, Kimble felt that many educators did not have a genuine passion for nurturing students that needed care and support. “I’ve had teachers that seem like they’re there just to be there, and then they don’t actually have any regard for me as a student,” she said. Like Kamil, Kimble points to Chicago’s under-resourced public education system for lacking incentives to attract good teachers to provide quality instruction to students. “I feel like there’s a lot of people who don’t want to be teachers, a lot of people don’t want to go into education because the education system is flawed, or teachers don’t make any money,” she said. “I think it takes more educators to take that step and to be that person to help inspire the next generation.” In Chicago, 47 percent of Chicago Public Schools have a majority Black student body, despite Black students being 36 percent of CPS students the 202021 school year. In 2013, CPS closed fifty schools due to low performance or under enrollment, marking the largest mass public school closures in U.S. history. Over 17,000 students and 1,500 staff were affected, according to a Chalkbeat Chicago report. Twenty-six of the former school buildings remain vacant a decade later. The Black Exodus report also found multiple factors that impact home values on the South Side. White flight in the
1960s combined with extensive redlining that restricted predominately Black school zoning created disparate areas unfavorable for new families. Black neighborhoods lost 13.6 percent of owner-occupied households throughout the 2010s. A 2023 Crain’s Chicago Business report found that lenders deny Black Chicagoans’ mortgage applications at a higher rate (27%) than they do Latinx (20%) and white applicants (11%), and if approved, Black and Latinx borrowers generally pay more for their loans. Trends in diminished loan approval have impeded other aspiring property owners and businesses seeking to come to the area. The persistent racial wealth gap and barriers to accessing capital and building savings “are some of the classic things that people who’ve been arguing for reparations have been arguing for hundreds of years,” said Dr. Kimble.
McDonalds, which is crazy.” She added that she’s considered looking for part-time jobs beyond the South Side, but unreliable public transportation is another barrier; her father currently drives her most places. A UIC study found the jobless rate for Black youth ages twenty to twenty-four was 57 percent in 2021, increasing from 44 percent in 2019. Fewer employment opportunities that offer a livable wage, increased costs of living in rent-burdened areas, and other challenges faced by young people in the city leave few options. The Chicago Urban League report asserts that crime in Chicago’s Black communities are a manifestation of these barriers. Some young people resort to crime as means of making money. “High rate of crime, particularly violent crime, in Black communities further diminishes the lesser values of these properties as well as deter future investors. High rates
“I know a lot of youth who are looking to leave the city after they are done with high school. It’s very sad, but it is just a reality I’ve been noticing.”–Alycia Kamil
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ita Kimble remembers her first time venturing out of the South Side with her grandmother to Chinatown. Her first time going to the North Side was four years ago for an After School Matters program at Wrigley Field. “I definitely noticed there was a different dynamic,” she said. “It was a lot more cleaner, a lot more put together, a lot more industrial. I know where I’m from there’s a lot of empty lots and there’s grassy patches.” As she waits to hear back on college acceptances, Kimble said she thinks about how it could be easier to find a part-time job on the North Side of the city to fill her remaining time at Kenwood. “It was a lot of stores, [my friends] talk about how if we lived up there, we would probably be able to get a job because there were so many businesses and I know somebody’s hiring,” she said. Meanwhile in the Bronzeville area Kimble does not see many opportunities. “I’m still having a hard time finding a job. I feel like nowhere is hiring, not even
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of imprisonment in our communities also remove a large portion of potential earners from our communities, thus reducing the income present in our neighborhoods,” the report says. “This exacerbates the financial strain of many Black families in Chicago.” Beyond jobs, Kimble wants to see Bronzeville offer youth more opportunities to use their free time meaningfully, “more opportunities to do positive things with our time …as opposed to just sitting behind Whole Foods after school doing nothing.” Kamil is beginning her role working with young people as a staff member at After School Matters, one of the few youth spaces that Kimble mentioned working in her neighborhood. Kamil discussed experiencing grief and burnout in her work leading her to potentially leave the city. She’s uncertain what’s next for the future as someone raised on the South Side and she sees many of the disparities she worked to address reflected in students. “There is a lack of opportunities and a
lack of safe space for youth in the city right now. There are a lot of places that are being closed, a lot of art centers that are being closed. We don’t see a lot of activities that you are genuinely excited for and being invested in, and there are a lot of spaces outside of Chicago that do offer those opportunities, sadly,” she said. “I think it’s a pull that makes people want to leave the city so they can experience stuff that they might not be experiencing in Chicago.”
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s a freshman at Kenwood, Kamil got involved with community organizing through grassroots organizations to lead school walkouts, gun violence-prevention events, and art and restorative justice workshops. She graduated in 2019 and dedicated herself to similar organizing to address disparities through advocacy, education and healing, founding social justice platform Undoing our Erasure. Today, she sees the amount of young people wanting to leave the city and questions her work over the years. “I know a lot of youth who are looking to leave the city after they are done with high school. It’s very sad, but it is just a reality I’ve been noticing,” she said. “Even me who, at twenty-three, is figuring out being in college right now…I wanted to stay in Chicago a few years back, but now I even want to leave the city and do something new.” Kamil’s story represents one of the many young people born and raised in Chicago who are ultimately questioning their place in the city after working to make it better for all. Ultimately, Kamil’s optimistic. “I’m very hopeful that change will happen. I’m a believer and I would love to see that for Chicago,” she said. “But…it is very hard to get over years of losses, years of grief, and still have a hopeful spirit. I still believe that Chicago has enough people power and those people who are working endlessly to make the city a better place for it to happen. I just think naturally people have experienced lots of grief for years, it’s natural for them to feel a little bit hopeless at the end of it all.” ¬ Michael Liptrot is a staff writer at South Side Weekly and Hyde Park Herald.
BEST OF THE SOUTH SIDE
Best Comfort Pasta
De Arcos Pizza #2 by Lasone Nathan
I
magine you walk by a restaurant and before you even open the door you smell the food inside.
