>> The push for police oversight is also a neighborhood level effort with the help of police district councils.

They work with each of the city's 22 police district.

Hearing out residents, public safety concerns and advocating for accountability.

The first-ever members were elected in 2023. giving everyday people more of a say and how policing is done.

But progress has been made since then.

Here to discuss that and more are Dion McGill, a member of the 7th Police District Council, which includes South side neighborhoods like Englewood in Auburn, Gresham, Elly on by a in a member of the 10th Place Police District Council, which includes Westside neighborhoods like North Lawndale and Little Village and Sedrick Hawkins and outreach specialist at Community Violence Prevention organization, CRED.

We also invited the Chicago Police Department to join us, but they declined.

But we thank you all for being here on the program.

like to start with you, please.

You know, from your perspective over the last 2 years, what kind of the difference do you think these councils have made in terms of accountability and pushing police reforms.

I think a very unique thing about our district council says that we're responding to.

>> The contents of citizens at a hyper-local level.

So I think that's very unique in the sense where they didn't have the outlet to be able to voice concerns anywhere else.

So they would have to go to the police station.

We would see people going to city council during public comment during committees to be able to voice some of their concerns.

But now they can actually find this in their district where they're able to give us to concerns what they imagine.

Public safety looks like.

And what the past 2 years have looked like in the 10th Police district has become us being advocates for people have been impacted by violence, ensuring that agencies like Copa that are local police department is present at these meetings.

I think this power to that because that didn't exist before.

Yeah, it's an organized way for folks to voice their concerns.

Dion, same question to you.

How do how do you view the last couple of years?

>> It's it's been an adventure.

>> We're at the beginning of a very long road, in my opinion.

But it's been great and it's not are known, as Ali said, to be able to for the community, be a bridge builder, you know, between between the community and district specifically.

But we're very far away because we really should need a middleman to that kind of an engagement interaction, rain and so.

We're doing great is every day almost like, you know, 1000 Miles.

But there's 1000 more to go.

And so we're we're making it You know, Cedric CPD works with multiple community violence, intervention Partners, including organization.

>> But the Trump administration has been cutting funds for violence, prevention efforts like yours.

Are you concerned that could slow down some of the progress Chicago's made on public safety?

>> So, yes, I am because so that that could slow down some things growth.

But I'm not does it.

We can make it happen.

One thing about it.

We have been shot Chicago.

That collaboration has helped us to be able to get a reduction all the way across the city.

You know, right now to see these like 30%, 30 40% decrease.

You know, so collaboration works think about it is we comes down to it.

With the police a lot of a lot of that historic, you know, individuals come straight out the world.

You know, they're to to hate or to not light.

The police, you know, so in this situation, you know, we just going to have to keep engaging and keep on, you know, collaborating lead helping them to be able to understand how to have a professional understanding with the community.

and in terms of that coordination, you know, working with with the police department trying to improve community relations.

>> What sort of worked as your organization do?

What's that day to day?

Look like?

So.

day today with police.

And no, that's not.

That's no such thing a think about it is we do have professional understand it with law enforcement, meaning that they understand what we're doing our job and we understand when they're doing there's, you know.

>> We do have coordination meetings where we do try to bring community awareness together as a whole, you know, don't leave together.

So just things like that would be able to help.

I do more.

>> Leon, you one of 2 city employees detained during an immigration raid last month.

What was that experience like for you?

>> Wow.

It's been about a month.

Yeah.

And like centric crime has decreased here in city of Chicago.

The 10th district has been leading the way amazing violence.

Intervention organizations are doing the work.

So I do want to highlight that new life centers and lots of Chicago.

You can and a lot local organizations are developing new like urban But as the Chicago and I have never felt unsafe or like I had and the past 2 months when Border Patrol was terrorizing my community.

I was unlawfully detained.

I was held for 7 plus hours.

My family, my team, my colleagues to know where I was.

No one knew where I was.

It took them about an hour and a half to realize that was missing.

My car was abandoned.

as someone who is a U.S.

citizen, someone who does have a lot of privilege and I got to go back home.

It's been a very difficult experience because my uncle, 4 days before Tamala vendor, what's also unlawfully detained and he continues to be in a detention center in Michigan.

I'm glad you asked that question because it's not for today to highlight that even though there's been a lot of amazing things happen your community here in Chicago.

The presence of ice of Border Patrol and our community has harmed U.S.

has terrorized and it's going to impact our children for generations.

We have 3, 8, year-old speaking about their families being detained, that when they hear whistles, they know that that might mean their parents might not come home.

And, you know, I want people to pay attention to what's happening here in Chicago.

I also am very happy that our district councils have come together to the man for a hearing.

I know we formally requested that presidents and I want to see that because people deserve to know we are hearing it on the ground that they want to know what CPD collaboration looks like.

If any to see if we are following the guidelines of the welcoming city ordinance.

And this will all lead to a safer Chicago.

Once we have those answers.

>> You know, Dion, in addition to federal Immigration Agency know pretty aggressively targeting Chicago in recent months.

We're also waiting on a Supreme Court decision about the legality of possibly deploying the National Guard here.

Do you think increased federal law enforcement presence or military presence?

Does that somehow play into residents?

Perception of of Chicago's on police officers?

Oh, absolutely.

I absolutely.

And I'm a former National Guard personnel.

>> I think the idea that Chicago communities don't Federal forces, they don't need to be in on Mike coming in the point our neighborhoods like just the idea of it like.

Blows my mind.

And of course, it's kind make people people in Chicago.

I think people in my community, you know, you look at the system as one unified thing.

And if you look one person in a uniform with a you know that kind clouds are.

Opinion of everyone, you know, including CPD and unfortunately with ICE being in our communities, it destroys trust.

And a big part of our work is to build trust.

And it's just every backwards step we take just makes it harder for us to do our work and makes our communities less safe.

Most importantly.

>> You know, Cedric, you were previously incarcerated and released after year sentence was commuted.

How does your own perception of law enforcement changed over the years?

So for me?

>> My assessment have chains.

Drastically due to due to the work, you know, and not only just a word, but no one today just be an open-ended.

And knowing that, you know, every want to tell me, you know, individuals that have these jobs, a look at Rios, they owe him so you're going to have some good.

You're going to have some since I've been home.

You dealing with law enforcement collab law enforcement.

I have still seen that.

You're going to have some individuals that don't live with what we do and you want to have some individuals that don't care for what we But you also want to have some individuals that care about everything you're doing because you're trying to help the community.

You know, so since I've been say >> is is trying to get better is sing like he's trying to get better is still a lot of work to do because like I say, police and the communities like historic on fleet.

So I would say just.

>> We really, really need to make sure that we do have the National Guard come here because we are ready in a predicament where only half Chicago interest Acpd only 30% of Chicago trust Acpd.

>> Then we're going.

I'm going to go back once you the National Guard's because now you've got a lot 2 different type of law enforcement ways understand.

Yeah.

>> You know, Dion, we've got about a minute left.

Cpd had a community policing policy for decades that focuses on making sure it's the same officers.

Same supervisors consistently policing the same part of the city.

Does that, you idea of community policing meet the needs of the residents that you hear from know, I think when I talk about community policing, when the District Council talk about policing and what super tennis now in talks about are very different things.

I think he thinks means pop ups.

Officers on bicycles, occasional conversations.

When I talk about community policing, I'm talking about community having a stake deciding how the commutes are.

Please before a pan is put to paper having community members at those tables and then they need to be holding those people accountable and deciding for themselves what safety and their communities look like.

that is community policing.

I think ultimately people are afraid of this phrase of community power over policing.

But that's what we really All right.

That's where we'll have