Madigan & Emanuel Also Announce Engaged Stakeholder Committee to Provide Input on Independent Monitor Selection
On Thursday, October 18, 2018 Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the selection of finalists for the independent monitor to oversee the implementation of reforms to the Chicago Police Department (CPD) contained in the consent decree.
Independent Monitor Finalists
The four teams selected as finalists for the independent monitor position include:
- Coar Monitoring Team
- Police Foundation Monitoring Team
- Schiff Hardin-CNA Monitoring Team
- StoneTurn Monitoring Team
Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr., who is overseeing the Attorney General’s lawsuit in federal court, has final selection authority for the independent monitor. The Attorney General’s Office and the City will make recommendations about a final monitor to Judge Dow for his consideration. More information on the finalists can be found at the Attorney General’s police consent decree website.
As part of the process of recommending a monitor, the Attorney General’s Office and the City will seek public input on the four finalist teams by hosting two public forum sessions on Saturday, November 3 at the James R. Thompson Center. One will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the other will take place from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. At these sessions, the four finalists will make presentations and there will be an opportunity for the public to ask questions and provide written feedback. More details will be made available as the event nears. In addition to the public forum, people can provide input on the independent monitor finalist teams through the police consent decree website until Monday, November 5.
“The independent monitor will oversee the critical reforms contained in the consent decree,” Madigan said. “I am pleased with the finalists and look forward to the public’s feedback on them.”
“As we move forward as a city to this next important phase of police reform, we are being sure that residents across the city will continue to have an important voice,” Mayor Emanuel said. “The selection of the best possible independent monitor is a critical part of ensuring the police department is held accountable to meeting the ambitious goals laid out in the consent decree.”
Engaged Stakeholder Committee
To ensure feedback from Chicagoans deeply involved in police reform, the Attorney General’s Office and the City created an Engaged Stakeholder Committee made up of individuals and organizations engaged in advocacy on policing matters in Chicago. The committee will interview and provide input on the four independent monitor finalists. More information on the committee and its members can be found at the police consent decree website.
Public Comment on Proposed Consent Decree
As previously announced, Judge Dow will hold public hearings for feedback on the proposed consent decree on Wednesday, October 24 and Thursday, October 25 between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the James B. Parsons Ceremonial Courtroom on the 25th Floor of the Dirksen Federal Building at 219 S. Dearborn St.
Each speaker will be limited to five minutes. Everyone entering the federal courthouse must present a government-issued photo ID. No recording or photography is allowed inside the courthouse. Posting to social media is not allowed from inside the courtroom and electronic devices may not be used inside the courtroom. Signs and posters will not be allowed in the courtroom. No eating, drinking or gum chewing is allowed.
Madigan and Emanuel filed the proposed consent decree in federal court September 13 after nearly a year of negotiations and after receiving feedback from Chicago community members and police officers. The consent decree will resolve the complaint Madigan filed against the City on August 29, 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, seeking numerous reforms recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in its investigation of CPD. Madigan filed her lawsuit after DOJ under the new administration chose not to pursue Chicago police reform through a consent decree, despite its own recommendation to do so.
The proposed consent decree mandates comprehensive reform of CPD’s policies, practices, training and accountability mechanisms to address the use of force, ensure police accountability, improve public and officer safety and, ultimately, build trust between CPD and Chicago’s residents.
All information on the independent monitor, including the submissions by independent monitor finalists and the parameters of the public hearing, as well as information on the proposed consent decree can be found at www.chicagopoliceconsentdecree.org.
