04/16/2025

In the lead-up to our joint 10-year anniversary fundraiser on May 1, we will be sharing stories about key moments in our organizing history.

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In the summer of 2022, we were in a massive demobilization following Joe Biden’s election. The uprisings against the racist violence of the United States’ police, sparked by the murder of George Floyd, had so far resulted in precious little change to policing in America. Biden won the election while foregrounding his enthusiastic support for police and legacy media triumphantly declared that the Left had gone too far with its demands to Defund the Police. Spikes in violent crime during the pandemic emboldened demands to increase policing and then-mayor Lori Lightfoot had given much of Chicago’s CARES Act funding to the police. Nonetheless, abolition had planted its roots wide and deep on the Left and it was both morally and politically clear that abolition had to be a plank of our platforms. Despite the backlash, Chicago organizers had laid the groundwork for victories to come.

Treatment Not Trauma (TNT) was launched by 33rd Ward Alder Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez and the Collaborative for Community Wellness in 2020 as one way to give substance to the demands to Defund the Police. It had two major facets: to create a non-police mental health crisis response, and to reopen all of the mental health clinics that were closed by Daley and Emmanuel. Ideally, the funds to achieve these goals would come directly from CPD’s bloated budget.

Rossana introduced the legislation in September 2020. While that legislation did not pass, it served as the first formal introduction of TNT to city hall and the impact was resounding. The popularity of TNT forced Lori Lightfoot to make the first concessions to the campaign’s demands: in 2021 Chicago saw the pilot of the Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) teams. While debate persisted over whether the CARE teams would be entirely non-police as the coalition demanded, or a police “co-responder” model as favored by Lightfoot, the pilot was nonetheless an opportunity to prove the value of mental health crisis response.

In 2022, the campaign launched its offensive to both settle the CARE teams debate and reopen the mental health clinics in one move. Leaders of the TNT coalition called for non-binding ballot referenda to show public support for the campaign. The referendum language called for the City of Chicago to reopen all of its closed mental-health centers in support of a city-wide crisis response program. It also stated that mental-health professionals and an EMT should be dispatched for mental-health emergency calls – not police. A strong showing in favor of the referendum could put the nail in the coffin for Lori’s co-responder cop-out. Three wards answered the call: the 6th Ward, led by Southsiders Together Organizing for Power; the 20th Ward, led by Defund CPD and Asha Ransby-Sporn; and the 33rd Ward, led by 33rd Ward Working Families. 

Besides our belief in the righteousness of the referendum, our participation was strategic for two reasons. For one, it let us go back to the doors with a topic not focused on a candidate. After back to back electoral let downs - first from Bernie Sanders’ primary campaign, then from the failure of Democrats to make meaningful change - large parts of the Left were soured to electoral organizing. We soon saw that TNT could bridge this enthusiasm gap though, as we were joined by committed abolitionists from all across the north side who expressed a general aversion to electoral canvassing, but a belief in the value of the referendum. The referendum gave us the opportunity to demonstrate and emphasize the role of electoral and ballot campaigns as one of the grounds of struggle for political change. 

Additionally, the referendum led directly into the 2023 municipal election, giving us the opportunity to talk to our community about Rossana’s signature policy proposal. We knew that the outcome for TNT would set the tone for Rossana’s campaign that winter, so a strong showing was vital. (What we didn’t see coming was how much it would shape the municipal election all the way up to the mayoral race, and even a state senate primary a year later. Keep up with our blog to hear those stories). 

Before voters could weigh in, we needed 1,400 signatures to get it on the ballot. The petition operation was part door-knocking and part crowd canvassing operation. In a conventional campaign, much of the emphasis is on using data to target people who are either likely to vote for you, or people who lean in your direction and might be persuadable. But with the broad appeal of Treatment Not Trauma, the tight timeline for signatures, and the need for a decisive show of popularity, we needed to talk to everyone we possibly could, everywhere we could: at our office, at train stations, at block parties in the ward, and some of us even kept clipboards on us any time we went walking in the neighborhood.

It was summer, the weather was beautiful, and the energy was electric. Even in parts of the ward where we struggled in the 2019 election, canvassers reported overwhelmingly positive conversations. We pulled in over 2,000 signatures, easily exceeding our goal. Transitioning from signature gathering to the actual vote was a cinch. We had already talked to so many voters that we only needed to keep enthusiasm high and ensure our people voted. I recall one or two people who were so polarized against police reform that they refused to sign, but the vast majority understood the very basic core of the campaign: police have no place responding to a mental health crisis, and mental health crises are a matter of public health.

The results were unequivocal: 93% of voters in the 33rd Ward supported the non-police emergency response teams and re-opening the public mental health clinics. The other two wards won over 90% support as well. Even though only 3 wards participated, the message was heard so loud and clear that every serious mayoral candidate in 2023 claimed to support Treatment Not Trauma. The people had spoken.

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We hope you'll join us on Thursday, May 1, 6-10pm, at Rockwell On The River (3057 N Rockwell St) for our 10 Year Anniversary fundraiser with United Neighbors of the 35th Ward!

Tickets: https://bit.ly/peoplepower10