The savory sting of sausage and spices—pepper, onion and basil hit your nose. As you walk inside the restaurant, the sun to your back, a welcoming street sign on the right wall lets you know you're in the right spot. De Arcos Pizza #2 has a menu so vast that it takes up most of the wall opposite the front door. Imagine an oasis of food in a desert of boring buildings. De Arcos is the oasis of South Chicago on the corner of E. 87th Street and S. Muskegon Ave.. De Arcos Pizza is a place where the broke can get their money’s worth. The restaurant feels like a family potluck, and it’s easy to see from the 87th Street bus when I travel from work to my boyfriend’s place. Named after the founding family—the De Arco’s—the South Chicago location has been around for eighteen years, the business itself, much longer—at least thirty years, according to its staff. With its first iteration at 63rd and California in Chicago Lawn, De Arcos moved to its current location when the original owner’s son took over the business. While the staff didn’t know why the Jalisco-born Mexican family wanted to open a restaurant known for its Italian-American comfort food, they said it’s never failed to be a staple. It was a place that showcased a different kind of flavor from the Mexican food and the bakeries I was used to in the neighborhood. The surrounding area is filled with now-closed businesses along with a laundromat and some corner stores. Most grocery stores require a car or a long CTA commute to get to, and it feels like a food desert because of this. But even with the limited other options I am glad that the workers at De Arcos are so sweet. To this day, even the delivery driver asks me about my grandma. I ordered from De Arcos for the first time in 2017. I was working as a salon assistant at my grandma’s salon, right next to Jesse Park. I rummaged around in one of the salon’s junk drawers until I found the white paper menu with bright red and green ink. I opened the menu to see a broad list—pizza, sandwiches, pasta and side options—featuring gyros, Italian beef, lasagna. I love pasta and I was craving chicken alfredo, so I tried it out. I paid around $17 with tip and was shocked at the size of the bags that arrived with my can of orange pop. I opened the bag and there was a huge metal container inside with a clear lid showing the noodles and hot chicken sliced on top, with a piece of bread wedged on the side. It took both hands to hold it and it was steaming as I opened the container. When I brought my food back to the salon, everyone wanted to see what I had as I sprinkled parmesan cheese on top. The noodles were thick, long and covered in sauce and pepper, the chicken was well seasoned too. It smelled so cheesy, and was the perfect blend of soft and chewy. I took a fork full of pasta with sliced chicken on it and put that on top of the bread. I always ended up needing to wipe my face after each bite. I didn’t want to look bad in front of customers with the alfredo sauce smeared all over my cheeks and chin. After that, I made it a habit of rewarding myself by ordering from De Arcos. Once a week, whenever I was heavily tipped by some of the nicest old ladies I’ve ever known, I would pull out my phone and call the now-saved number. Then, just before COVID-19 hit, my aunty was in a really bad car crash. She was
Photos by Grace Del Vecchio
one of our best hair stylists, and we lost a lot of our regulars. Since I was someone who was mostly paid in tips, this left me struggling financially. With the uncertainty of everything between college classes and what would happen to all the old ladies my family took care of, I needed to order comfort food on a budget. De Arcos Pizza has a special on the back of the menu: one slice of pizza, small fries and a can of pop for $10.10. I asked everyone in the shop if they wanted something and then I walked eight blocks to pick up the food. As I walked by building after building, I knew I was going the right way by keeping an eye out for the giant sign sticking out from the red building. I walked into clean white floors, the soft smell of spices, and coin-operated vending machines with random capsules and fake tattoos. When I got back, my grandma ate her usual choice of a gyro with cheese and fries—with hot peppers on the side. Meanwhile I had a slice of pizza the size of my forearm. She could never finish her meal, so it was a good thing we had a cooler in the break room. That was the last meal I had with my grandma. I didn’t get to see her again before she passed away in April 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. Without her or my aunt, the salon closed its doors after forty-three years. Though I miss her dearly and it took me some time to heal, I am so happy I can always go to De Arcos Pizza and remember the good times. De Arcos Pizza #2, 2832 E. 87th St. (773) 731-0300. Sun–Thu, 11am–10pm. Fri-Sat, 11am–11pm. dearcospizza.com Lasone Nathan is a born and raised Chicagoan who primarily works as multimedia artist. Her passions revolve around story crafting and exploration. Her goal is to help others have an immersive experience through her work. SOUTH CHICAGO
FEBRUARY 15, 2024 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11
JUSTICE
CPS Students Walk Out For Palestine
Students from several schools walked to City Hall ahead of a cease-fire resolution vote that ended up passing. TEXT BY WEEKLY STAFF, PHOTOS BY FREEDOM MESSIAH
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n January 30, ahead of a City Council vote on a Gaza cease-fire resolution, CPS students around the city banded together in protest of the U.S financial and military support of Israel in its war on Gaza. Around noon, hundreds of students from more than a dozen schools left their hallways and flooded the City Hall lobby sharing megaphones, holding signs and alternating chants on their way. Before heading downtown, students gathered in front of Walter Payton College prep, Lincoln Park High School, Lane
Tech College Prep, Curie Metropolitan High School, Jones College Prep and several other school entrances. Amongst the teens was Kenwood Academy student, Freedom Messiah, who took these photos. “I think it was so important for us to do this because we needed show our government, the Palestinians, and our country the raw emotions we have about the genocide that the Israeli government is committing,” says Messiah. “Looking back on it now, I’m still so amazed that we were able to pull it off, and I would absolutely do it all again.”
