What are District Councils?
District Councilors are civilian elected officials who give Chicago residents a direct voice in decisions about policing, public safety, and police accountability. Elected in each of the city’s 22 police districts, they serve as a grassroots connection between their communities and Chicago’s broader police accountability system.
Every month, District Councilors hold public meetings where residents can raise local concerns, share their experiences, and work together to identify solutions to local public safety challenges. They can also connect community members directly to resources that reduce harm.
As elected community organizers, District Councilors can ensure that the experiences and perspectives of our most impacted neighbors have a meaningful place in the decisions that shape public safety.
District Councilors also play an important role in Chicago’s city-wide police accountability system by nominating members to the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA).
The CCPSA is an independent, seven-member civilian body responsible for overseeing the Chicago Police Department, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), and the Police Board. It has broad authority to shape police policy, set goals for CPD leadership, review the police budget, and advance community-based and non-policing approaches to public safety.
District Councilors help shape who serves on this powerful oversight body by nominating candidates for the Commission, with the Mayor selecting from the pool of those nominated and the City Council confirming the Mayor’s selections.
This gives District Councilors a meaningful role in determining who represents Chicago’s communities at the highest levels of police oversight
Through these critical responsibilities, District Councilors help ensure that public safety policy is informed not just by institutions and elected leaders, but by the people who experience the consequences of those policies every day.