We are 5 weeks into our petition campaign, and we know that the updates have been sparse.  But we have been busy, and here's what we have to report:

Initially, we had decided not to release the completed proposal to the public, primarily in order to respect the anonymity of the student interns and youth patrons who graciously collaborated with us on this document. However, in appealing to the community for support on this issue, we realize that presenting the document to the public would contribute to a culture of transparency that we seek.  That proposal, sent to Dr. Claudia Mosier, Dir. of Youth Programs on May 25th, is available here.  The names of Center on Halsted interns and youth have been redacted from this document.

It bears mentioning that this proposal is broader in scope, and less comprehensive than we would have preferred, for several reasons:

1) The introductory and academic nature of the proposal, and the detailed overview of the history of the Center's programmatic history, were heavily suggested by Youth Program staff.  

2) Due to limited response, involvement and data from Operations Staff (the department that manages security and oversees grievances) in the development of the proposal, the authors had a vague sense of staff capacity and specific security concerns (this is was a huge catalyst in choosing to launch the petition).

3) There was limited ability to receive feedback from youth intake patrons at the Center, given that the Youth Leadership Council programming was put on hiatus for the summer.

While we have been in dialogue with Dr. Mosier, and her Associate Director Tim'm West through emails and phone calls throughout June, we are disappointed that there has been no critical feedback or mobilization around the proposal itself, nor the recommendations made in it, and no timeline drafted outlining its implementation.  Despite several requests, it has not even been confirmed that CEO Modesto Valle, or other Departmental leadership (Julie Walther, Dir. or Programming and Jim Klein, Chief Operating Officer), have viewed the proposal or presented any feedback, which was the objective of completing the proposal in the first place.

As we have stated previously, this is not a campaign out to punish or lay blame, but to inform and inspire action. We acknowledge that Dr. Mosier and Mr. West have their hands full in their new positions; we don't expect, or have demands, that they do this work alone.  RJ is a participatory process that needs to be unanimously supported by all departments, social service agents, patrons and donors of the CoH community.  

We will continue to call upon the Center on Halsted to follow through on its public declarations of allegiance to Restorative Justice.  We are appreciative of all the continued support and allies as we continue this journey,

Love and Solidarity,

Jason Tompkins

C.O.U.R.S.E. Campaign Organizer