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The next day, Mayor Brandon Johnson broke a 23-23 tie to pass the resolution, which called for a “permanent cease-fire to end the ongoing violence” in Gaza, the delivery of “humanitarian assistance including medicine, food, and water” and for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” The vote made Chicago the largest city in America to adopt such a resolution. Since the October 7 attack by Hamas, in which around 1,200 Israelis were killed according to the Israeli Defense Forces, Israel launched a bombing campaign and
ground invasion of Gaza, killing more than 28,000 Palestinians, of which 12,000 have been children according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and displacing more than a million people. More than half a million Palestinians are at risk of famine due to the Israeli blockade of aid, and all the hospitals in the area have been rendered mostly inoperational by Israeli bombing. A January ruling by the International Court of Justice found that it is “plausible” that Israel is committing genocide. President Biden has continued to support Israel with military and financial aid. ¬
JUSTICE
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FEBRUARY 15, 2024 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 13
TRANSPORTATION
Sidewalk-Plowing Pilot Planned for Next Winter
City data shows that complaints about unshoveled sidewalks are highest on the North Side, but fines are disproportionately levied on South Siders. BY ROB REID
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n most days, Chernell Lane gets around just fine. Motoring down South Side sidewalks in an electric wheelchair, Lane picks up groceries, attends religious activities, and visits friends. In the winter, she navigates the same weather as everyone else: snowstorms, bitter cold, and frozen rain. But what for many Chicagoans are merely icy inconveniences can, for Lane and other wheelchair users, be virtually insurmountable barriers. “What’s possible or taken for granted for most people is impossible for people with mobile disabilities,” she said. It feels like being “in one of these scary movies, where they trap you in the house and all that. You can’t get out.” And, even when she can get out of the house on wintry days, “you don’t know what the snow situation is around the place you’re going. Now you’re trapped.” City plows clear the streets near her house, piling up snow in what Lane called “small mountains.” And when those mountains melt, they “turn into the oceans.” Deep water can pose problems for electric wheelchairs that have exposed electrical systems beneath the seat. But she persists, sometimes riding in the street as traffic whizzes past. When snow falls in Chicago, the City that Works doesn’t always work so well for Lane and other residents with mobility or vision challenges, or even for young parents pushing strollers and able-bodied residents who depend on public transit. But “Plow the Sidewalks,” a not-yet-funded initiative launched by a City Council ordinance last summer, aims to improve pedestrian access during winter’s most challenging months. Chicago’s sidewalk snow-clearing
A sidewalk is frozen over beneath the BNSF Railway underpass on Damen just south of the Illinois Medical District. Photo by Rob Reid
efforts are an inconsistent patchwork stitched together with a mix of street plowing by the city, shoveling by property owners and residents, hired help, and volunteer efforts. But even a single unshoveled or icy stretch of a sidewalk can thwart mobility entirely for some residents. Laura Saltzman is a senior policy analyst at Access Living, an advocacy organization promoting independent living for people with disabilities. She said that while most of us can see ice or snow blockades a block away, such disruptions catch people with impaired vision off guard. “Suddenly you can’t get through, so you have to turn around. You have to cross the street. You have to hope the sidewalk
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on that side isn’t covered,” Saltzman said. “If you do that enough, a ten-minute trip now takes thirty minutes.” The city’s Municipal Code places responsibility for clearing sidewalks on property owners and occupants. Enforcement depends on residents reporting uncleared sidewalks through the city’s 3-1-1 system. Following up on complaints, city officials will sometimes place informational door hangers on problematic buildings. Other times, they’ll fine property owners. And, according to the city, lease agreements with some landlords shift responsibility for snow clearance to tenants. Complaints about unshoveled sidewalks—as well as fines for not shoveling—are inconsistent. City data shows that complaints to 3-1-1 are concentrated on the North Side, but fines are disproportionately levied on South Siders. Lincoln Square had the most complaints, with an average of fifty-seven per 10,000 residents each year between 2019 and 2023. South and West Side communities have the fewest, with West Pullman last at only two complaints per 10,000 residents. Despite the North Side having the most complaints, a preliminary analysis of city data shows a higher concentration of snow clearance fines imposed on the South Side. The Weekly obtained documents from the Department of Administrative hearings that shows eight of the ten community areas with the most hearings for fines per capita are on the South Side. Englewood, which ranks forty-ninth in 3-1-1 complaints, had the most administrative hearings per capita since 2019, and the highest amount of fines
levied. Lincoln Square, which ranks first in 3-1-1 complaints, was twenty-second in administrative hearing dockets per capita.
M
y Block My Hood My City, a nonprofit that promotes civic engagement and whose mission includes mobilizing volunteers to support disinvested neighborhoods, offers a more proactive approach. Their shovel crew shovels sidewalks at residents’ request, prioritizing senior citizens in under-resourced South Side communities including South Shore, Roseland, Chatham, Englewood, North Lawndale, and Auburn Gresham, according to founder and CEO Jahmal Cole. “The city can get overwhelmed by mother nature pretty fast,” Cole said. “The seniors are the last to get the support they need. They can be in wheelchairs or be in walkers.” But Cole added that My Block doesn’t have enough volunteers and resources to do everything. And according to volunteer coordinator Ashal Yai, during extreme cold the group has to limit the number of homes they assign volunteers to avoid the risk of frostbite. “We’re always grateful for whoever shows up,” Cole said, adding that My Block will also “put pressure on institutions to address issues we care about.” Along with Access Living, the AARP and Better Streets Chicago have been organizing for years to promote a proactive citywide sidewalk clearance program. The organizations approached 36th Ward alderperson Gil Villegas, the chair of the City Council’s Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development.
TRANSPORTATION
In July, the Villegas-sponsored Plow the Sidewalks ordinance sailed through the Council, 48–1. The ordinance, which itself doesn’t guarantee funding, establishes a working group to plan a small-scale pilot for next winter. The group is expected to identify a revenue source to fund the pilot, select a small number of areas with high proportions of limited-mobility residents, and subsequently study the pilot’s impact on those areas. In his own ward, Villegas said he perceives particularly strong support amongst senior citizens. But he also recalled a young couple with twins who told him they struggled to push their stroller down snowy sidewalks. He added that the coalition involved in developing the ordinance looked at Rochester, New York, and Toronto as examples of cities with snow clearance programs. But Villegas also pointed out that the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Park District already plow sidewalks in front of their properties (CPS contracts with Aramark for snow removal). “This is not a novel idea in Chicago,” he said. Rochester gets twice as much snow as Chicago, but has less than half as many residents per square mile to cover the expense and labor of clearing the snow. Acknowledging the needs of people with physical disabilities, Rochester delineates a shared responsibility between residents and the city. The city regards their service as supplemental, but plows sidewalks when four or more inches of snow accumulate. According to a Rochester 3-1-1 operator, the city can fine residents for repeated violations of the requirement to keep sidewalks clear of snow and ice. While Rochester historically imposed fines on residents, compliance efforts have since shifted to education. No snow-clearance program is perfect. A ten-inch snowfall in 2022 posed dayslong sidewalk accessibility issues for Rochester’s residents due to street-plowed snow piling up on sidewalks. Some Chicago suburbs, including Glencoe and Forest Park, have sidewalk clearance programs in place. Salvatore Stella, Forest Park’s public works director, said the village clears all sidewalks on main roads after two inches of snow, and tries to reach side streets after three inches.
