New Bland Arrest Video
A new cellphone video taken by Sandra Bland has been released, showing the 28-year-old’s perspective of her arrest in 2015. The native Napervillian was arrested during a traffic stop in Waller County, Texas, and died three days later in jail while in police custody. Though authorities ruled her death a suicide, questions remained about the nature of her arrest and the circumstances surrounding her death. Bland’s family, who sued the Texas Department of Public Safety, reached a $1.9 million settlement, but never saw her video of the arrest. Now they’re claiming public safety withheld the video and argue the police officer that was indicted and fired, should face criminal charges. Public safety denies those claims and says the cellphone video was included in the evidence during the discovery process.
Affordable Housing Discussion
Affordable housing was the topic at last night’s “Community Conversation” hosted by Naperville City Councilman John Krummen and DuPage County board member Dawn DeSart. Several expert panelists from organizations like Habitat for Humanity and DuPage Housing Alliance spoke on the subject and answered questions from the audience. The discussion came shortly after Naperville’s Housing Advisory Commission recommended at least 20% of homes in the 5th Avenue Redevelopment project meet the “affordable” standard. Only 7.5% of Naperville homes are affordable, below the 10% Illinois-mandated requirement.
Oaths Taken at D203
It was a night of hellos and goodbyes, as the District 203 board bid farewell to longtime board member Terry Fielden. After serving 12 years on the board, Fielden decided to not run for reelection this spring. Taking his place is newly elected Joe Kozminski, a professor at Lewis University. Kozminski took his oath to the board, alongside reelected members Janet Yang Rohr and Kristine Gericke.
