League of Women Voters Candidate Survey
Written 2–6–23
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The League of Women Voters Illinois (LWVIL) puts out a candidate survey for each election. To answer the questions, I wrote out long answers that I then shortened to meet LWIL's 1200 characters limit. I thought voters might like to see my uncut candidate's version.
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What made you interested in running for this position, and what can you bring to the work of the District Council to help improve policing and public safety?
I have been worried for a long time about the weakening of our democratic institutions. This fear has become much more vivid for me after teaching college in a country, Iraq, in which democratic institutions are very weak. I was a whistleblower, and was met with retaliation by getting fired, having paramilitary come to my door pointing AK-47s at me, and getting deported. Since then (2010), I have been worried about further deterioration in our own democratic institutions. I believe that the only real solution is to build up democracy at the very local level. The establishment of the police district councils gives me a golden opportunity to put into practice ideas that have been simmering in my mind for years regarding genuine democratization and community building.
In the last few years, I have devoted much attention to issues of public safety and community policing. As a documenter for City Bureau, I wrote up many reports on public meetings in Chicago about public safety: City Council committee meetings, the Police Board, public safety town halls, and more. Also, building on my training as a cultural anthropologist, I have become a professional dialogue facilitator, and have facilitated many small-group meetings with police in Los Angeles, together with community members, some of whom have been hostile to the police. I have become skilled in prompting people to listen and share ideas with each other, when their opinions and viewpoints are far apart. These experiences, together with my wide reading in political theory, have taught me that the most important building block for democracy is to engage in the right kind of discussions, in which individuals from every conceivable background, and with widely ranging views, can hash out new policy ideas.
It so happens that in the last few years there has also been a spike in crime in the 24th police district. Like everyone else here, I am concerned about the public safety of myself, my family, my neighbors and my friends. Since before deciding to run, I have become active in CAPS beat meetings and have conversed with several of our local police. I have learned much about public safety and have signed up for the Community Police Academy training course for ordinary citizens.
I have been active in other ways that also have motivated me to run for office, and to gain experience that will enhance my ability to perform successfully in office. For example, I was active with the Represent.Us Chicago Chapter, which was devoted to stemming corruption and cleaning up our democracy. In that capacity, using knowledge I have absorbed covering the Chicago Board of Ethics for City Bureau, I proposed three anti-corruption measures to the Board of Ethics, all of which they adopted in their formal proposal to modify the Chicago Governmental Ethics Ordinance. One, the raising of the maximum the Board can fine individuals for violating the ethics ordinance from $2,500 to $20,000, eventually became law. This experience taught me that if you become knowledgeable enough, and push persistently enough, you can make real changes, even in a city so refractory to reform as Chicago.
What are specific measures that you think can be taken by the District Council to reduce violence, provide second chances, and foster trust between youth and law enforcement?
My experience as a father, grandfather, and as a tutor for young people has persuaded me that the best way to keep out of trouble is to keep them busy with constructive activities. We should aid the Park District, the Public Library, the numerous groups that support youth programs, and the schools by publicizing their current programs. For example, we should help establish a program such as Chicago Westside Sports, that brings together police, faith leaders, and youth productively. In our diverse community, that will require more “ecumenical” cooperation than on the West Side. With police volunteering as coaches, they will serve as positive role models for youth and will increase trust in each other.
I wholeheartedly agree with those who support alternatives to incarceration, especially for juvenile offenders. Programs for juvenile offenders and at-risk youth that are focused on community service and appropriate labor that teaches discipline should be greatly expanded. I would help design restorative justice programs that make restitution to victims of crime.
In the schools, we need to reintroduce moral education suited to our current times. Though I support the notion that those inclined to violence and crime should be thought of as pathological or traumatized, as suffering from problems of mental health, we should not lose sight of crime also being evil or sinful, a moral problem. In the schools, we should also introduce youth to the principles of our criminal justice system, making mandatory a shortened version of the Community Police Academy geared to youth, with an option for more extensive training. Cities such as Los Angeles, have magnet schools that feed into the criminal justice system. We ought to consider an after-school program to serve this purpose.
What approaches do you plan to use to facilitate communication between community members and police?
In my work with the Institute for Nonviolence in Los Angeles, I have done exactly that: facilitated meetings between police and community members. I also wrote the template questions for other lead facilitators, based on my experience teaching ethnographic interviewing techniques in college. Specifically, this involves prompting participants to share their views and not react to mine. I never pretend I do not have opinions (I have many), but I try to show respect to all opinions with the exception of those that deliberately aim to close off discussion. I also have training in special techniques to sharpen listening skills — above all Empathy Circle training.
I am also committed to pushing for the introduction of the Neighborhood Policing Initiative to the 24th District. This idea is being piloted in neighborhoods such as Austin, Englewood, Belmont-Cragin, and Hermosa. It involves a new kind of police officer, District Coordinating Officers, and local citizen Ambassadors. The program needs two innovations: (1) hiring Ambassadors who represent the community without being community activists per se (because activists already represent a certain outlook that should not be exclusively represented), and (2) bringing into dialogue local violence interrupters. That is tricky because violence interrupters cannot be seen as collaborators with the police.
Finally, I can imagine other ways to bring police and community together, such as special events, local versions of the community police academy, book clubs, school and library programs.