Acknowledging that it can sometimes take days or weeks to reach all areas when there’s heavy snowfall and limited manpower, he said that the sidewalk-clearing program has been part of the city’s responsibility at least since the 1970s, if not earlier.
F
irst Ward alderperson Daniel La Spata has a personal interest in seeing Plow the Sidewalks succeed. Though he describes himself as an “ablebodied” Chicagoan, he recounted slipping on ice and hitting the back of his head late last month as he was walking his daughter
announce pilot zones by May, he said. La Spata could not say which areas the working group would likely select for the pilot. But criteria for pilot zone selection specified in the Plow the Sidewalks Ordinance include concentration of senior citizens, low-income households, families with children under five, and people with disabilities. Additional criteria include public transit ridership, households with no cars, population density, and history of disinvestment. To aid advocacy efforts, Better Streets, Access Living and data scientist Ashley
“We have a moral and social imperative to make sure everyone can get around their city in a safe and healthy way.” to daycare. As chair of Chicago’s Pedestrian Traffic and Safety Committee, he’s charged with moving the Plow the Sidewalks ordinance forward. According to La Spata, the working group is developing concrete recommendations for the city’s pilot. Incorporating input from advocacy organizations Better Streets, Access Living, and the Active Transportation Alliance, as well as the Department of Streets & Sanitation and the Department of Transportation, the working group should
Asmus developed an interactive data tool to help identify where sidewalk snow clearance might have the most impact. The tool suggests that South Side neighborhoods around Englewood and South Shore, as well as West Side neighborhoods such as Austin, Garfield Park, and North Lawndale have a strong need for sidewalk clearance. The North Side generally ranks low in need for clearance, although Uptown was higher. The ordinance also specifies that the snow clearance program should provide jobs. La Spata and Villegas both said the working
group will provide recommendations on whether the city should hire its own staff or outsource shoveling private contractors. Both alders said they may lean on existing contractors working with the city’s Special Service Areas (SSAs), which are localized areas funding expanded services with a supplemental tax levy. According to La Spata, it’s possible the committee will request funding in advance to initiate the labor procurement process. But funding for the pilot project would be weighed as part of the city’s annual budget hearing process in October. La Spata said he’s very hopeful about securing the necessary funding. “I think we’ll have a strong majority supporting this,” he said. “We also have a moral and social imperative to make sure everyone can get around their city in a safe and healthy way.” La Spata noted that snow clearance costs in Toronto and Minneapolis looked reasonable when scaled to Chicago’s pilot. But he suggested waiting for the workgroup’s recommendations, due by May 31, for budget specifics. While voting to advance the Plow the Sidewalks ordinance from committee last July, some alders expressed a desire for more specifics before they would sign on to any funded pilot. Alderperson Marty Quinn (13th Ward) said he’s had to squarely reckon with technical logistics over the nine years he’s overseen sidewalk snow clearance efforts covering half of his ward. For instance, the seventy-two-inch blades on the Polaris Ranger plows his ward uses are too wide for some sidewalks. And the plow’s equipment can break, requiring a crew to scout for fallen tree limbs and raised sidewalks in advance. Quinn said he is also concerned that city staff are already stretched thin on existing snow clearance efforts, but the city would incur overhead costs if they choose to hire private contractors. This could add up to what could be “a financial undertaking the city can’t afford.” As an alternative approach, he suggested the city consider a snow-clearance allotment to alders and let them manage clearance locally. Quinn and other alders will be closely reviewing the working group’s anticipated recommendations before casting their support. But he’s at least open to it. “I don’t
FEBRUARY 15, 2024 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 15
TRANSPORTATION
see any harm in a pilot,” he said. Villegas also framed the initiative in economic terms. According to him, a citywide program could help nearly 600,000 seniors, persons with disabilities and young parents. “You have people that are locked in their homes or snow, and so they’re unable to participate in the local economy,” he said. “As people are not shopping, or people are not visiting stores in the area, that means that the city is not gaining revenue.” There is no guarantee that the initiative will secure funding for the pilot. But presuming it does get funded, the workgroup is required to commission an impact study to be completed by May 2025.
This study would look at impacts on public health, workforce, budget, community response, and legal liabilities. “We’re a world class city,” Villegas said. “Once this is implemented, Chicagoans are going to be like, ‘Why the heck didn’t we think about this earlier?’” Of course, Chernell Lane has been thinking about this for a long time. “When it comes to mobility issues and disabilities issues, we aren’t there,” she said. “It should definitely be the city’s responsibility to keep the sidewalks clean. ¬ Rob Reid is a freelance local journalist specializing in data wrangling, map-based storytelling, and community history.
16 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ FEBRUARY 15, 2024
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malone@southsideweekly.com FEBRUARY 15, 2024 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 17
Public Meetings Report ILLUSTRATION BY HOLLEY APPOLD/SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
A recap of select open meetings at the local, county, and state level. BY SCOTT PEMBERTON AND DOCUMENTERS
January 23 Solar power is coming to the Little Village and West Lawn branches of the Chicago Public Library. At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations authorized $2.3 million for a pilot project, to which the U.S. Department of Energy has contributed $1 million dollars. David Powell, a project manager for the city’s Bureau of Asset Management, said he expects the project to be completed by the end of the year if they receive authorization as planned. January 24 A crowd at a City Council meeting clamored for “yes” votes on a Gaza ceasefire resolution that was directed at President Joe Biden, and for “no” votes on another resolution supporting arbitration for alleged serious police conduct violations. Public speakers had their say on both issues. A vote on a resolution supporting a cease-fire in Gaza was postponed when an alderperson said it would be disrespectful to consider the cease-fire resolution at the same meeting that Holocaust Remembrance Day was being recognized. The ceasefire resolution passed the following week, with Mayor Brandon Johnson casting a tie-breaking vote. A third resolution congratulating the Lane Tech girls flag football team’s state championship win was passed. New rules that ban metal water bottles and backpacks at Council meetings were in effect and enforced for both the public and the press.
