Aldermen, residents urge Springfield police to attend town hall after activist’s exclusion

At a Tuesday meeting of a Springfield City Council committee, aldermen and community leaders pressed Springfield Police Department leadership to attend a community town hall about police misconduct and to stop excluding a local activist from meetings.

Community organizers with Faith Coalition for the Common Good invited the department to a town hall scheduled for Sept. 29, 2025, at the Lincoln Library Carnegie Room; the coalition said SPD leadership has declined to attend because Tiara Standage, a community leader and executive director of Intricate Minds, is part of the panel. Kawani Barney, a Faith Coalition community organizer, told the committee the panel would include a police-union representative and asked the chief to participate.

The matter drew sustained discussion because the coalition and multiple aldermen said the department’s absence undermines accountability and public trust. At the committee meeting, Tiara Standage…