Chicago Torture Justice Memorial Proposal
ENGLEWOOD
Still Here was an exhibit showcasing six design proposals submitted by commissioned artists to become the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial. The public memorial is intended to bring awareness to the torture of more than 120 black men and women by the Chicago Police Department between the years of 1972 and 1991 under commander Jon Burge.
The memorial is one component of the historic Reparations Ordinance passed by the City of Chicago in May 2015, and will honor the decades-long struggle for justice in the communities targeted by Burge and his midnight crew.
Civic Projects, as one of the six teams invited to submit, put forward a proposal titled Stolen Time, with consulting artist Nelly Agassi. The proposal is made up of 120+ unique elements, one for each identified survivor, with an understanding that more may be added. The length of each elevated section corresponds to the amount of time each individual was in prison. Significant moments missed during incarceration; such as a birth, a death, or a family celebration; are represented by notches indicating the “stolen time.”
