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A Letter To the Government

 This is an Action Project for my core class Policy. During this term, we have been looking at policy and how and what it is. We looked at it in the constitution and also in the government today. We took a look at different policies in Chicago and how they would change the world in a good or bad way. We were also visited by a few FE guests who should us a deeper meaning behind policy and how it can help us in the end for this project. We were visited by Arne Duncan, Akio Katano, the CCHR, and Nick Anderson. Keeping in mind the things they taught us about, we were tasked with finding a policy in Chicago (preferably a new one), and then creating a letter addressed to someone who represents me and my city asking them to advocate for this policy. The policy I chose was about the Anjanette Young Ordinance. This led me to research more into this policy and why what the police did was so wrong. Not just because they broke into an innocent civilian's home, but because they did so against the constitution. Below is my letter and a power map explaining why cops can't and shouldn't get away with breaking into someone's home then leaving without explanation or punishment.


Taylor, Jeanette B. 

Alderman

5707 South Wentworth Avenue.

Imagine cops breaking into your home and terrifying you and your family while you repeatedly tell them they are in the wrong house. I am writing to you because the way cops are able to act as if they can get away with anything needs to change. This can change with the Anjanette Young Ordinance. Cops shouldn’t be able to get away with breaking into people’s homes. Anjanette Young was sitting in her house after a long day at work and decided to go take a shower. Two minutes later cops we smashing down her door with a hammer and rushing in ready to harm anyone who gets in their way. They enter with shotguns and rifles in hand all the while Anjanette Young is walking out of her bathroom naked and terrified. She repeatedly asks them why they are in her house and that they are in the wrong apartment. She sits terrified and naked for more than twenty minutes almost screaming at them naked and in handcuffs saying they are in the wrong house and they have the wrong person, but the cops don't listen. They are sure they are in the right house and look for more than 20 minutes ignoring the cries of Anjanette Young. Cops are able to do whatever they want in someone else's home and get off scott free with no punishment. Let's take a step back a few months to a man who lives close to me. While sitting in his house with his kids, he hears smashing on the front door. The cops burst into the house leaving the man and kids terrified. The cops were looking for a drug dealer and even though the man was also saying they have the wrong house, the cops still ignored. Eventually they left and didn't tell him anything and they didn't pay the two thousand dollars it cost to replace the door they broke. This left the man in a very tough situation. The cops went unpunished. Now that I have told both of these horrible stories, I want to talk about why cops shouldn't be able to go unpunished and how the Anjanette Young ordnance can help. The ordinance is addressing warrant reform because "They had information they thought was valid. And OK, I get that. But once they get on the other side of the door, it matters how they treat what they find," Young said. The warrant is meant to keep them from stepping over the line of how they treat you after they walk past the door. "So when they found me, with no clothes on, it meant this ordinance would at least hold them accountable for how they treat me in that moment," Young said during an interview with ABC 7. Cops do about 20,000 no-knock raids a year according to Vox.com. With this ordinance, it would help and probably save hundreds of lives in Chicago alone. The sixth amendment states that "the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial," in Young's case, she didn't get a trial. She was immediately put in handcuffs for something she didn't do. Some people would take the side that is opposite from me, the side saying this ordinance won't be effective against no-knock raids because force is "necessary." This is wrong because force makes people terrified which makes people less cooperative. This leads to more force and more fear. In conclusion, advocating for this ordinance is a effective in protecting people who are scared of getting their door smashed in by angry cops looking for someone who isn't in that house. 

Sincerely, CJH




After this action project, it left me thinking about if this ordinance should be implemented into every city. This project was a very interesting one, as it kept me thinking about how I can get my point across with using the constitution. It was difficult for me to create this letter because I wasn't sure how I could frame it in such a way that I can get my point across using pathos and ethos. Eventually I was able to overcome this difficulty by getting help from peers and my teacher. I think this is a great action project that I am proud of.

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