Seven Named to Community Review Board

Ryan Denham & Charlie Schlenker        

WGLT

Seven Bloomington residents—including several downtown and west-side leaders—have been picked for a new civilian board to advise the police chief.

The Bloomington City Council is expected to vote Oct. 23 on the first appointments to the Public Safety and Community Relations Board. The appointees chosen from 66 applicants are:

• Robert Bosquez, serves with the West Bloomington Revitalization Project
• Sally Rudolph, decades of public service in many roles including planning bodies and the McLean County League of Women Voters
• Jeff Woodard, director of marketing and community relations at the McLean County Museum of History
• Arthur Taylor, longtime civil rights activist
• Jan Lancaster, owner of the Bistro in downtown Bloomington and a staunch ally of gay rights
• William Bennett, City of Refuge Ministries pastor
• Surena Fish, retired Wood Street resident who was active in recent years in a neighborhood campaign to stop disruptions at a business near Miller Park

“The city would like to wholeheartedly thank all of those who expressed interest in applying to serve in this capacity,” said city spokesperson Nora Dukowitz. “With 66 applications received, it was a challenging selection process. All applications will be kept on file for 24 months in case a vacancy should arise.”

The board’s creation in July capped a months-long lobbying effort by local organizations such as Black Lives Matter. That came in response to growing tensions in Bloomington between police and many members of the minority community, some of which were documented in a May report. Not In Our Town, YWCA McLean County, and the ACLU of Illinois joined Black Lives Matter in advocating for the board.

The mayoral appointees will advise the police chief and help settle disputes over complaints against Bloomington officers.

Review Board Push Triumph of Collaboration

The campaign to create a new civilian police review board demonstrated not only the power of public engagement but also the strength local groups were able to exert working together, according to Not In Our Town: Bloomington-Normal participants in the process

Photo by Lewis Merien, The Pantagraph

The city of Bloomington is looking for people who want to serve on the new Public Safety and Community Relations Board (PSCRB). Bloomington aldermen approved board creation Monday. Mayoral appointees will advise the police chief and help settle disputes over complaints against Bloomington officers.

NIOTBN was one of several diverse community groups convened by McLean County YWCA that worked with Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal to help make the PSCRB a reality. Other alliance partners included ACLU of Central Illinois, Bloomington Normal Branch of NAACP, Central Illinois Pride Health Center, Illinois People’s Action, McLean County League of Women Voters, and Prairie Pride Coalition.

"I think we're off to a good start," said NIOTBN member Dontae Latson, director of the McLean County YWCA. Latson maintained "we are not allowing ourselves to fall victim to the national narrative" of Black Lives Matter and other community interests taking an anti-police stance -- "It's just not true."

The alliance' next step is to "assure that the process doesn't get watered down," lose its central focus, or become "stacked" with members of a single viewpoint, he suggested.

Camille Taylor, who helped represent NIOTBN in the alliance, noted the challenges in alliance members working together amid varying philosophies and approaches. "In theory, working with other groups is a great idea," Taylor mused, but maintaining an individual group's focus can be difficult "when not every group at the table has the same mission."

"You have to keep your eye on the prize, and recognize that every group at the table has its own identity," she urged.

Mary Aplington, who serves as co-chairman of NIOTBN's Education Subcommittee with Taylor, saw the tenor of Monday's council meeting itself as evidence of the success of community communication and collaboration. While the meeting drew a large citizen gathering, Aplington noted the Bloomington Police officers working crowd control "did a wonderful job of being respectful and sensitive."

NIOTBN Steering Committee member Mary Aplington,

Those interested in applying for the PSCRB should submit an application by Aug. 11. Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner will share the full list of applicants with aldermen, who will be asked to share their top three recommendations with him, Renner said. Two-thirds of aldermen must vote to approve Renner’s final seven picks.

Here’s how the board will be structured:

• Members shall serve for a three-year term; however, at the inception of the board, two members shall be appointed for a one-year term, two members for a two-year term, and three members for a three-year term, so that terms are staggered.
• The chair and a vice-chair of the board shall be selected amongst the members of the PSCRB.
• No person with a criminal felony conviction shall be eligible to serve on the PSCRB.
• No city employee may be appointed to the Board, nor shall any member be a current employee of, contracted by or have any official affiliation, whether current or former, with a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency.