Cook County commissioners Brandon Johnson and Kevin Morrison hailed the July 30 passage of the Justice for Black Lives Resolution by a near-unanimous vote of 15 to one (with one voting present).
The resolution directs Cook County to shift resources away from mass incarceration and state-sponsored violence into public services that promote the health, welfare and prosperity of people of color in the second largest county in the nation.
"We have the opportunity to chart a new path. Today, Cook County has taken a stand that says Black lives truly matter," Johnson said in a statement. "Now it's time for the work to begin. It's time to put our money where our mouth is and reshape county government in a way that ensures Black lives not only matter, but are protected, supported and have the resources to thrive."
In a statement to Windy City Times, Morrison said, ""I'm proud to support this resolution that lays out a framework to move forward on truly investing in all communities in Cook County.
"This is going to be a difficult budget coming up—no doubt—but we cannot shirk our responsibility to take up this fight for racial justice because it is a difficult budget. If anything, it's even more important we do this now since we know that the pandemic that has decimated our upcoming budget has also decimated lives with Black and Latinx families bearing a greater burden than their white counterparts exposing what we've already known that systemic racism is built into so many of our institutions including healthcare.
"We have to start this work now—this year—because Black lives are still being lost at the hands of police. Black Trans lives are being lost at epidemic level rates. It is time that we don't just say Black Lives Matter but we show that Black Lives Matter."
Recently, the Cook County Board passed a resolution out of the Criminal Justice Committee by a vote of 16 to one that moves to defund the Cook County sheriff's office, SuburbanChicagoland.com noted. The lone dissenter was Commissioner Sean Morrison (who is no relation to Kevin Morrison).
