How Chicago is Shaping its Future Through Community Action (Our City, Our Values)

For me It all started with Commander Watson and a team of public safety advocates in the spring of 2023 at the 3rd district police department. Commander Watson was the brain child and the glue for the "Together We Can" Movement. Upon me attending this first "Together We Can" meeting in April 2023, I returned 30 days later armed with the website http://www.chicagotogetherwecan.com. Although "Together We Can" was and still is a promising program, I recognized a void that needed to be filled for Commander Watson's vision to expand beyond the basement of Martin Temple AME Church. Powerful speakers would grace the meetings with their words, but once they left, their messages were often lost. No one captured these words in a format that would immortalize them—until now.

We are looking to reboot the website Chicago Together We Can, and this series hopes to be the impetus for the website's reboot. One thing for this reboot to make a difference is to capture all of the wisdom that is available to us today and post it for all of Chicagoland. When I first started attending the community public safety meetings there were terms that were used that left me in the dark, this website helps to reduce the learning curve and bring you into the fold faster.

For the very reasons outlined above, this blog exists. Fast forward approximately 18 months: the Chicago Together We Can website has been underutilized, but unbeknownst to the greater public safety community and with their help, a rebirth is about to take place. In October 2024, two IT professionals, who regularly attended the public safety meetings, found themselves within earshot of each other amidst conversation in the room. It was then that Anthony Crawford the IT Professional stood up and expressed his concerns. He pointed out that everyone had been meeting week after week, month after month, yet it seemed unclear what the participants wanted to achieve from these gatherings. He emphasized it was pointless to continue this process without having concrete positions that could be acted upon and measured for success.

Anthony continued, insisting that this working group needs to define it's cultural values. Anthony, using a personal analogy to drive his point home. He said, “Let me speed through the streets of Winnetka or Wilmette, and you better believe I will get a ticket.” He explained that people in these communities have defined their cultural values such that any speeder will be penalized according to those values and associated laws, making it clear that certain behaviors will invariably result in certain penalties—no exceptions. “Keep breaking the rules, and you will continue to be penalized until the message sinks in that certain behaviors are not tolerated in their communities,” he warned, highlighting the importance of a community's shared values in shaping behavior and outcomes supported by laws that are already on the books.

Now, let’s pause for a moment and consider this in the context of our own communities. (Yes, really think about it for a minute.)

I having given it some thought about what Wilmette, Winnetka, and many other communities have accomplished begins to make sense. These places have effectively communicated a clear message: "YOU WILL NOT BRING YOUR BAD BEHAVIOR, DISRESPECT FOR OUR LAWS, OR CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES INTO OUR COMMUNITY AND ENDANGER OUR RESIDENTS."

Admittedly, I may have approached this with a hint of drama, but it's a perspective Anthony highlighted, and now, I bring it to your attention.

In our communities, have we become complacent with the increasing disregard for the law, accepting current bad behavior as the new normal? Isn’t that worth pondering? Do we feel powerless to effect change? Are we numb to it all? Perhaps it's time we start feeling something, anything.

Change is not on the horizon if we remain passive. It’s imperative we take a stand, establishing and enforcing cultural values within our neighborhoods and beyond.

Returning to Anthony Crawford, his compelling speech in our meeting ignited a collaborative effort that had been brewing for the past 18 months. Anthony, alongside Vince Stewart, made a commitment—they would take a stand. Together, they pledged to help the community craft a statement of cultural values and spearhead an initiative to engage the community.

Within just one month, Anthony and Vince deliberated on the essence of community cultural values statements and strategized on the best methods to mobilize the community into a dialogue about these values. The Together We Can Meetings will be the platform to kickstart this discourse because of the infrastructure and human network already in place.

Mark your calendars: We are excited to announce that our first introductory meeting to discuss Community Cultural Values is scheduled for Nov 23, 2024.

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Inspired By Anthony Crawford

Blogger Vince Stewart aka #PublicSafetyVince