Proposed police oversight commission won’t be as transparent as advertised

I was stunned to see the Sun- Times headline declaring: “Power to the People,” about a proposed ordinance for an elected commission to oversee police (“Power to the people”— March 9). Chicago is not known for its transparent, robust democracy, and certainly at no time in recent history have city leaders advocated for “power to the people.”

My excitement quickly turned to disgust as I read further. This proposal calls for representatives to be elected from 22 districts ( and you thought electing judges was hard!). This commission would then form a selection committee responsible for soliciting applicants for police chief, Civilian Office of Police Accountability chief and members of the Police Board. But all are subject to mayoral and City Council approval. The only language left out was a provision for superdelegates appointed by the mayor, but maybe someone on the council will suggest this as a friendly amendment.

Seriously, this proposal is about as democratic as the Electoral College and needs to be quashed before it is introduced.

It uses vague language to give the appearance of community control while, in reality, it creates more bureaucracy and merely disguises the ability of police to kill with impunity.

The mechanism for true police accountability already exists in the Civilian Police Accountability Council, an ordinance sponsored by Carlos Ramirez- Rosa, which calls for an elected civilian police accountability council. CPAC is direct democracy with no smoke and mirrors. Sarah Simmons, North Center