Can the church bring safety back to Chicago?

Chicago churches have a golden opportunity to have an impact on public safety and police accountability. We should take it.

There will be a new position on the ballot when Chicagoans go to polls in March of next year. Three members of the newly established Police District Councils will be elected from each of the city’s 22 police districts. These Councils will be responsible for building stronger connections between police and the community, holding public meetings with community members to get their input on police department strategies and practices. They will also nominate 14 individuals to serve on a citywide Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. The mayor will select seven of those nominees to serve on the commission.

It is no secret that one of the biggest issues facing the city of Chicago is community safety. Real and perceived threats of crime and violence hang like an albatross around virtually every attempt at economic development, educational investment, or social advancement undertaken in our communities. Businesses are deterred from setting up operations. Families are afraid to move in. Schools face challenges attracting the highest skilled staff and invested families. We need to deal with the safety issue as a city if we’re going to move in a positive direction.

Decades of research suggests that one of the fundamental keys to successful law enforcement is good police and community relations. The relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve is imperative for developing the trust between citizens and police that is central to effective police work and the sense of safety among community residents. Research also consistently shows that transparency, visibility and access to police business are the most effective strategies to cultivate that essential trust.

One of the driving scriptures behind the AND Campaign’s mission is Jeremiah 29:7, “Seek peace and well-being for the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its peace (well-being) you will have peace.” (Amplified Bible). The framework that we lay out in the book “Compassion & Conviction” holds that for the Christian, civic engagement is not simply a means of amassing political power, but it is rather an avenue for demonstrating Christ’s love for our neighbor. It is through this lens that I see these Police District Councils as such a huge ministry opportunity for the church in Chicago. We are called to serve the city in just this manner. And we are organized to have a real impact on the outcome of these elections.

These elections will be hyper-local and probably not as high-profile as the contest for mayor and alderman, which will also be on the ballot. That means that moderately-sized groups of organized people moving in the same direction can have an outsized impact on the races. From gathering the petitions to building local support for candidates, Christians can work together through their congregations to ensure that people driven by the compassion and conviction of Christ are elected to these councils. Reconciliation-minded people will maximize the potential of this new civic role. A handful of churches working together can help get that kind of person elected to their District Council.

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably intrigued by this idea. But, you may be asking if this is something that the church can become involved with while preserving its non-profit status. According to the legal experts at the National Center for Life and Liberty, among other religious experts, have reminded churches that they are well within their rights and protected status whenever:

• Pastors and leaders speak personally concerning elections and particular candidates. Your 501(c)(3) status cannot be threatened by your right to personal freedom of speech in these areas.

• Your church undertakes efforts to educate congregants, helping them understand what individual candidates believe about various issues, including distributing voting guides that score the majority of candidates on the issues.

• You invite particular candidates to speak at your church, to give their testimony or present themselves as a candidate, as long as an official endorsement from the church does not follow the appearance. 

• Pastors or leaders advocate a certain position from the pulpit on relevant issues.

Members of a congregation can also work together in their capacity as private citizens to advance political causes and candidates of their choices. This means that church leaders can encourage members of their congregations to pursue public service, encourage support for these church members (as a matter of personal support), and that members may do things like help circulate nominating petitions, make financial contributions to the campaign, and volunteer to help spread the word and garner support in the community, all without putting church’s non-profit status in jeopardy. 

Imagine if at least one member of each of these 22 councils was closely affiliated with a local church and driven by a heart for reconciliation. It would have a major positive impact on our city. As a professional with two and a half decades of organizing and political experience, I know that the scope of this project is one that the church in Chicago can successfully undertake. As the lead pastor of a local church, I believe with all my heart that this is a project that we should undertake.

Any person who is a registered voter and will have lived in their current police district for at least one year prior to the Feb. 28, 2023 election is qualified to seek a spot on their District Council.  Pastors can run. Members can run. But the church should be represented.

Nominating petitions are due by Nov. 28, 2022. Here are the minimum number of signatures required by police district (plan to gather one-and-a-half to three times the minimum to avoid challenges, and use this tool to look up your police district number).

If you are ready to respond to this call, AND Campaign Chicago stands ready to serve as a resource to help you and your church organize efforts toward a better Police District Council in your area. Please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing chicago@andcampaign.org.