What is #CPACNow?
How will it enable us to #DefundThePolice?
What else will CPAC empower us to do?
A thread on how exactly CPAC will overturn the power dynamic between police and our communities.
The #CPACNow ordinance was first written in 2012 after the police murder of Rekia Boyd. It would establish community control of the police, a goal first fought for by the Black Panther Party, by putting elected community members in charge of decisions around policing.
The word "community" is important here. The communities who need to be empowered are the ones most harmed by police violence, so #CPACNow council members will need at least 2 years of experience organizing in oppressed and marginalized communities.
City governments often use reformist reforms to find new ways for police to investigate themselves and dodge accountability. #CPACNow excludes police officers from the council to ensure that it serves the people and not the police.
Another problem with past reforms is that they haven't had the power to make real changes.
#CPACNow will give us control of CPD's budget so we can #DefundCPD without asking the mayor for permission. It would also prevent the mayor from raising the budget a year or two from now.
#CPACNow will give us the power to hire and fire the superintendent. Certain alderpersons arguing for the status quo have claimed, incorrectly, that this part of the ordinance is unconstitutional.
#CPACNow will give us control over CPD policy, allowing us to end the police occupation of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities. This will give us more freedom to organize for a world without policing and prisons and to end the oppressive systems behind those institutions.
#CPACNow will have power over police union contracts. This means the council will be able to remove the barriers to police accountability placed in our way by the FOP.
Another difference between #CPACNow and reformist reforms is that CPAC will have decision making power, not just the ability to provide recommendations, in misconduct cases. This will empower us to truly hold police accountable.
Read more about #CPACNow: stop-police-crimes.com
To get CPAC enacted, we need to put pressure on city council. Call your alders and demand #CPACNow.
If you don't know who they are: chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…
If you need their contact info: chicago.legistar.com/people.aspx
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