Alees Edwards

11TH District Police Council

My Mission

To ensure the community’s safety is at the center of all strategies and actions of the Chicago Police Department (CPD). CPD is a large corporation with an enormous amount of power. Without accountability, that power can be used to harm the very community it was sworn to protect. My top priority is to establish processes that would make it almost impossible for officers to abuse their power and participate in historical behavior like police brutality, police cover-ups, retaliatory behavior, and emotional distress towards the community.

With the help of the community, we can create the blueprint of how to make our communities safe again.

  • Police Accountablilty
    The police are held accountable for how they show up in our communities (physically and mentally)
    • Upholding the use of force policy
    • Policing strategies endorsed by the community
    • Void of abusive behavior that inflicts trauma within the communities - gaslighting, bullying, intimidation, harassment, humiliation, ridicule, character assassination.
    Community Grievances
    The community's grievances are heard without retaliation from CPD
    • Peace circles and other mediation processes are activated to regain the trust of the community
    Consent Decree
    The Consent Decree is held as one of the highest principal of policing
    • A consent decree requiring effective, lasting reforms is the first step to begin to build trust between Chicago’s residents and police

Alees Edwards

11th District Police Council
Alees Edwards is a faith-based community organizer and block club president that has given herself to the Black & Brown community in both her personal time and in her professional career. Alees has served 4 years as the chair for Black Affairs of UNITE (United Airlines business resource group) where she was the overseer of a subcommittee focused on making the Black experience the best experience in Corporate America. She has served 4+ years as the Block Club President on the Westside of Chicago where she continues to lead the Black & Brown community with innovative tactics on being a positive impact to the community by elevating the community voices to the decision makers of the city. She is part of the core leadership team for the 1865 Fest Coalition for the past 2 years bringing awareness to Juneteenth and creating spaces for our communities to celebrate our successes. Alees currently serves as one of the co-chairs for the Mayor’s African American Engagement Council where they are focused on investing in their communities and in the future of their youth. Alees is the Founder and Executive Director of Drawn Out Ministries, a non-profit transitional home for women coming out of prison, where the vision is to help this population get acclimated upon reentry and unlimited support in being a productive part of society. Alees has been a valuable member of Westside Rising, Chicagoland United in Prayer (CUIP), and the Westside Community Leadership Fellows (CLF). She is also a member of the Westside Stakeholder’s subcommittee, Gap Builders, where she has helped organized community conversations with the Westside residents and Superintendent David Brown.

What is a district council?

District Councils are directly-elected bodies within each police district with power over local public safety concerns and input in the city-wide Community Commission on Public Safety and Accountability.
There will be 22 councils for each police district, with three elected councilors serving on each, making a total of 66 positions.
District Councils will be elected in the February 2023 elections.

 District Council Powers - Nominate members of the Community Commission on Public Safety and Accountability - Hold monthly public meetings to gather community input about policing in their district - Develop and implement community policing initiatives - Work to develop and expand restorative justice programs in their district - Attend quarterly meetings of district councils across Chicago - Report its findings to the Community Commission on Public Safety and Accountability
 Qualifications to serve on District Councils - Must satisfy qualifications for elected office under the Illinois Municipal Code - Must have resided in their police district for 365 days on the day of the election - Must not be a member of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability - Must gather signatures for a petition of 0.5% of the total number of registered voters in their district - Must gather signatures for a petition of 0.5% of the total number of registered voters in their district

Support

Get involved! Together we can make a real difference.

Alees11policedistrictcouncil@gmail.com