Why does it matter whether we vote for our community advisory board?

By: Laura TaeLae Lee / 03.19.1818 / 04:50:20 / 05:05:20 Today, the City Council voted unanimously to establish an advisory board to serve on its Community Advisory Board.

The City Council passed the motion to establish the advisory board by a vote of 4-1, with Councilmember Chris Daly dissenting.

Daly wrote that he had been “furious” about the lack of diversity on the advisory committee, and that he wanted to make sure that the community could come together to hear from the panel and that they could “reconsider the decision to remove a woman who has worked for the Police for more than 25 years.” “

I am asking the City to include in this advisory board a diverse group of individuals that have been critical of the Police Department in the past, and also include the community, so that they are aware of the issues that need to be addressed.”

Daly wrote that he had been “furious” about the lack of diversity on the advisory committee, and that he wanted to make sure that the community could come together to hear from the panel and that they could “reconsider the decision to remove a woman who has worked for the Police for more than 25 years.”

Daly said he would also ask that the advisory council have a gender-neutral title.

Daly said that the City would create an advisory council for the entire City of Chicago.

The advisory council will be composed of eight people from the City of St. Louis, four people from St. Charles, one person from the St. John’s County Police Department, one representative from the United Way of St Louis, one member from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, one from the city of Chicago, one City Council member, and one representative of the City’s Business and Industry Council.

Daly stated that the city has a large Hispanic population in the St Louis area, and he believes that it is appropriate to include the City on this advisory committee.

Daly further stated that he would ask that his name be removed from the committee, because the advisory staff is a small number of people.

He also stated that “people of color have been working in the police department for decades and decades,” and that there are not enough people of colour to represent them on the Advisory Committee.

The Council members voted in favor of the motion, with two abstentions.

The following members were absent: Councilmember Darren Jackson (St. Louis), Councilmember Kshama Sawant (St Charles), Councilmembers Jeffery Burke (Humboldt Park), Christine L. Matsui (Hudsonville), and Robert P. Davis (Chicago).

In his statement to the press, Daly stated, “We want to acknowledge that this is a challenging time, and we are going to work with the Advisory Board to ensure that we have the diversity that our community needs.”

The Council voted to create the advisory panel by a 4-2 vote, with five abstention. 

The City will create a list of the four candidates for the City Advisory Council.

The list of candidates for each councilmember will be made public at a later date.

The full advisory council is expected to be announced at the end of February.