Editor’s Note

Welcome to Newswire — your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what action we can take to make our city great, featuring public meeting coverage by City Bureau’s Documenters.

Quote of the Week

“Black leaders and parents have been vocal about the need for improving Black student outcomes. Pedro Martinez, despite his faults, has ensured that Black student success has been prioritized in the strategic plan.”

— Natasha Dunn, a Chicago Public Schools parent speaking in favor of keeping Pedro Martinez as district CEO. Dunn, who has been a CPS parent since the 2006-07 academic year, has experienced seven different CEOs.

[Chicago Board of Education, Sept. 26, 2024]

CARE without cops

Chicago’s mental health crisis response program will no longer include police officers or fire department paramedics. The Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) pilot program was launched in September 2021 in two neighborhood clusters on the North and South sides, backed by an investment of $3.5 million from the city. Since the initial pilot, CARE employees have responded to 1,500 calls. According to the city, the calls have resulted in zero arrests and the use of force in less than 0.1% of incidents. The original CARE team configuration involved a police officer, a Chicago Fire Department paramedic and Chicago Department of Public Health crisis clinician. Now, the team will include a clinician and an EMT from CDPH and will be fully housed until the Department of Public Health.

The new non-police response model is in line with the Treatment Not Trauma ordinance, the mental health response model introduced by Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd Ward) in 2021. The ordinance, which was repeatedly stalled throughout former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s tenure before passing in 2023, called for the reopening of public mental health clinics shuttered by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2011, further investment in additional clinics and a non-police crisis response team. Under Mayor Brandon Johnson, the city has  reopened a mental health center in Roseland and additional mental health service sites in West Garfield Park and Pilsen.

Should he stay or should he go?

The Chicago School Board opted to keep district CEO Pedro Martinez in a vote last week; it also put a moratorium on school closures until 2027. People spoke both in support of and in opposition to Martinez, whom Mayor Brandon Johnson asked to resign last month amid claims from the Chicago Teachers Union that Martinez was considering closing some schools. Martinez has staunchly denied rumors that he's looking to close and consolidate under-enrolled schools. Chicago has a storied history of school closures after former Mayor Rahm Emanuel shuttered 50 Chicago Public Schools in 2013, predominantly on the South and West sides.

A version of this story was first published in the October 2, 2024 issue of the Newswire, an email newsletter that is your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what we can do to make our city great. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter here.

Have thoughts on what you'd like to see in this feature? Email Editorial Director Ariel Cheung at ariel@citybureau.org.