January 30 At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights heard reports on the status of migrants in Chicago. About 7,000 of more than 14,000 migrants housed in city-run shelters are eligible to receive rental assistance from the state. The city has helped shelter residents apply for work permits. On an average day, residents file five grievance reports of poor treatment or living conditions, and staff file seventy-four incident reports of residents violating curfew or other conduct requirements, according to Maura McCauley of the Department of Family and Support Services. Other statistics provided by Beatriz Ponce De Leon showed the scope of immigrant arrivals since August 2022. Appointed last July, Ponce De Leon is the first deputy mayor of the Office of Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights. The day before the Council meeting, Mayor Brandon Johnson extended a sixty-day limit on shelter stays by thirty days. January 30 During a Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability West Side hearing with CPD Supt. Larry Snelling, some West Side residents said their neighborhoods haven’t experienced the citywide decline in crime. In 2023, shootings and homicides dropped by 13 percent in Chicago, returning to pre-pandemic rates. Increasing, however, were the number of robberies (by 23 percent) and car thefts (by 37 percent). Some residents shared personal experiences and wanted answers from CPD and the city. One said their brother was killed in October and that Snelling didn’t respond to several requests for information, including letters hand-delivered to his office. Disappearances and murders of Black women and girls continue to be a serious community concern. Snelling defended Chicago’s use of the ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology (Mayor Johnson announced the city would not renew ShotSpotter’s contract two weeks later). January 31 At its meeting, the City Council passed a resolution to support a cease-fire in Gaza, becoming the largest city in the United States to do so. With the Council’s vote evenly split (23-23), Mayor Brandon Johnson cast the tie-breaking vote. (The Council had previously passed a resolution of solidarity with Israel and condemnation of Hamas.) The Council had been debating the resolution’s wording since it was introduced by Alderperson Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33rd Ward) in November. Before the vote, the language was updated to advocate for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and cite additional statistics about the scale of the humanitarian crisis, though some Council members weren’t satisfied. Alderperson Samantha Nugent (39th Ward) presented a letter signed by twenty-three Council members, stating that the resolution “directly contradicts” the United States’ stance on foreign policy and undermines the authority of President Biden. This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org.
18 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ FEBRUARY 15, 2024
T
Our thoughts in exchange for yours.
he Exchange is the Weekly’s poetry corner, where a poem or piece of writing is presented with a prompt. Readers are welcome to respond to the prompt with original poems, and pieces may be featured in the next issue of the Weekly.
The Taj Mahal
by chima “naira” ikoro the taj mahal is not much different than a balloon release we do what we can with whatever we have in remembrance of whoever we don’t have anymore. some of us make a mosque that becomes one of the modern seven wonders of the world some of us tie together shoe strings and toss them over powerlines. but none of this has ever brought anyone back. not even this building, he must have thought to himself. but I will let these balloons go just in case. tourists post drake lyrics they threw into google translate as captions for photos they took in front of what many don’t
know is a resting place someone is sleeping here, we ought to be quiet. somewhere in psalm, the workers labor in vain unless God builds the house explains why no matter how much i make in remembrance, i cannot rebuild you cannot weld my memories together and make a human cannot fashion you back into existence. none of this will bring you back, but just in case it matters at all i will build this. maybe it will help. and the workers labor in vain.
FEATURED BELOW IS A READER RESPONSE TO A PREVIOUS PROMPT. THE LAST POEM AND PROMPT CAN BE FOUND ONLINE.
Rutina de Sueño
by jocelyn martinez-rosales Se ha vuelto cotidiano que me despierte mi corazón Se me quiere salir por la garganta Le crece piernas en mis sueños Jalonea mis venas queriendo desatarse Quiere correr hacia ti
Chima Ikoro is the Weekly’s Community Builder. THIS WEEK'S PROMPT: “HOW DO YOU SHOW LOVE OR APPRECIATION FOR PEOPLE, PLACES, OR THINGS YOU ARE PHYSICALLY APART FROM?” This could be a poem, journal entry, or a stream-of-consciousness piece. Submissions could be new or formerly written pieces. Submissions can be sent to bit.ly/ssw-exchange or via email to chima.ikoro@southsideweekly.com
FEBRUARY 15, 2024 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 19
POLICE
Johnson Stops ShotSpotter
The Mayor’s Office announced it will not renew the contract—but sources say the city has a new request for proposals ready. BY MAX BLAISDELL AND JIM DALEY
O
n Tuesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the city will not renew its contract with ShotSpotter, a controversial gunshotdetection technology company that has thousands of microphones in more than half of the city’s police districts. In a press release, the Mayor’s Office said the city “will decommission the use of ShotSpotter technology on September 22, 2024.” The statement added: “During the interim period, law enforcement and other community safety stakeholders will assess tools and programs that effectively increase both safety and trust, and issue recommendations to that effect.” The Chicago Police Department (CPD) will “revamp operations” in its Strategic Decision Support Centers— tech-heavy hubs in every police district that process incoming surveillance—to “ultimately reduce shootings and increase accountability.” If Johnson decides during the interim period to find another gunshot-detection technology vendor to replace ShotSpotter, the city will have to put out a new request for proposals (RFP). There are currently no open bids for an acoustic gunshot detection system, and RPFs typically take weeks or months to evaluate, according to Block Club. Sources familiar with the process who spoke to the Weekly on the condition of anonymity said a new RFP for acoustic gunshot-detection technology has already been in the works for some time. The Mayor’s Office did not respond to questions about a new RFP. The announcement comes after years of organizing by activists with the Stop ShotSpotter campaign that culminated in a tense public meeting at St. Sabina church in Auburn Gresham last week. The crowd of about 150 people included community members who’d lost family to gun violence, anti-ShotSpotter protesters holding signs
ShotSpotter (aka SoundThinking) CEO Ralph Clark speaks at a meeting on Chicago’s contract with the gunshotdetection company. Photo by Jim Daley
calling for the cancellation of the contract, police officers, and yellow-vested violence interrupters. By the end of the night, opponents and supporters of ShotSpotter were shouting one another down. The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) called the meeting following pressure from organizers of the Stop ShotSpotter campaign. The CCPSA’s bylaws allow citizens to petition the commission to hold special meetings. Organizers submitted hundreds of signatures, falling just short of the 2,000-signature requirement. But the commissioners decided the petitions, along with calls and emails from community members, warranted the meeting. “I believe in being responsive to community members, and from everything I was hearing, I knew this was an issue that the [commission] should address,” said CCPSA president Anthony Driver. “We’ve met with countless victims of gun violence. Their voice is not being heard in this debate.” The CCPSA invited “stakeholders” to the meeting, including ShotSpotter
