Millions of people across the globe are mourning the loss of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Dreasjon Reed, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, Rayshard Brooks, Pricilla Slater, Elijah McClain, and so many other Black lives taken at the hands of police. These are just some of the names of Black folks who lost their lives to generations old systems that encourage and protect police misconduct and MURDER. Policing and the prison industrial complex were strategically designed to target and oppress entire communities. Reform will not change this.

Overwhelmed by feelings of despair, anger, pain, anxiety, and disbelief, many folks, including UIC staff, students, faculty, and alumni, are participating in rallies, vigils, protests, and city-wide marches. While participating in these peaceful events, protesters have been physically abused by Chicago police. CPD has a 1.8 billion dollar budget and is one of the largest police departments in the U.S. There is extensive history of police abuse and violence in the Chicago Police Department (The Torture Letters) and a 2017 Justice Department report investigating CPD found that officers use force almost 10 times more with Black folks than with white folks.

With this, we, undergraduate and graduate students and student organizations at the University of Illinois at Chicago, come together to call for UIC to commit and invest in students and divest from the police (UIC Police, CPD, and private security agencies), CIA, and FBI, as well as research projects with direct ties to police, in order to bring real change. As one of the largest public institutions in the country serving a majority Black and Brown commuter student demographic, UIC has a moral obligation and responsibility to respond to the escalating anti-Black violence that has been unfolding in Chicago for years. As a public institution that defends Black lives, we call for UIC to IMMEDIATELY cut ties with CPD, CIA, and FBI.

We urge President Timothy L. Killeen, UIC Chancellor Michael D. Amiridis, the University of Illinois at Chicago Board of Trustees, UIC Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan Poser, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Robert Barish, and UIC Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs J. Rex Tolliver to acknowledge and address these concerns and demands of undergraduate and graduate students and organizations at the University of Illinois at Chicago; related to UIC and the University of Illinois System’s lack of effort and response in light of police violence.

UIC staff, alumni, students, faculty, family, and friends, sign this petition and share with your networks.
Black lives matter, today, tomorrow, and always.

Signed,

UIC Undergraduate, Graduate students, & student organizations