[Peace-discuss] Urbana City Council Sends Police Review Board Back To Committee

[C. G. Estabrook]

However impassioned the alderwoman's speech, hadn't she and the other 
members of the city council already given away the store (or assured 
that no CPRB could possibly have teeth) by signing the contract with the 
police union?  The rest is commentary.  --CGE

Brian Dolinar wrote:
> After many concerned community members spoke before the Urbana City 
> Council on Monday night, July 9, 2007, the proposal for a Citizen Police 
> Review Board (CPRB) was sent back to committee. They will meet with City 
> Attorney Ronald O'Neal and Human Relations Officer Todd Rent in two 
> weeks to discuss concerns over the lack of subpoena power in the current 
> proposal. 
> 
> During public input, 12-15 individuals spoke in support of a review 
> board, but said that the existing proposal fell short of their 
> expectations. Only one individual spoke in opposition to any police 
> review board.
> 
> John Wason, one of the longest standing advocates for a CPRB and member 
> of the task force in Urbana, said that the current proposal included 
> virtually none of the original powers of the Mayor's task force. 
> 
> Tracy Parsons, President of the Urbana-Champaign Urban League and member 
> of the Mayor's task force, acknowledged he was willing to negotiate in 
> the decision, but said the current proposal was "watered down."
> 
> Aaron Ammons of CU Citizens for Peace and Justice, criticized the 
> proposal for excluding ex-felons like himself from serving on the CPRB 
> committee, despite Urbana's human rights ordinance prohibiting such 
> discrimination. 
> 
> City Attorney Ronald O'Neal assured the community that the CPRB proposal 
> had been fine-tuned to meet all legal limitations and the concessions 
> made to the police union. He warned against giving subpoena powers to 
> the CPRB, saying it could lead to contempt of court charges and the 
> jailing of individuals who would not testify before the board. Documents 
> that were subpoenaed would be relatively easy, he said, just like any 
> other court documents. But again, the attorney said the city council 
> would have to decide what the penalties would be if documents were not 
> forthcoming. The city attorney appeared to be arguing against subpoena 
> powers of individuals or documents.
> 
> The highlight of the evening was the impassioned speech made by city 
> council member Danielle Chynoweth. She cited her failure in the past to 
> get information from the previous police chief, even as a city council 
> member. She said that in the past city officials have not been able to 
> get its own employees to speak. 
> 
> Chynoweth pointed to the recent decision of State's Attorney Julia Rietz 
> to enforce an old Illinois Supreme Court ruling to refuse the public and 
> even defendants of the right to see copies of court documents.
> 
> The alderwoman cited numerous examples of police misconduct and 
> brutality in Urbana-Champaign. She told anecdotes of individuals who 
> were intimidated and discouraged from filing police complaints.
> 
> Bringing up other CPRBs throughout the country – Santa Cruz, Portland, 
> San Diego, Iowa City – which have subpoena powers, Chynoweth suggested 
> the committee look at the these examples for ideas. Echoing the concerns 
> of the community, Chynoweth said that the current proposal had no 
> "teeth." She proposed to send it back to committee and the city council 
> agreed to do so. City council members Charlie Smyth and Brandon Bowersox 
> also went on record saying that the proposal had been significantly 
> undermined.
> 
> Talking later to Aaron Ammons, who is also a poet, he told me he was 
> pleased with the decision and "glad it went back to the dentist so it 
> can get some teeth"
> 
> -- 
> Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.
> 303 W. Locust St.
> Urbana, IL 61801
> briandolinar at gmail.com <mailto:briandolinar at gmail.com>
> 
> 
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