Thread by @defundcpdchi

In her budget address, Mayor Lightfoot has once again shown us that she does not defend or value Black lives unless they create profit for the city or maintain so called “law and order.”

Read our full statement here 👇
We won't stop. We won't be ignored until we #defundcpd

Caption for our statement:

1/ Today's budget proposal by the Mayor does nothing to address the decades of physical and economic violence inflicted on Black and Brown communities through police terror and systemic disinvestment.

2/ In her budget address, Mayor Lightfoot has once again shown us that she does not defend or value Black lives unless they create profit for the city or maintain so called "law and order.

3/ It is indefensible for the Mayor to ask Black and Brown communities continually brutalized and incarcerated by the police—now struggling to survive a pandemic—to shoulder the burden of a budget deficit through layoffs, furloughs, and regressive taxation ...

4/ ... while the Chicago Police monopolize almost 40% of the City's budget.

5/ In her speech, Mayor Lightfoot told anecdotes praising cops, city workers protecting property, and CEOs. She has made it abundantly clear where she stands and affirmed her steadfast commitment to austerity politics and prioritizing property over people.

6/ Mayor Lightfoot touted the same reforms—community policing, training, diversity, oversight—that we've heard for decades. The needs are abundantly clear.

7/ The police not only do not help us but hurt us. Investment in education, mental health care, and affordable housing keeps us safe. As 87% of Chicagoans made clear in this year's budget survey—it's time to defund the police and invest in community resources.

8/8 We will continue to organize. We will continue to be in the streets. We will continue to make our voices heard until CPD is defunded and our communities have what they need.