25th District Council Agenda

Jacob Arena – Chair

A resident of Belmont Gardens, Arena did not respond to requests for comment. He is running as part of a progressive slate with Saul Arellano and Angelica Green.

• Is CPD adequately funded?

• CPD reform:

What do you consider the primary role of a police district councilor to be?

Why are you running for Police District Council?

Angelica P. Green – Nominating Committee

Green is an advocate for adults and children with developmental and intellectual disabilities. She also advocates for “integrity, accountability, and public safety.” She is running on a progressive slate with Jacob Arena and Saul Arellano.

Alderpersons Carlos Ramirez Rosa (35th Ward) and Emma Mitts (37th Ward) and Congressman Danny Davis (IL-7) have endorsed.

• Is CPD adequately funded?

• CPD reform:

What do you consider the primary role of a police district councilor to be?

Why are you running for Police District Council?

Saul Arellano – Community Engagement

The son of immigration activist Elvira Arellano, who sought sanctuary from ICE agents in a Humboldt Park church for a year in 2006, Arellano has worked with Centro Sin Fronteras and Healthy Hood Chicago on immigration and mutual-aid fronts. “We must hold the police accountable,” he says. “Our communities deserve better, and must be treated with the utmost respect.” Arellano is running on a progressive slate together with Jacob Arena and Angelica Green.

Alderpersons Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward), MWRD commissioner Dan Pogorzelski, and State Representative Will Guzzardi (39th District) have endorsed.

• Is CPD adequately funded? Yes: funding should be reduced.

• CPD reform: The police should be defunded or abolished.

What do you consider the primary role of a police district councilor to be?

Police should not be involved in mental health crisis calls at all.

Why are you running for Police District Council?

I will soon graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Justice Studies, with two minors in Sociology and Political Science. My focus of study has been the Social Injustices occurring within our social institutions, such as racism, classism, homophobia, sexism, and many other forms of oppression. I have dived deep into these different forms of oppression, and the real consequences it has caused marginalized communities.

Therefore, I decided to run for the position of District Council for the 25th Police District.

I intend to serve the community and the immense need for community investment. We must invest in life-changing social services, and offer well-funded social institutions (schools, mental health clinics, youth programs, and mentorship programs). A safe community works to prevent situations and issues from escalating.

For starters, providing funding services to youth recreational spaces, mental health services, and community events allows for community participation. Within that creating an emphasis on protecting under-served youth such as BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth, could significantly lower suicide rates, increase academic records, and reduce their chances of homelessness and ending up in the prison system. It means creating a support system rather than a punitive form of correction that discourages growth, therefore, stunting it, a community flourishes when all its members are given an opportunity to grow.

In addition, our campaign is running on a POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY platform, it is not excusable the hundreds of human rights violations the police have been responsible for. Therefore, I am fighting to re-imagine a new department that stems away from the racialized roots it was created from. I plan to step away from the hard-on-crime ideology, because, this has not been working.

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