Editor’s Note: This is a statement provided to us from the coordinating committee for the Build Programs, Not Jails organization in response to the ongoing discussion surrounding Champaign-County’s newly-proposed Racial Justice Task Force.
County Board Chairperson Pattsi Petrie has accused those of us who mobilized for a Racial Justice Task Force of organizing a boycott of applications. This is in response to the fact that by December 8, just two days before the closing date for applications, only ten people had applied for the 21 person task force. Her accusations are totally false. To the contrary, we have done considerable work in publicizing the applications and have approached dozens of people individually. The problem is not a “boycott.” The problem is that those who want to see racial justice in this county do not think the present structure of the Racial Justice Task Force will deliver the goods. A large number of those who we have approached have simply said they do not think the Task Force is viable in its present form.
The main focus of the racial justice task force from its origins in the 2013 report of the Community Justice Task Force was supposed to be criminal justice. The purpose of the task force was to develop recommendations to reduce the disproportionate number of Black people in our county jail population. The resolution passed by the county board on October 29th has a similar focus, stating that “the Champaign County Board seeks to take positive steps to address the issue of racial disparity in the jail population and in the criminal justice system more broadly.”
Yet, board chairperson Pattsi Petrie has spearheaded a restructuring of the task force into an unwieldy 21 person structure with three sub-committees- Justice System & Mental Health; Economically Integrated Housing; Employment & Apprenticeships. There is not even one sub-committee totally dedicated to criminal justice, an area where the county board has political power and controls the budgets for the Sheriff, the jail, the state’s attorney and the judiciary. It is through inequities in the criminal justice system that Black people land in the jail in disproportionate numbers. In fact, the Sheriff’s Office and the Mental Health Board are already collaborating on planning to address issues of people with mental health problems who are inappropriately taken to jail. The inclusion of housing and employment makes no sense for this initiative, since the county board has no authority or budget that deals with housing or job creation. It is these enormous flaws in the proposed structure of this body that have led many of those we have approached to decide not to apply, not the mythical “boycott.”
We repeat our call to the County Board to take decisive moves to ensure the Racial Justice Task Force follows the key recommendations presented to the board by a cohort of community groups on November 10:
- Black people should comprise at least 50% of the task force members
- focus on the racial disparity in the criminal justice system in the county.
- not include any members of law enforcement or the judiciary
- not be comprised of more than 13 members
- include at least one person of color who has been previously incarcerated
Otherwise, the board runs the risk of creating a task force that is seen as totally illegitimate by the people whom it is intended to benefit. Given the importance of racial justice in our county, state and country at this moment, we don’t think this is a risk Champaign County should take.
Co-ordinating Committee
Build Programs, Not Jails
December 15, 2015
Smile Politely Editorial staff has reached out and is awaiting comment from Petrie at this time.
