Redefining Policing Through Listening: NCDD Communications Director Ismael Cordová-Clough to Present at the 46th ILA Convention

​The City of Elgin, Illinois, turned crisis into opportunity by forming a Community Task Force on Policing, following the tragic 2018 police shooting of Decynthia Clements. Sparked further by national calls for racial justice, Elgin’s year-long initiative used structured dialogue and inclusive listening to bridge divides and craft meaningful police reform. Composed of diverse community voices and facilitated by experts, the Task Force produced actionable recommendations—from banning minor-violation stops to proposing a stronger Civilian Review Board. Their work demonstrates how authentic engagement and strategic inclusion can lead to visionary, community-driven change. Read more in the blog post below.

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When communities face deep divisions around policing and public safety, the path forward often feels uncertain. How do you bridge the gap between community concerns and institutional resistance? How do you move from conflict to collaboration? The City of Elgin, Illinois, offers a compelling answer through their Community Task Force on Policing—a year-long dialogue process that transformed community tensions into concrete policy recommendations through the power of structured listening and inclusive deliberation.

​We're thrilled to share that Ismael Cordová-Clough, our very own Director of Communications at NCDD and a graduate student at Northwestern University, has been selected to present this transformative story at the 46th Annual International Listening Association Convention this July. His presentation, "Dialogue as a Solution: Redefining Policing Through Listening – Elgin's Community Task Force on Policing," will illuminate how a citizen-led task force used listening as the vehicle for meaningful police reform.

This is more than a case study—it's a model of listening-based systems change that emerged from tragedy and community courage. The Task Force was established in September 2021 following the 2018 fatal police shooting of Decynthia Clements, a 34-year-old woman experiencing a mental health crisis on Interstate 90. The community's response to this tragic incident, amplified by the nationwide Black Lives Matter activism of 2020, catalyzed a commitment to transformative dialogue rather than division.

Elgin's journey toward justice through dialogue is reflected throughout the community, including in "The Promise of Elgin" mural that now graces downtown—a community-designed artwork that replaced a controversial mural and includes both Decynthia Clements and her son Tyri among the historical figures it honors. This visual representation of the community's commitment to truth-telling and healing parallels the work of the Task Force itself.
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The citizen-led Task Force, composed of residents, experts, and facilitators, undertook an honest examination of the Elgin Police Department's policies and practices, bringing police, residents, and marginalized voices into one transformative conversation.

Building Trust Through Intentional Inclusion

​Elgin's approach began with a recognition that meaningful change requires authentic representation. Faced with data showing Black residents were four to five times more likely to be stopped by police than white residents, the city could have responded with top-down reforms or defensive positioning. Instead, they chose dialogue.

The 18-member Task Force was carefully composed to reflect Elgin's demographics and include voices often marginalized in policy discussions. Members ranged from ages 24 to 76 and included individuals who had direct experiences with police encounters. This wasn't tokenism—it was strategic inclusion designed to ensure the dialogue addressed real community experiences rather than abstract policy discussions.

Working with professional facilitators from Kearns & West and the University of Illinois-Chicago's Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, the Task Force created spaces where difficult conversations could happen productively. They began with consensus-building processes and, when needed, adapted their approach while maintaining their commitment to inclusive participation. This flexibility demonstrated how dialogue processes can evolve while staying true to their democratic values.

From Listening to Lasting Change

The Task Force's recommendations showcase how authentic community dialogue can produce both visionary and practical solutions. Their proposals directly addressed systemic disparities while building stronger connections between police and community members. Key recommendations included banning minor traffic violations as the sole reason for stops, creating ongoing bi-annual dialogues focused on racial profiling, and establishing a robust Civilian Review Board with meaningful oversight authority.

Perhaps most significantly, the Task Force recommended transforming police culture through nonviolent conflict training, community engagement incentives, and recruitment practices that prioritize social work backgrounds and multilingual capabilities. These recommendations emerged not from academic research alone, but from community members sharing their lived experiences and working collaboratively to envision better alternatives.

The process also revealed the complexity of community perspectives. While there was strong support for accountability measures, opinions varied on specific approaches like officer residency requirements or staffing levels. Rather than avoiding these disagreements, the Task Force used them as opportunities for deeper understanding and more nuanced solutions.

Strengthening Democracy Through Dialogue

​Elgin's Community Task Force exemplifies the democratic potential that NCDD champions in communities nationwide. The process demonstrated how structured dialogue can transform contentious issues into opportunities for civic engagement and collaborative problem-solving. Community members didn't just voice complaints—they became co-creators of solutions, developing detailed policy recommendations backed by research and lived experience.

The Task Force's work also illustrates how dialogue and deliberation can address power imbalances while maintaining productive relationships. By creating structured spaces for community members to engage directly with police leadership, the process built understanding across differences without requiring anyone to abandon their core concerns or values. Police Chief Ana Lalley supported many recommendations while respectfully disagreeing with others, showing how dialogue can accommodate different perspectives while moving toward constructive outcomes.

The transparency of the process—with detailed documentation of community feedback, Task Force deliberations, and official responses—created accountability mechanisms that extended beyond the Task Force's formal timeline. This documentation serves as both a record of democratic participation and a resource for other communities seeking to undertake similar work.

Ismael's upcoming presentation offers valuable insights for NCDD's network of dialogue and deliberation practitioners. Participants will explore the listening sessions that tackled complex issues like racial profiling, police recruitment disparities, and equitable resource allocation. The Elgin model provides concrete evidence that listening-centered approaches can address systemic inequities while strengthening community capacity for ongoing civic engagement.
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This presentation offers practical tools and powerful takeaways for community leaders, policy advocates, educators, and anyone committed to justice through dialogue. As communities across the country grapple with questions of public safety, accountability, and trust, Elgin's story demonstrates that dialogue and deliberation aren't just feel-good processes—they're practical tools for building more just and responsive institutions.
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The Task Force completed its work in August 2022, but its impact continues to unfold as Elgin implements recommendations and other communities learn from their experience. For those committed to strengthening democracy through dialogue, Elgin's journey from tension to transformation offers both inspiration and practical guidance for the challenging but essential work of building understanding across difference and creating change through collaborative engagement.