Change, part 1
Dear Neighbors,
It's taken me a moment to gather my thoughts about the protests in our city and around the country. It's a heartbreaking moment. I'm angry, hurt, saddened, and scared, as I'm sure many of you are.
I'm devastated by George Floyd's murder. My heart grieves for his family. It grieves for Breonna Taylor's family. It grieves for all those families in our city whose loved ones have been tortured and wrongfully imprisoned and beaten and killed by our own police department.
I've been grappling with my own role in all this. There's been a lot of people saying: "If you want to make a real change, go vote." Well, you all went and voted for me. So, what kind of change am I trying to make? How am I going to make your vote mean something in these turbulent times?
You deserve to hear that from me. So I'll be sending a few emails with the changes I'm fighting for. Today, I'll tell you what kind of changes I'm advocating for in this moment, with these protests. Tomorrow, I'll share the policies I think we need to enact when this is over. And Thursday, I'll email about the long-term structural changes I believe our society needs.
Here it goes:
WHAT I'M FIGHTING FOR RIGHT NOW
The safety of people protesting must be paramount. Police must practice de-escalation everywhere. Protesters must be protected from those who would do them harm. And those few who incite violence deliberately, to besmirch the protest movement or to bring a violent response to the crowd, must be stopped.
Any law enforcement officer observed attacking peaceful protesters must be fired immediately. Anything less would dishonor the memories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the countless others these protests are for.
No protesters should be booked into Cook County Jail, one of the nation's most virulent hotspots for Covid-19.
And the city must end its tactic of depriving communities of services to try and stop the protests. CTA service must be restored. Any Covid-19 testing sites that have closed must be reopened. And I'm relieved that after much pressure, CPS has resumed delivering meals to families. Taking food from hungry children to coerce adults to act differently is heartless tyranny and has no place in our society.
More tomorrow. Until then, stay safe, stay healthy, and hold your loved ones close.
-Will
PS. If you are looking for ways to help right now, learn about how to help damaged small businesses, clean up hard-hit communities, or help pay bond for people arrested at protests.