By HOI ABC
BLOOMINGTON – With protests continuing throughout the country following the death of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal announced its call for sweeping changes to local police and government agencies to end systemic racism.
In a statement released Friday, BLM Bloomington-Normal said they have been encouraged by the amount of people who have come out in support of BLM in the last few weeks.
However, the group stated, “Dismantling systemic racism isn’t something that can be done in a matter of days, but requires sustained and continued work.”
Some of the demands the organization calls for is the end of increasing police budgets by the Bloomington City Council, Normal Town Council and the McLean County Board, as well as decreasing the overall policing budgets by 50% by 2023.
The organization also calls for the end of the cash bail system and for the McLean County Board “to stop profiting off the McLean County Jail.”
Other calls to action include having the county clerk expand access to voting with more early voting, vote-by-mail, and voter education options.
Bloomington-Normal area schools were also called out in the list of demands to end contracts with local police departments and eliminate police officers from school. Schools are also called to require a black history class.
The full statement can be found below.
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