IC-SS Weekly Update: April 19, 2021
Your Voice Matters: Take the Member SurveyMember Survey: Thanks to everyone who participates in the actions we share. We want to hear from you – please fill out the survey.
Take 10 minutes and share your ideas and interests with the co-leaders of Indivisible Chicago-South Side. Your input will help us plan events and/or share opportunities in the year ahead. Hope you’ll do it soon – deadline Sunday, April 25. Fill in your member survey here.
Your ideas and interests matter. Please take the IC-SS survey!
Thurs, May 6th, 5:30 pm: Meet with Ald Sophia King Join Indivisible Printers Row and Indivisible Chicago-South Side in a quarterly online meeting with Ald. Sophia King (4th ward): Thursday, May 6th, 5:30 pm. Email us to RSVP, and we’ll send you a link as soon as it’s made available.
At the March meeting, in response to our questions on police accountability, Ald. King mentioned the compromise ordinance (ECPS) she was helping to work out with the supporters of GAPA and CPAC.
For the May meeting, we may again propose questions on topics of interest to our communities. Please email us any questions you’d like to suggest (deadline Thurs, April 29th).
Police Kill a Child, Chicago Needs ECPS Chicago is mourning Adam Toledo, the thirteen-year-old child shot and killed in Little Village by police on March 29th. The news about Adam broke at the same time that we learned about the Minneapolis police murder of Daunte Wright and heard an attorney try to justify Derek Chauvin’s murderous acts.
These events remind us why it’s critically important for the Chicago City Council to pass the ECPS ordinance: Empowering Communities for Public Safety.
Justice for Adam Toledo: Logan Square Protest
On Friday, IC-South Side Co-Leader Teri Watkins joined with Steve Dornbusch, IL State Senator Robert Peters, and thousands of community residents and members of many groups at a rally for Adam Toledo in Logan Square. Gerald Reed, recently released from decades of unjust incarceration, was among the speakers. He described the torture he underwent at the hands of police; even when police don’t kill, they can inflict lifetime harm on survivors and their families. Teri shared these photos.
Read South Side Perspectives on Adam Toledo
The South Side Weekly included op-eds on the killing of Adam Toledo by journalist Maria Gardner Lara and by Berto Aguayo, Executive Director of Increase the Peace.
Pass ECPS: Empowering Communities for Public Safety
“We are heartbroken at Adam’s loss and grieve with his family and this entire city,” writes CAARPR. “It is time for communities to take charge of our own safety … If you are Black or Brown in this city, you are not safe from the police – they will hunt you down alleyways and slaughter you.
“We need [the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance] now to stop this slaughter. We need ECPS to stop our mayors and the CPD from justifying these murders as the price to pay to keep us safe.”
Watch CAARPR’s Community Briefing here
Get informed on the ECPS ordinance:
- Read CAARPR’s info page on ECPS.
- Watch CAARPR’s full recording of the April 17 Community Briefing on the People’s Ordinance (ECPS), incl. guest Gerald Reed: watch the briefing here.
- See summary of CAARPR’s ECPS Community Briefing on our Twitter thread.
- Hear a 3-minute public statement on ECPS made by Michael Aaron, member of CAARPR and IC-South Side, at the City Council’s recent Public Safety Committee meeting, followed by Rabbi Aryeh Bernstein. Listen here, beginning at minute 8:55. (Read the text of Michael’s ECPS statement here.)*
*Unfortunately, Public Safety Committee Chair Taliaferro did not include ECPS on the agenda for April 16, so the Committee itself did not discuss the proposed ordinance that day.
Get informed on the ECPS ordinance:
- Read CAARPR’s info page on ECPS.
- Watch CAARPR’s full recording of the April 17 Community Briefing on the People’s Ordinance (ECPS), incl. guest Gerald Reed: watch the briefing here.
- See summary of CAARPR’s ECPS Community Briefing on our Twitter thread.