20 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ FEBRUARY 15, 2024
CEO Ralph Clark, CPD 2nd District deputy chief Senora Ben, People Educated Against Crime in Englewood leader Darryl Smith, Institute for Nonviolence Chicago executive director Teny Gross, and Stop ShotSpotter campaign organizer Nathan Palmer. Smith and Gross, who lead community-based violence intervention organizations, both said ShotSpotter quickly alerts first responders and members of their own groups to shootings, where they can save victims’ lives or defuse conflicts from further escalating. During the public comment period of the meeting, Catherine Shaw, an educator and organizer, said that solutions to gun violence should be coming from members of impacted communities, not from for-profit companies. “Continuing to fund deathmaking institutions—police presence and surveillance—over life-affirming supports perpetuates violence,” she said. Remis Herrera spoke through tears about how she thought her brother’s shooting death in October could’ve been averted had ShotSpotter sensors been installed in the police district in which he was shot. She said ShotSpotter was well worth the $9 million annual cost. “If this technology can save someone’s life, how can we quantify a person’s life?” she asked. Jose Manuel Almanza Jr., director of advocacy and movement building for Equiticity, called on Clark to release more information about ShotSpotter’s technology functions before continuing to invest in the technology. “If you’re saying it works, prove it,” he said. “Let the OIG [Office of the Inspector General] inspect the algorithm.” Alderperson Silvana Tabares (23rd Ward) spoke in support of keeping ShotSpotter during the public comment period. “The issue of ShotSpotter has become less about public safety and more
about political spin.” She added that she had “a problem with outside groups pushing to remove a tool” that reduces officer response times to shooting victims. The panelists represented a diverse range of perspectives on the efficacy of the technology and its overall impacts. Smith, who has lived in Englewood, a neighborhood wracked by gun violence, for fifty-four years, said that ShotSpotter has significantly helped his community. “I’ve held people in my hands who’ve bled out because the ambulance didn’t get there quick enough,” he said. “I think ShotSpotter is a very necessary tool. If it’s not needed in your neighborhood, good, we’ll remove it from your neighborhood. But in our neighborhood, we need it.” Shotspotter sensors are currently installed in more than half of the city’s twenty-two police districts, including the 7th Police District which covers Englewood. Although primarily located in the South and West Side police districts that experience some of the highest levels of gun violence in the city, the Weekly also identified sensors on the Northwest Side, in Jefferson and Gladstone Park, two sleepy neighborhoods that are home to many cops and firefighters. Palmer, the Stop ShotSpotter campaign organizer, countered that the company didn’t originally market itself as a life-saving technology. Instead, ShotSpotter initially billed itself as a policing tool designed to apprehend shooters and collect evidence of gun crimes, they said. “It wasn’t until the campaign in Chicago and campaigns nationally started calling out that police are stopping and frisking our people and falsely incarcerating our people” that the company changed its tune, Palmer said. In a memo first reported on by the Sun-Times, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said that the technology is “an expensive tool”
POLICE that hasn’t taken “trigger pullers” off the street. Her office found that Shotspotter led to arrests in only one percent of 12,000 shooting incidents recorded from August 2018 to August 2023, and that many ShotSpotter-related arrests aren’t tied to firearms. CPD deputy chief Ben said that ShotSpotter was an important tool in the department’s arsenal. Noé Flores, the assistant director of the department’s Strategic Initiatives Division, said that since 2020 CPD officers have provided life-saving care to more than 400 shooting victims after receiving a ShotSpotter alert. (The number is considerably higher for the number of shooting victims who get care after a 9-1-1 call, Flores said.) “I have concerns about surveillance, I have concerns about if it’s used in court cases,” said Gross, the community-based violence intervention leader. But “it is helpful if there’s conflicts that we’re not aware of…It’s not perfect…we mainly want to rely on relationships, but this is another tool.” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg answered questions from the commissioners about her office’s 2021 report, which found that less than ten percent of ShotSpotter alerts were associated with any evidence of a gun-related crime. “Public policy decisions and proper resource allocation decisions should be made in a wellinformed, data-driven way which captures the experience of Chicagoans,” she said. “The data we analyzed did not demonstrate an operational benefit of the use of ShotSpotter.” Driver asked Clark about the Weekly’s January 29 investigation that found ShotSpotter missed more than 550 reported gunfire incidents in 2023. “ShotSpotter is not a perfect technology,” Clark conceded. “We are going to produce false positives and false negatives.” False positives refer to ShotSpotter alerts that are not gunfire. False negatives refer to instances where ShotSpotter’s sensors failed to detect actual gunfire. Clark asserted, however, that the company was fulfilling its contractual obligation of at least 90 percent accuracy, lest it face steep financial penalties. “I’m really happy to see that our customers are holding us to account for those misses, [and that] we’re operating at 97 percent,” he said.
Toward the end of the meeting, CCPSA commissioner Yvette Loizon spoke at length about ShotSpotter until she was interrupted by members of the crowd. About half a dozen Police District Council members in the audience walked out after 12th District Council member Leonardo Quintero called the panelists’ comments “copaganda.” In an interview the next morning, Quintero said he felt the panel was biased toward keeping ShotSpotter. He added that it was important to demonstrate that not all Police District Council members were in agreement with CCPSA commissioners about ShotSpotter. “I wanted to make it very known to the Chicago community at large that we as [District Councilors] were not approving of what was going on.” As the District Council members walked out of the nave and people in the audience traded shouts, Driver took to the microphone to admonish attendees to be respectful and shouted for decorum. In an interview Friday, Driver said District Council members had the right to protest, but he rejected the charge that the panel was biased. “The Commission did not take a stance; we did not vote,” he said. “That was a panel to try to understand and get to the bottom of [these] issues…. Every person who was on that panel was somebody who had a different perspective.” Driver added that ShotSpotter is not a binary issue. “The same way there were activists who came to that meeting to express their frustration, there are people by the dozens who reached out to myself and the Commission,” he said. Multiple audience members interviewed by the Weekly after the meeting said that they felt better informed. Michael Harrington, a lifelong Chicagoan who was in attendance, said it was still important, though, to get more facts. “I think this was the beginning of some airing of these issues in a good way,” he said. “I really would trust the OIG to get to the bottom of some of this because there’s good arguments on both sides.” ¬ Max Blaisdell is a fellow with the Invisible Institute and a staff writer for the Hyde Park Herald. Jim Daley is the Weekly’s investigations editor.
