The Facts about DGAP Chicago Shadow Report

Chicago purports to be a world class city, one able to host an international Olympics.
However, racial discrimination continues to perpetuate disparities, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, housing, poverty, transportation, education and health. These disparities grossly deny people of color in Chicago the opportunity to enjoy the full range of human rights promised by the UDHR and protected by the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Racial Discrimination.

The city of Chicago has obligations to fulfill the human rights of its residents, as well as to protect its people from the human rights abuses created by others. Article 2 of the Convention calls upon State Parties to review national and local policies (Such as those set forth by the city of Chicago) that have the effect of creating or perpetuating racial discrimination. It also requires State Parties to end racial discrimination.

We, a coalition of Chicago organizations, are advocating for international pressure on the systematic and institutional racist practices of the City of Chicago. In a city that is wrought with corruption (over the last three decades, at least 79 elected officials in Illinois, many from Chicago, have been convicted of crimes, including 27 Chicago aldermen) it is unacceptable that powerful people are using the political system to enrich themselves at the expense of residents receiving adequate housing, being safe from crime and police brutality, and enjoying the full spectrum of human rights that we all deserve. We ask for an international spotlight, one that can shine a light toward the path where human rights are fulfilled and people of color in Chicago can live lives with dignity and respect.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE VIOLATIONS IN CHICAGO
“Every day our officers do a good job protecting the people of Chicago, and we will give them even more support.” ~ Mayor Richard M. Daley, Inaugural speech May 2003

Patterns of excessive abuse and torture by police against racial minorities persist throughout the city of Chicago. In response, the city of Chicago resists the trust, denies reparations and continues to fail in protecting all Chicagoans by allowing these police officers to reign free from criminal investigation.

Between 2001 and 2005 the city paid nearly $100 million to settle 864 civil lawsuits that alleged abuses such as excessive force, false arrest and improper searches by Chicago police officers. Most abuses are committed by a small percentage of officers, many of them members of gang tactical outfits, such as the Special Operation Unit, which works in low-income African-American and Latino neighborhoods.

Despite solid evidence of rampant police torture and abuse, none of the parties involved has been prosecuted or punished. Impunity is allowed to prevail as the Chicago Police Department, Cook County State’s Attorney, and the United States Attorney’s office have failed to pursue legal accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations.

The lack of transparency from the Chicago police department exacerbates racial disparities by leaving vulnerable communities with fewer options of recourse for addressing these issues. Between 1972 and 1991, police commander Jon Burge tortured approximately 135 African-American men and women in the Area 2 police facility on Chicago’s South Side. A four-year investigation by city-appointed special prosecutors, released in 2006 and costing $7 million to Chicago taxpayers, acknowledged that torture had occurred but made no indictments.

State death row inmate demographics by race are grossly inverted in relationship to population demographics. Of the inmates sent to Illinois’ death row from Cook County (which comprises 90% of the state’s active death penalty cases), 60% are African American, 20% are Hispanic and 20% are White. This is in contrast to the population of Cook County, where 26% are African American, 23% are Hispanic, and 45% are White.

HOUSING VIOLATIONS IN CHICAGO
“I truly believe that every American deserves a safe, affordable home; a home that is a long-term commitment, where their children can study, play and grow up.” ~Mayor Richard M. Daley, US Conference of Mayors February 4, 2002

For people of color living in poverty, Chicago’s housing market is becoming more inaccessible each day. Public housing is being eradicated, project-based Section 8 contracts in buildings that house thousands of people are set to expire, homelessness is on the rise, condominium conversions have saturated the market, and private, low-income and affordable housing options have virtually disappeared.

Under its Plan for Transformation, the Chicago Housing Authority has sought to demolish the existing stock of affordable housing in favor of mixed-income development. 19,000 units of public housing have already been demolished without significant redevelopment. The destruction of Chicago public housing is an issue of racial injustice given that approximately 90% of public housing residents are African American and 5.4% are Latino/a.

The Chicago residents suffering most from an increasing lack of affordable housing are those without any housing at all. Over 90% of the homeless population is people of color (80% African American, 9% Latino, 1% Native American, and 1% Asian.) Last year, the Chicago Public Schools counted 10,516 homeless students, a 17 percent increase over the previous year. In a public school system where over 90% of the students are members of racial minorities, this is a racially significant figure.

To add further injury, Chicago’s 10-year Plan to End Homelessness (launched in 2003), has a disproportionate impact on people of color, as it only counts people currently in the shelter system, ignoring increasing numbers of people living in precarious situations, such as those created by the destruction of affordable public housing. Rather than increasing resources to the shelter system in anticipation of the potentially increased numbers of individuals entering this system, Chicago’s homelessness plan includes efforts to decrease resources, for instance by reducing the number of available shelter beds by 32%.

POVERTY IN CHICAGO
Disproportionate percentages of racial minorities compared to white non-Hispanics are living in poverty and extreme poverty. Approximately one fifth of Chicago’s population – 571,313 people (21.2%) – is living in poverty. While white non-Hispanics comprise 9.7% of this figure, African Americans comprise 32.0%, Hispanics 21.6%, and Asians 14.8%. Poverty is currently defined as a family of four with an income of $20,000 a year or less.

Extreme poverty is designated as 50% or less of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), which is currently an income of approximately $10,000 or less per year for a family of four. While slightly over one in five African Americans live in extreme poverty, only one in fifty-five White non-Hispanics in Illinois are living in extreme poverty.

The poverty rates for children, seniors and the disabled of racial minority groups are equally disparate. Almost one third of Chicago’s children (31.4%) live in poverty. African-American children comprise 45.6%, Hispanics 29.1%, and Asians 16.7% of the child poverty rate, while white non-Hispanic children comprise 7.3%. In Illinois 20.1% of African-American and 17.3% of Hispanic seniors live in poverty, compared to the 6.8% of white non-Hispanic seniors. Illinois poverty rate for people with disabilities varies depending on race. African Americans with disabilities experience poverty at a rate of 41.9% and Hispanics 30.7%, compared to 13.7% of white non-Hispanics.

Currently Illinois provides insufficient public assistance – including cash assistance, food stamps and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – for minority families and for the disabled, which not only makes it impossible for families to pull themselves out of poverty, but also contributes to already-existing racial disparities.

###

For more information or to receive a copy of the full version of the Chicago Shadow Report contact us at: dgapchicago@gmail.com, or 312-663-0960