Ahead of Chicago’s February elections, Chicago Style - an IOP student-run event committee - will be joined by Isaac Troncoso and Oswaldo Gomez to talk about the city’s Police District Councils.

Troncoso and Gomez are two interim commissioners on the newly-created Community Commission on Public Safety and Accountability. Established by an ordinance in July 2021, the commission oversees the Police Department and is part of a broader reform effort to build trust between community members and the police. At the district-level, the ordinance created three-member Police District Councils, which allow Chicagoans to have a say in policing. 66 civilians will be elected to these Police District Councils on February 28.

At our event, Troncoso and Gomez will speak about their experiences as interim commissioners, the reasons behind the creation of the Police District Councils and the Community Commission on Public Safety and Accountability, and their respective roles.

About our guest speakers:

• Oswaldo Gomez is a community organizer and master’s student at the Harris School of Public Policy. Together with the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability and Empowering Communities for Public Safety Coalition, he helped create the civilian-led police accountability board.
• Isaac Troncoso is a community advocate, an alumnus of UChicago, and a former member of Chicago Style. In the past, he has worked on political campaigns and with nonprofits. He currently works for a Chicago-based startup called CityBase which aims to provide people with equitable access to government services.