ShotSpotter Monitors North Side Billboards for Free The gunshot-detection company put sensors in Jefferson Park at JCDecaux’s request. BY JIM DALEY AND MAX BLAISDELL
G
un violence isn’t unheard of in the 16th ( Jefferson Park) Police District, but it’s far lower here than nearly anywhere in the city. Jefferson Park and the smaller neighborhood of Gladstone Park within it are bungalow communities on the far Northwest Side and home to many Chicago police and firefighters and their families. Little free libraries dot parkways on treelined side streets. Residents describe the neighborhood as “quiet.” Yet ShotSpotter’s gunshot-detection coverage area includes portions of these communities. A map obtained by the Weekly from the Mayor’s Office via a public-records request shows two small pockets of the 16th District where ShotSpotter’s audio sensors are installed and another on the border of the 17th District. The city has never publicly acknowledged their existence, and a 2021 Inspector General’s report on ShotSpotter appears to have missed them. A spokesperson for ShotSpotter, which rebranded itself SoundThinking last April, said the sensors have been operating in these districts since 2020. They were installed at the request of JCDecaux, a multinational billboard and bus-stop advertising corporation based in France. And unlike the sensors in Chicago’s twelve districts hit hardest by gun violence, which cost the city about $9 million a year, these sensors alert police to gunfire near the billboards “at no cost to anyone,” the spokesperson said. “In 2019, JCDecaux came to ShotSpotter indicating that several
electronic billboards in districts 016 and 017 were becoming targets for shooters in moving vehicles,” the spokesperson said in an email. “CPD had no plans to deploy ShotSpotter in these districts, so ShotSpotter had no way of detecting and alerting CPD of gunfire in these immediate areas.” ShotSpotter offered to install sensors around JCDecaux’s billboards for twelve months “at no cost to the city.” The spokesperson said the company made the offer “jointly” to the billboard company and CPD. It deployed the sensors in August of 2020, and they “remain operational today.” A spokesperson for JCDecaux did not respond to a request for comment. ShotSpotter has installed thousands of acoustic sensors across half of Chicago’s police districts, most of them on the South and West Sides. The company, initially contracted to provide gunshot alerts to CPD in 2018 by thenMayor Rahm Emanuel, has become a target for progressive activists who say it’s ineffective and harmful to alreadymarginalized communities. The company and its supporters say ShotSpotter saves lives by alerting police to gunfire and bringing them to shooting scenes where they can save victims’ lives. To do that, the company has deployed devices that detect loud noises at an average of fifteen to twenty sensors per square mile across some of the police districts with the heaviest gunfire. Twelve districts on the South and West Sides that experience the highest
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levels of gun violence in the city have the vast majority of ShotSpotter sensors. (They’re also the only districts the city has acknowledged having sensors in.) Public safety officials have repeatedly said that the roughly $75,000 per square mile that the city pays ShotSpotter to cover those districts is worth it because it saves lives. Block Club reported that at a public meeting last month, CPD superintendent Larry Snelling reiterated that sentiment, saying ShotSpotter has enabled officers to get to shooting victims more quickly. Jefferson Park and Gladstone Park have some of the lowest levels of gun violence in the city. The 16th District had the second-fewest shootings in both 2021 and 2022, according to CPD’s last annual report. The ShotSpotter spokesperson said that since they were installed in 2020, the sensors had alerted CPD to more than one hundred incidents of gunfire. The alerts are sent to Strategic Decision Support Center (SDSC) rooms, centralized tech hubs in each police district that are monitored 24/7 for crime alerts. When gunshots are detected by ShotSpotter, police are often dispatched to the scene to look for victims or evidence of a shooting. According to the city’s dashboard, there were thirty-five ShotSpotter alerts in the vicinity of the billboards sensors are monitoring last year. (For the first seven months of 2023, however, about 2.4 percent of citywide alerts are missing from the city’s dashboard, so the actual number may be slightly higher.) There were a total of two fatal and ten nonfatal shootings in the 16th District in 2023, as well as several reckless firearm discharges and a handful of assaults with a firearm. An analysis of CPD data on gunshot victims and ShotSpotter alerts indicates that only one of the shootings near the billboard-coverage area, a nonfatal one in July near the border of the 17th District, was associated with an alert. Last month, a Weekly investigation of ShotSpotter’s efforts to lobby the Mayor’s Office obtained a “fact sheet” about the company’s impact on Chicago. A map included in the fact sheet shows
A ShotSpotter sensor attached to a gas station’s chimney faces a JCDecaux billboard near the Kennedy Photo by Jim Daley Expressway.
ShotSpotter’s citywide coverage, which includes every district on the South and West Sides except the 22nd, which is on the far Southwest Side and like Jefferson Park is home to many police. The map also showed three small coverage areas on the Northwest Side. One is in Gladstone Park along Elston Ave, north of Lawrence. Another, in Jefferson Park, runs along Avondale Ave, and a third coverage area is where the Kennedy Expressway cuts through the border of the 16th and 17th Districts. A Weekly reporter found half a dozen ShotSpotter sensors in the 16th district. A few were attached to utility poles and clearly visible from the street. Two were in parks. Another was on the roof of a gas station that overlooked the Kennedy. Across the expressway from it, an electronic JCDecaux billboard cycled through colorful ads. Reached by phone, the gas station’s owner said he didn’t know when the sensor was installed. Had anyone been shot near the gas station in recent memory? “No, not that I know of,” he said. A few blocks east of that billboard, a ShotSpotter sensor is on the roof of William Gladstone Park’s fieldhouse, where it faces a JCDecaux billboard that
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overlooks the Kennedy a block south. According to CPD data, that sensor reported a single gunshot in January (it was not associated with any police report), and none in 2023. Another was on a utility pole about a half-mile from the park. The owner of a house close to it said she’d heard of ShotSpotter but “had no idea” the box on the pole was a sensor. Asked about gun violence in the neighborhood, she said there was none. “It’s pretty quiet,” she said. “That’s why I’m surprised to hear it’s there.” CPD data shows three crime reports for that block in 2023, none of them violent: two thefts and a burglary. There were none the previous year. Daniel Martin, the chair of the 16th Police District Council (one of twentytwo such civilian oversight bodies in each district that were first elected last year), said gun violence is a rare but growing issue in the district. “When it does happen, it spooks people,” he said. He added that he has been more focused on getting Police Observation Device (POD) cameras in the district than ShotSpotter devices. “During budget hearings this year, we were asking for cameras,” he said. Asked whether having ShotSpotter
devices in Gladstone Park is an efficient use of public safety resources, Martin said: “I honestly don’t know.” He added that the district council has been asking for more police officers, but in lieu of that, they’ll take anything they can get. “We always ask for more every day, so we’re working on every alternative there is to just police officers, whether that’s more cameras, LRPs [license plate readers], to ShotSpotter,” he said. “There’s only so many police officers to go around.” A police department spokesperson did not respond to questions about who approved the installations near the billboards. The Office of Public Safety Administration, which oversees the ShotSpotter program, does not have a press officer. On Tuesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the city will not renew its contract with ShotSpotter, and will “decommission” its use of the technology by September 22. The Mayor’s Office did not respond to questions about whether the ShotSpotter sensors in Jefferson Park, which are not part of the contracted coverage area, will be similarly decommissioned. ¬ Jim Daley is the Weekly’s investigations editor. Max Blaisdell is a fellow with the Invisible Institute and a staff writer for the Hyde Park Herald.
