Five questions to shape campaign coverage in Rockford
The Editorial Board Rockford Register Star
Early this year, we told you that we would focus coverage of the 2020 elections on the issues that matter most to the lives of the people who live here.
The idea was to break free of the sound bite-, event- and poll-driven campaign stories that traditionally have been the staples of campaign reporting. Instead, we would ask residents of northern Illinois what they wanted to hear candidates discussing as they campaign for votes. The big drivers of news this year – the pandemic and racial unrest – hadn't emerged as national issues at the time.
Now, COVID-19 and the racial reckoning are dominating public conversation at the national, state and local levels, and we have shaped our coverage agenda to reflect fact. Working with the news team at WNIJ, the DeKalb-based public radio station that serves the Rockford region, and with a push from Next Rockford, we heard from dozens of people who responded to a publicly available survey or participated in virtual outreach sessions to share their thoughts about policing and the pandemic and its aftermath.
After sorting what people had to say, we came up with five major questions that summarize what voters want to hear candidates talking about this year. It's important to remember that questions are not statements of ideology or policy. They're designed to elicit proposed solutions.
The Big Five Questions:
How do you propose to incorporate mental health professionals into the way we police our communities?
A consistent theme was that we place too many expectations on police officers. They're expected to be social workers, parental figures or big brothers and sisters, and neighborhood organizers, among other things. Those aren't fair expectations for people trained to protect the public within constitutional parameters.
The challenges become particularly acute when officers respond to situations where mental illness is an underlying cause. "Our officers are expected to display and act as though they have been through 6 to 8 years of study regarding mental illnesses that confront them on a daily basis," one survey respondent wrote, adding, "Allow our officers to be officers." A number of respondents said explicitly that mental health professionals need to be involved in handling incidents of domestic violence or individuals experiencing a psychiatric crisis.
What do you propose to do to improve the cultural competence of law enforcement?
Many respondents commented on the widespread mistrust of law enforcement among Black residents. One respondent was especially blunt: "My experience is that Rockford law enforcement is not culturally sensitive and that there should be ongoing competency and diversity training." Others told of living with the knowledge that they were likely to be subjected to traffic stops because of their color of their skin – and of having to prepare their own children for the same.
"The Black 'community' is so vital to our overall health as a complete community," one person wrote. "I would ask, 'What is our enforcement community doing to educate themselves on language differences, on differences in 'Body Language,' as well as differences in responses to questions?"
One person suggested that closer contact between residents and officers might yield greater cultural sensitivity. "The attitude of the police department needs to change to a much more socially oriented organization focused on opening up dialogue with residents and deterring crime through a positive presence," this person said. "In my experience police in our region are currently focused on being as 'tough' as possible and controlling crime through fear.""
What is your plan to reform law enforcement to ensure that officers are held accountable for misconduct and to make police disciplinary records transparent to the public?
An additional theme was that the public ought to have a larger window into the processes used to hold police officers accountable for their conduct and that civilians ought to have more input into policy-making. As one respondent put, what's needed are "Major reforms that would increase transparency in policing and data, greater accountability to citizens in ways that do not overburden the system but provide meaningful ways to monitor department-level and officer-level actions. Also, offer residents ways to truly help shape the philosophies and priorities of departments."
Said another: "I am very unfamiliar with what accountability looks like in any of the local PDs including Rockford. I think the community would benefit from understanding how accountability works in the event there's an individual unworthy of this important profession."
How do you propose to safely reenergize the local economy amid the coronavirus pandemic?
Sympathy for the plight of small local businesses was universal, and there was considerable support for further public support for those that are struggling. Here's what one respondent said: "The most vulnerable businesses have been the local ones, small ones, restaurants and theatres. A proactive plan to help them manage a business amid a pandemic and in preparation for any other pandemic would be valuable."
Others advocated for an immediate loosening of measures designed to curb the pandemic. Here's one example: "Government should remove ALL restrictions on businesses. People who get evicted from their house and can't afford food don't have the luxury to care about the virus."
How do you propose to restore a shared sense of responsibility for the common good?
This question isn't amenable to evidence-based policy-making, yet it was a recurring theme among the people we heard from. They find evidence of poor citizenship in behaviors as diverse as refusal to wear a face mask and violent street protests. As one person put it: "People need to stop being selfish and wear a mask. It isn't 'your American right,' it is about humanity." There was also widespread frustration at the politicization of the science around COVID-19, though many respondents praised the response of local officials.
They support the aims of demonstrators demanding that law enforcement be held accountable for mistreatment of people of color – and they respect the tough job police officers have. As one person said: "It seems many people equate any criticism of any officer as not supporting police in general, which is not true. I value and appreciate our officers who do difficult and underappreciated work."
These are the Big Five Questions we'll be putting to the candidates. We'll let you know what they say.
Mark Baldwin is executive editor of the Rockford Register Star
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