- Hear a 3-minute public statement on ECPS made by Michael Aaron, member of CAARPR and IC-South Side, at the City Council’s recent Public Safety Committee meeting, followed by Rabbi Aryeh Bernstein. Listen here, beginning at minute 8:55. (Read the text of Michael’s ECPS statement here.)*
*Unfortunately, Public Safety Committee Chair Taliaferro did not include ECPS on the agenda for April 16, so the Committee itself did not discuss the proposed ordinance that day.
Appreciation and Actions for ECPS
Thanks to all the advocates who united to create ECPS and to alders like Ald Sophia King and Ald Leslie Hairston who worked with them to bring the ordinance to the City Council. We encourage IC-South Side members to act in support of ECPS — see information in the Organizations & Opportunities box below regarding the April 21 action and other opportunities.
Ald King & Ald Hairston speaking at March 19 press conference announcing ECPS
Act NOW For Democracy
How will YOU help assure voting rights and fair representation? You can help pass democracy legislation by getting informed and then writing, phoning, and using your social media to reach voters and lawmakers. Take your pick:
Sat. May 8th: John Lewis Voting Rights Day of ActionMark your calendars for Saturday May 8th: John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Day. Across the USA, people will turn out in person, in “votercades” (car caravans), or online in support of democracy legislation now before Congress: John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (HR4). For the People Act (S1), DC Statehood (HR51/S51). We’ll urge our senators to end the filibuster in order to get these vital democracy bills passed!
At least one action is planned for Chicago. As soon as we have more info, we’ll share it in future newsletters and on social media. Meanwhile, check these sources:
NOTE: All events on this day are non-partisan. No candidate or political party promotion is allowed.
Urge Your Reps to Support DC Statehood
From national Indivisible: D.C. statehood would enfranchise more than 700k residents, a plurality of whom are Black, giving equal representation to these residents and overturning hundreds of years of voter suppression and racism.
Without a functional democracy in which everyone is included and represented, we can’t achieve any of our other progressive goals. All the issues we care about deeply: health care, immigration, ending wars, racial justice, climate change—fixing these things requires a democracy that is responsive to the people, not the powerful and wealthy.
ACT
Illinois Senators and Democratic Representatives, including Rep Bobby Rush (IL-01) and Rep Robin Kelly (IL-02), are co-sponsoring bill S51 in the Senate or HR51 in the House to make D.C. a state. Let’s thank our elected officials for their support and urge them to do all they can to pass the bill in their respective chamber.
– Fill out the Indivisible online form and you’ll be connected by phone to your Representative. Tell them to do everything in their power to pass D.C. statehood and make D.C. the 51st state.
– Alternatively, contact leaders on your own. Tell them to do all in their power to make DC the 51st state. (For the senators, this means ensuring the filibuster does not prevent this bill from passing.)
- Senator Durbin
- Senator Duckworth
- Rep Bobby Rush
- Rep Robin Kelly
- Other rep/unsure of your rep? Look up here
Phonebank For the People – Every Wednesday in April
Indivisible Chicago Alliance (ICA) has teamed up with Common Cause to expand support for the For the People Act by phoning and asking progressive voters in key states like ME, PA, AZ, and GA, to call their senators with a simple message: Pass this bill, whatever it takes.
Use your devices from home and get all the training, info, and support you need as you Zoom with the friendly phonebank pros at Indivisible Chicago.
Every Wednesday, different times. SIGN UP HERE.
Use Your Social Media & Email to Help Pass S1 Join DemCast, the Democratic Coalition, and a team of everyday people using their social media accounts and email to spread the truth about the urgent need for Democracy Reform. Just head to the For the People Act: Action Center.
Write Postcards, Encourage New VotersPostcards to Swing States has launched its new campaigns! Encourage voting among new voters by writing postcards to them. This time around, you’ll:
- Order online and receive your postcards/addresses/instructions in the mail. (You’ll choose from two campaign options.)
- Buy your own postcard stamps ($36 per 100 stamps).