“Building a Campaign on Politicized Topics”
Zoom. Thursday, February 15, 5:30pm– 7:30pm. Free. bit.ly/EpidemicsOfInjustice Join the next meeting of “Epidemics of Injustice,” an online public health course open to UIC students and the broader community. The Thursday sessions include lectures and “action labs” on a variety of health equity topics, and this week’s focuses on how to build a campaign on politicized topics. Register for Zoom link. (Zoe Pharo)
Black Panther Party & Peoples’ Coalitions Teaching & Learning Day Westside Center for Justice, 601 S. California Ave. Saturday, February 17, 10am–2pm. Free.
Join to learn about a free curriculum on the Black Panther Party and coalitions, and engage with members of the Black Panther Party, Young Lords and Uptown’s coalitionbuilding organizers. Additionally, engage in workshops, view primary sources and help brainstorm ways to expand this learning and curriculum. (Zoe Pharo)
Landscape Architecture Family Fun Day
Illinois Tech Mies Campus, Wishnick Hall, 3255 S. Dearborn St. Saturday, February 17, 10am–1pm. Free. bit.ly/LandscapeArchFamily
A team of landscape architects, farmers and water professionals will guide families and children through creative, hands-on activities that explore the wonders of landscape architecture, nature and water. Activities include how to make plastic with natural ingredients, how to grow healthy crops and learning about the water filtration process. Suitable for children ages 6 to 12, parents are required to stay and will need to fill out a participation waiver. (Zoe Pharo)
South Chicago Dance Festival
South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Dr. Saturday, February 17, 5pm. Free. bit.ly/SouthChicagoDanceFestival The South Chicago Dance Theatre presents the Fifth Annual South Chicago Dance Festival featuring the following ensembles: Black Girls Dance, Dyett Dance Company, Hyde Park School of Dance, Jones College Prep, Kenwood
Dance Project, Kenwood School of Ballet, Movement Strengthens Balance Dance Elite Performance Ensemble and Yin He Dance. This year’s festival also features free workshops and masterclasses. (Zoe Pharo)
City of Chicago Construction Summit
Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Blvd. Thursday, February 22, 9am–4pm. Free. bit.ly/ChicagoConstructionSummit The Chicago Department of Procurement Services will host its annual Construction Summit at Malcolm X College. The summit is a full-day, immersive resource fair that “aims to assist small, women-owned, and minority-owned firms with building their capacity to participate in construction contracting opportunities with the City.” The event will feature workshops, a business leadership mixer and panel discussions with the City of Chicago and its sister agencies. State, federal and anchor organization partners will also be present. Register in advance. (Zoe Pharo)
Black-owned Market and Open House
Wabash Avenue YMCA, 3763 S. Wabash Ave. Saturday, February 24, 1pm–4pm. Free admission, no need to RSVP.
The Renaissance Collaborative, EF Design Group, WBEZ and Vocalo Radio are cohosting a market and open house featuring local small, Black-owned businesses at the historic Wabash YMCA. Wares will include food, clothes, jewelry and more. (Zoe Pharo)
Firmly Planted: A Black Cultural Harvest Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St. Saturday, March 2, 10am–2pm. Free. bit.ly/BlackCulturalHarvest
Part of the the City of Chicago’s Black Cultural Heritage Initiative, an effort to better preserve the physical assets and histories of Black Chicago, this community gathering will include Cultural Harvest staff, who will be available to help scan or photograph attendees’ artifacts. It will also feature music, food and interactive activities “that recount and preserve some of Chicago’s most memorable moments and spaces.” Visitors can make appointments to scan documents and images up to 11x17 inches, or to photograph artifacts and mementos up to 12x12x12 inches. Register in advance. (Zoe Pharo)
On Saturday, October 15, 2022, around 4:15 P.M. this couple was driving westbound on Archer Avenue. There was a driver going eastbound at a reckless speed, well above the speed limit, in a Jeep Cherokee that T-boned this couple’s Nissan Murano at the intersection of Poplar Street & Archer Avenue. The wife was in the passenger seat and died instantly at impact. The husband died in the ambulance en route to the hospital. It took the fire department over 45 minutes to pull the wife’s body out of their vehicle. They were married 65 years. Their family and friends are seeking justice through the court system with the help of a witness or video. If you witnessed the crash on that day please call this number:
708-522-7332
If you know of anyone who witnessed the crash, please encourage them to call the number above.
Polar Adventure Days BIG MARSH PARK
11559 S. Stony Island Ave. January 20 February 17 12 — 3pm
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FREE!
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Have fun while enjoying all the wonders of nature at Polar Adventure Days at Big Marsh Park! Big Marsh Park is located at 11559 S. Stony Island Ave. Limited parking is available during Polar Adventure Days.
For more information visit www.ChicagoParkDistrict.com or call 312.742.7529
For more information about your Chicago Park District, visit www.ChicagoParkDistrict.com or call 312.742.7529. City of Chicago | Brandon Johnson, Mayor Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners | Rosa Escareño, General Superintendent & CEO
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