The city of Chicago has created an advisory group to make suggestions on policy regarding the disproportionate violence against trans people, specifically trans women of color.
The group — to be formed by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and Chicago Police Department by Feb. 28 — is being created to review the city’s policies, procedures and training related to hate crimes and violence against trans women of color. Mayor Brandon Johnson created the group through executive order Tuesday.
The panel will also try to find ways to make it easier for chosen family, or loved ones who are not related by blood but effectively serve as one’s family members, to be able to get involved in investigative, legal and support processes when trans Chicagoans are killed.
“As transgender women continue to experience violence in our city at disproportionate rates, my administration is committed to uplifting our trans community and ensuring their safety,” Johnson said in a statement Tuesday. “The solutions we develop will come from collaboration with community advocates and leaders who deeply understand the need to grow a city where every resident can live authentically and safely.”
The group would be composed of representatives of Johnson’s office, the Police Department, the city’s commission on Human Relations, the Department of Family and Support Services and the Department of Public Health. They are directed to seek out the advice of people in the transgender community, specifically representatives of minority groups, as well as coordinating work with county and state officials.
In the first six months the group is required to hold at least three community meetings — one each on the North, South and West sides — to hear feedback from the trans community. It’s also slated to create a report for the committee on Health and Human Relations with recommendations for policy changes to prevent the killing of trans women as well as data explanations for city residents on the subject.
At the one-year mark, the group will review how its recommendations are being implemented across city departments.
Under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the city was given grim reviews on its protections for trans people, and Johnson on Tuesday said the city was one of the deadliest for Black trans women.
Federal data from 2022 shows transgender people are more than twice as likely as cisgender people to be the targets of violent crime, and nearly two-thirds of all trans people killed by gunfire are Black trans women even though they make up 13% of the trans population.
Most law enforcement agencies don’t track transgender homicides; researchers have recorded more than 300 transgender people killed nationwide between 2010 and 2021. The national clearance rate was more than 50%, but police in Chicago cleared only 14%, the Sun-Times found.
At least 14 trans and gender-nonconforming people have been killed in Chicago since 2016, according to a Sun-Times report. They were all Black or Latinx; were all killed in neighborhoods on the South and West sides; and in all but one case, the victims were trans women. Charges were filed in just four of the slayings.
“This is a big step forward to ensure our city government understands the unique challenges facing our transgender neighbors in Chicago,” said Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) in a statement. “This working group will inform our preventative measures and our field response to an emergent need in our community.”
Contributing: Sophie Sherry