COPA had a great time engaging the residents of Chicago in the community during the week of 09.28.26. This week our Public Affairs team was in the Belmont Cragin, New City, and Near West Side communities.
Our office is committed to helping residents understand how to file a complaint or compliment an officer and explain to the public our role in police oversight. Below is a brief description of our most recent community engagement efforts. If you are interested in COPA speaking to your community group or organization, please submit a request via email to COPA-PublicAffairs@chicagocopa.org
Fall Citywide Career Fair – September 30, 2026
COPA co-sponsored a Citywide Career Fair with several other City of Chicago Agencies and Community Partners at Kennedy King College in the Englewood community. The career fair drew in over 500 community members where over 50 employers were sharing their career opportunities. Several workforce development and community organizations with resources were also onsite to support job seekers with employment support services. COPA Chief Administrator LaKenya White, alongside Mayor Brandon Johnson, and City Clerk Anna Valencia joined us to engage employers and participants. COPA was not only an organizer of the career fair, but we also set up a resource table to provide information on our agency and our role in police accountability.
Language Access Summit – October 2, 2026
COPA attended Cook County Commissioner Josina Morita annual Language Access Summit at One Rotary Center. The language access summit brings together various partners from private business, community, nonprofit, and government sectors that are doing the work for language access. The summit included several workshops around language access strategy, best practices, tech demonstrations, and discussions on the various challenges being faced. The summit included Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Evanston Mayor Daniel Bliss, Alderman Andre Vasquez, and Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon.
AKArama Foundation Annual Block Party – October 3, 2026
COPA had a great time at the AKArama Foundation Annual Block Party in the Woodlawn community. The block party included performances, activities, giveaways, food, and community organizations giving our information about local resources. COPA was able to set up a resource table and give out information about the role that we play in police oversight.