- Write the postcards… then mail them by the specified deadline.
- See the FAQ page here for specifics.
WHAT TO DO
- Order your postcards here.
- Buy your stamps at a post office or order from USPS.com.
- After you order your postcards from Postcards to Swing States, let us know so we can schedule a Zoom postcard party.
Are you writing letters to voters via Vote Forward? If so, let us know so you can join any future postcard parties we offer.
Democracy Resources – NEW ONES!
Read listen and watch: Newly shared articles, podcasts, postings, and videos on democracy, voting rights, and the filibuster.
Read
- How to Stop the Minority-Rule Doom Loop: The next two years might be America’s last chance to protect the basic democratic principle of majority rule – Adam Jentleson
- How D.C.’s status negatively affects everyone who lives there from 51 for 51
- The Fight for D.C. Statehood from Democracy Docket
- For the People Act — Getting Big Money Out of Politics + Election Security from DemCast
- How Not to Fix the Filibuster: Filibuster Reforms and their Shortcomings from national Indivisible
Watch
- Why D.C. statehood is a racial justice issue – national Indivisible (under 3 minutes)
- Must-see webinar Spotlight on the Filibuster – DemCast, featuring Adam Jentleson and experts from Battle Born Collective, national Indivisible, Fix Our Senate (recorded April 13th, 1 hour)
- Informative webinar on the For the People Act – Indivisible Chicago Alliance (recorded April 8th, 1 hour)
Read
- How to Stop the Minority-Rule Doom Loop: The next two years might be America’s last chance to protect the basic democratic principle of majority rule – Adam Jentleson
- How D.C.’s status negatively affects everyone who lives there from 51 for 51
- The Fight for D.C. Statehood from Democracy Docket
- For the People Act — Getting Big Money Out of Politics + Election Security from DemCast
- How Not to Fix the Filibuster: Filibuster Reforms and their Shortcomings from national Indivisible
Watch
- Why D.C. statehood is a racial justice issue – national Indivisible (under 3 minutes)
- Must-see webinar Spotlight on the Filibuster – DemCast, featuring Adam Jentleson and experts from Battle Born Collective, national Indivisible, Fix Our Senate (recorded April 13th, 1 hour)
- Informative webinar on the For the People Act – Indivisible Chicago Alliance (recorded April 8th, 1 hour)
Find more democracy resources listed in our newsletters from
Feb 15, Feb 22, March 1, March 8, March 15, March 22, March 29, April 5, April 12
Organizations & Opportunities
Indivisible Chicago-South Side shares information and action announcements from other organizations on issues important in our country, state, city, and communities.
Wed. April 21, 9:00 AM: Support ECPS for Police Accountability
From CAARPR: Join us at 9:00 am on Wednesday, April 21st at Thompson Center to demand that the City Council pass the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance (ECPS).
Be a part of history in the making in the movement to pass the strongest accountability model in the country and pave a pathway towards community control of the police.
Pass the People’s Ordinance actions include a rally, car caravan, noise demonstration, and march. Get the April 21 event info.
ACT
- RALLY & CAR CARAVAN. Join CAARPR on Wednesday April 21st at 9:00 AM at the Thompson Center for a rally, car caravan, and noise demonstration to demand City Council pass the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance (ECPS). Facebook event + Sign-up page
- WRITE.Tell your alder to stand with the people of Chicago and deliver police accountability through ECPS. Write a customizable, automated letter to your Chicago alder. (NOTE: Both Ald Sophia King (4th) and Ald Leslie Hairston (5th) helped develop the ECPS ordinance. In your letter, you can add a line thanking them for their work for this ordinance.)
Indivisible Chicago-South Side
Email: Indiv.Chi.South@gmail.com
Follow IC-SS on Facebook and Twitter
Co-Leaders: Sarah Lincoln, Esther Peters,
Betsy Rubin, Teri Watkins
About: Group & Co-Leader Statements
