United Working Families stands firmly against all attempts to criminalize Chicago’s Black and Brown youth and their communities–those who bear the brunt of generational disinvestment and the often violent policing that accompanies it. Our youth deserve safe, accessible spaces and investment in community-based programming–not criminalization. This reactionary ordinance hands even more unchecked power to the police, and is a license to increase the racially-motivated surveillance that puts the lives of Black and Brown youth at risk. We know that what makes our communities safer is investing in them through holistic approaches to public health and safety: publicly funded mental health centers, secure housing, youth summer jobs and programming, fully funded schools, and trauma-informed violence prevention.
Passage of the Peace Book Ordinance and GoodKids MadCity’s Peacekeeping program will make Chicago safer. Erasing the gang database that permanently labels youth as “gang members” without evidence or notification, trapping them in cycles of surveillance, will make Chicago safer. Vacating wrongful convictions obtained through torture by former Chicago Police Commander John Burge and his disciples, as well as educating our young people about the violent legacy of that torture, will make Chicago safer. Alders who back the snap curfew aim to increase CPD’s power and decrease oversight, and are not concerned with true safety. Instead they choose to create a facade of safety in the downtown area by curbing the freedom of and criminalizing youth of color.
We must create a city and state where all our young people are cared for, empowered, and given the tools they need to thrive.
