After a tearful-turned-angry plea from Miracle Boyd, a City Council committee agreed Monday to pay the anti-police activist a $280,000 settlement her supporters called “reparations” for being roughed up by a police officer during a 2020 protest at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park.
Boyd had a front tooth knocked out by now former Chicago police officer Nicholas Jovanovich during the demonstration, at which some protesters threw frozen water bottles at officers attempting to protect the Columbus statue from other protesters attempting to tear it down.
The Columbus statue there and the one at Arrigo Park were targeted, vandalized and ultimately removed by then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
The activists view celebrating Columbus as an affront to indigenous peoples oppressed by the waves of European colonists who followed Columbus’ arrival in America. The Columbus statues have yet to be returned to their pedestals.
On Monday, the Council’s Finance Committee voted 22-7 to approve the settlement.
Before the vote, Boyd, now 23, used the two minutes she was given during the public comment period to make an emotional plea on her own behalf.
“Five years ago, I was 18 years old in the streets fighting for our rights. There’s no secret what happened that day. A racist police officer approached me, punched me, knocked my tooth out. … I remember it like it was yesterday because, for some reason, I can’t get over the harm that was caused to me,” Boyd said, her voice breaking.
“I deserve this. … This officer shouldn’t have done this. He used excessive force. He lied in his report about what I had on, how tall I was, what I was doing and even the fact that I had assaulted another police officer, which we know is not true because COPA has already found his report to be a complete lie. … This officer lied in his report about what took place. … He quit his job to escape accountability.”
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability found Nicholas Jovanovich had used excessive force. Boyd said she “asked for a peace circle” with Jovanovich, but the officer refused and “quit his job two years after the fact” to avoid being fired.
Then, she turned her anger on Ald. Nick Sposato (38th), who led the charge against the settlement.
“Every time someone got up and spoke about me, you put your head down and looked at the clock. You in that [Sun-Times] article called me a phony. But I’ve never got on this mike and addressed you specifically about anything that you voted for,” Boyd told Sposato.
“What facts have you provided about me being a phony?”
Sposato was not intimidated.
“There was mass chaos that day. The event was an attack on the Columbus statue. A group of professional anarchists were out there trying to tear down the Columbus statute,” Sposato said.
“Were these professional anarchists throwing fireworks at police officers and frozen bottles and bricks? … Were the anarchists asked repeatedly to stand back and get out of the way, yet they continued to wreak havoc?”
Deputy Corporation Counsel Caroline Fronczak acknowledged Sposato’s account of the actions of some protesters was correct.
“These people are gonna do nothing but wreak havoc. Fight with the police. Tear down the statue because they didn’t agree with the art that’s been up for 90 years,” Sposato said.
“We’d be a bunch of fools to support this money.”
Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) countered that $280,000 “ain’t enough to fix what was broken that day. … It’s a real sick system.”
Taylor compared Miracle Boyd to Rekia Boyd, a 22-year-old African American woman who was gunned down in March 2012 by Chicago Police Detective Dante Servin. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter and admitted firing the fatal shots, but a judge dismissed all charges in that case.
“The difference between Miracle and Rekia is, Miracle — we get to see her,” Taylor said.
Miracle Boyd is an organizer with GoodKids MadCity, a violence prevention group allied with Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union. The group served as a pivotal cog in the mayor’s political army.
GoodKids MadCity has been heavily involved in causes close to the mayor’s heart — preventing violence and training young people during the summer months. It’s also a leading advocate of the Peace Book ordinance, which calls for reducing the Chicago Police Department’s $2.1 billion budget and using $40 million in savings to bankroll programs led by young people in Chicago neighborhoods plagued by gang violence.
During the public comment period, Miracle Boyd’s supporters described the $280,000 settlement as “reparations” that Boyd could use to pay for her education and new baby.