The following article was originally published in a newsletter by Latino Union of Chicago on September 8, 2023.
Chicago, IL — Seven years ago, a group of day laborers at Belmont and Milwaukee were detained by ICE after CPD considered their activity at a corner hiring site to be gang-related. While all forms of cooperation between ICE and CPD have since been barred, Chicago’s gang database has persisted in its most pernicious forms. This system, which the police have claimed to be a necessary tool for public safety, has been cited by inspector general reports to be riddled with errors and racial bias. It has historically had a low bar for including an individual’s information in a system that subjects people to warrantless surveillance and a labyrinthine process to remedy placement in its records. When this process was used as the justification for the detention of multiple day laborers, Latino Union joined a number of other justice- focused organizations to push for the full abolition of the use of any gang database in the name of public safety.
The road since then has been a long one. We recognize the deep immorality and unconstitutionality of this surveillance system, which avoids external scrutiny and judicial oversight. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office seems to have come to the same conclusion; in 2019 the county ended its use of a regional gang database, although questions remained about what would happen to the data that already existed in its system. The pandemic made other initiatives more urgent priorities in City Council. In 2020, our lawsuit with the city of Chicago was settled with some wins for the individuals directly affected; in the wake of this settlement, the police department announced plans to replace the old system with a new one that addressed superficial issues with the gang database but not the deep-seeded issues around its constitutionality and accountability. Last week, the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability finally voted to end the use of any such gang database, putting a nail in the coffin of CPD’s attempt to replace an error-filled database with a similarly biased one.
This victory is the result of years of public pressure. It is the result of tireless work on the part of lawyers and community members who have fought for justice on the part of their neighbors, friends, and families. And it is the result of the bravery of the people who stood up to a racist system that disproportionately penalizes black and brown communities. This database has torn families apart, ruined people’s economic livelihoods, and caused undue trauma and hurt to people who have not been formally accused of any crime. For the people who have been deported, denied employment or housing, or faced other long-term harm from this system, the end of the gang database is perhaps not full justice. But the promise that this will not happen again is worth celebrating.
Latino Union of Chicago
4811 N Central Park Ave, Chicago, IL 60625
Tel. (312) 491-9044 ~ www.latinounion.org
For further information contact: Mauricio Huertas, Director of Development and Communications
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