Three Chicago aldermen introduced an ordinance Monday to remove police officers from the city's public schools.
Around 11 a.m. in Oak Park, officials plan to hold a conference encouraging the governor to recognize Juneteenth by lowering flags Friday.
Here are the latest on protests, demonstrations and fallout happening across the Chicago area today:
11 a.m.: Officials Ask Chicago to Lower Flags on Juneteenth
Officials plan to gather at Oak Park River Forest High School on Tuesday at 11 a.m. to encourage Gov. J.B. Pritzker to lower the state's flags on June 19, Juneteenth, in recognition of lives lost to racism.
“Illinois should lead the nation in condemning hate and racism, and I urge the governor to show that we stand together by lowering flags to half-mast across the state and pausing for a moment of reflection,” said Ford. “Juneteenth serves as a time of reflection and as a time for more action to deliver justice for those who have faced racism throughout their lives."
In 1865, Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger landed in Galveston, Texas on June 19 with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free.
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Aldermen Push to Remove Police From Chicago Public Schools
Three Chicago aldermen introduced an ordinance Monday to remove police officers from the city's public schools.
Ald. Roderick Sawyer, Ald. Jeanette Taylor and Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa introduced the "Police Free Schools Ordinance" to terminate the Chicago Police Department's $33 million contract with Chicago Public Schools.
The group of aldermen introduced the measure as protests against police brutality continue across Chicago, some calling specifically to remove officers from schools, and around the world following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
Read more details here.
Aurora Police Release Video to ‘Tell the Entire Story’ of Arrest
Police in west suburban Aurora on Sunday night released dashcam footage of an arrest in which officers pulled a Black man and woman from a vehicle, both screaming and the woman shouting that she couldn't breathe, after an altercation that escalated when the woman refused to give officers her birth date.
Police said in a statement on the more than 20-minute video that it was being released along with the full narrative of the police report "in an effort to tell the entire story" after a 2 minute and 38 second video had been "widely posted on social media."
The incident began just after 6:30 p.m. Saturday when an officer saw a white Chevrolet Malibu stopped with the passenger door open at a red light at New York Street and Eola Road, Aurora police said in a statement.
Read more details here.
Sheriff ‘De-deputizes’ Deputies Linked to Offensive Online Posts
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart was moving to temporarily strip as many as seven deputies of their police powers after the county's public defender complained that deputies had apparently posted insulting and threatening comments online after a march in support of Black Lives Matter, his spokesman said Friday.
Spokesman Matt Walberg said the investigation to identify the deputies and then move to “de-deputize” those linked to the posts comes a day after Dart's office launched an internal probe in response to a letter from Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli.
In her letter sent Thursday, Campanelli asked Dart and Inspector General Patrick Blanchard to discipline, or, if appropriate, fire the deputies behind the posts.
Read more details here.
Lightfoot Announces New Working Group to Review of Use of Force
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago police announced on Monday a new working group to review the department's policies around use of force.
The working group will consist of 20 community members, activists and police officers from across Chicago, Lightfoot said in a City Hall news conference.
They will meet virtually via video conference with members of the Chicago Police Department for the next weeks to "provide feedback, revisions and formal recommendations" for a new use of force policy.
Read more details here.
