Police NAACP resolution signed at KCC

Signing Ceremony

Members of 11 law enforcement agencies in Kankakee County signed a shared principles declaration alongside NAACP representatives on Thursday, Feb. 20 at Kankakee Community College.

Kankakee County is the second county in Illinois to have all police departments adopt these principles, according to Ed Wojcicki, Executive Director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.

Speakers at the event included KCC President Dr. Michael Boyd, Kankakee County NAACP Branch President Theodis Pace, Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Director Ed Wojcicki, Manteno Police Chief Alan Swinford, and Bradley Police Deputy Chief Craig Anderson.

In part, the declaration says police agencies and the NAACP have “a mutual passion for defending and protecting the civil rights of all citizens and in keeping our communities and citizens safe.”

The resolution includes 10 principles regarding the relationship between law enforcement and the communities and people they serve.

Above the signatures, the resolution concluded with:

“We vow by mutual affirmation to work together and stand together in our communities and at the state level to implement these values and principles, and to replace mistrust with mutual trust wherever, whenever, and however we can, and

“Therefore, be it further resolved, that we work collaboratively to publicize widely the adoption of this resolution throughout the state of Illinois.”

The signers were: Don Barber, Bradley police chief; Brian Brucato, Momence police chief; Rich Soderquist KCC police chief; Michael Downey, Kankakee County sheriff; Carl Frey, Grant Park police chief; Theodis Pace, president of the NAACP Kankakee County Branch; Frank J. Kosman, Kankakee police chief; Todd Navratil, Aroma Park police chief; Jim Phelps, Bourbonnais police chief; Chad Scanlon Herscher police chief; David Skelly, St. Anne police chief; and Swinford.

A number of students from KCC’s criminal justice program also attended the event.

Read this report in the Daily Journal.

The Call

Did you know that the “Call to establish the NAACP” was issued after a race riot in Springfield, Illinois in 1908? Please watch this brief video to learn more.

Racial Taboo Townhall Meeting October 27th

The Kankakee County Branch NAACP will be co-sponsoring a townhall meeting on race, featuring the film Racial Taboo, at the Kankakee Public Library auditorium on Tuesday October 27th, 2015 from 6 to 8 PM. The meeting will be an opportunity to learn more about the relationships in our society between people of various races, to discuss the topic in small groups, and to perhaps begin to establish your own friendships across racial lines.

Here’s a trailer for the film.

The event is free and open to the public. Come join us for an opportunity to learn and grow as a community.