With a unanimous 12-0 decision, the Aurora City Council made history last week with an unprecedented vote to create the area’s first-ever Civilian Review Board, a resident-based body to address police misconduct complaints.
“We have made significant advances in our police reform efforts in a short amount of time,” said Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irvin. “One of the primary requests from the community was a Civilian Review Board, and we made it a priority to benchmark best practices and established a board unique to the Aurora community.”
The creation of the Aurora Civilian Review Board (CRB) is one of the key components of the City’s CHANGE Reform Initiative launched by Mayor Irvin in response to the civil unrest caused by the murder of George Floyd last spring. Another primary component - the implementation of body cameras for the Aurora Police Department -was approved by the City Council last month and is currently in progress.
Serving as an intermediary between the community and police department, the Civilian Review Board will accept misconduct complaints, review cases, and offer disciplinary recommendations to the Chief of Police, who makes the final decision on disciplinary action.
The nine members of the CRB are appointed by the mayor, with advice and consent from the Aurora City Council. The City is now seeking the inaugural CRB members.
The online membership application will be open for a three-week period beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, December 1 through 12 p.m. on Tuesday, December 22.
Interested applicants can review qualifications and apply at www.aurora-il.org/CRB.
A public list of applicants will be published at the Aurora City Council meeting on December 8 and December 22. Finalists will be announced on January 5, prior to the interview period of January 6 through January 13.
The mayor’s final recommendations for the inaugural members will be presented to the Rules, Administration and Procedures Committee on January 19.
Learn more about the City’s CHANGE Reform Initiative at www.aurora-il.org/CHANGE.