After five years of pushing from activists and communities of color the community commission has finally passed the City Council. Its passing has been hailed by many on the left as the transformative reform that Chicago has been waiting for many years. The commission is now at least the 6th transformative police accountability reform that has come to Chicago since 1960 when the Chicago Police Board was created to allow O. W. Wilson to run the Chicago Police Department.

Despite campaigning on passing the commission in her first hundred days in office it has actually taken Mayor Lightfoot almost 800 days to to pass this legislation. The version that was passed by the City Council is as weak a version as there could possibly be because that is the version the Mayor wanted passed. Despite endorsing a version where the commission would have significant powers the Mayor worked hard to retain as much power within her office as she possibly could. Very Chicago of her.

It needs to be understood that while this version still maintains some very limited potential to make an impact there is no evidence to suggest that anything in the way of transformative change is coming to Chicago visa vie the commission. This is despite many on the left hailing the passage of this legislation. Many on the left that are championing this ordinance lack the experience in police accountability to have a basis to judge its potential. The way you know there is very little potential for transformative change is that the Mayor allowed it to pass. That is the surest way to know that the commission has at best very little potential to deliver the reform communities want.

Also on our show today:

Alderperson Napolitano's useless ordinanceSupt. Brown brings back the corrupt merit promotionsCPD's new gun team shows how broken the department really is

Images from today's show