Five years after George Floyd: What’s changed in Chicago — and what hasn’t
Five years after George Floyd: What’s changed in Chicago — and what hasn’t
Five years after George Floyd’s murder, Chicago has seen new laws, reformed policing, and reopened mental health clinics—but the trauma still lingers. Terrence Lee looks at what’s truly changed, what hasn’t, and how people are still pushing forward.
CHICAGO - In the five years since George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, Chicago has seen significant policy shifts — but the trauma and unanswered questions still run deep.
What we know:
The Chicago Police Department rewrote its rules on the use of force and restraint. The Department of Justice is suing the city over alleged discriminatory hiring practices. Some mental health clinics have reopened, and crisis intervention teams now respond to certain emergencies without police.
Despite these changes, many Chicagoans say the pain remains, and so do systemic issues.
"I remember that moment feeling different. It felt different. Derek Chauvin seemed to have this vacant look in his eyes as he slowly leaked life from George Floyd's body like a bike tire," said Illinois State Rep. Kam Buckner.
Floyd's murder jolted the world and forced a racial reckoning across Chicago. In the streets, in classrooms, in boardrooms, Buckner said that reckoning reached the Capitol.
"We passed here the most comprehensive criminal justice reform bill in the entire country. It redefined what the use of force standards were. It expanded the certification for officers who commit misconduct. It mandated body cams," Buckner said.
But some reforms came only after tragedy.
Last summer, Sonya Massey was fatally shot in her kitchen by a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy with a history of misconduct.
He had been fired from previous departments, once drove 110 mph in a chase, and ignored orders to stop — yet was hired anyway. Massey’s death spurred legislation to close hiring loopholes, a measure her family helped pass.
Even as Illinois presses forward, Buckner said the federal government is pulling back. The Trump administration recently announced plans to dismantle consent decrees — court-enforced agreements to reform police departments.
"It is predictable that they would move for a dismissal the very same week that George Floyd was murdered five years ago. Minneapolis is serious about our commitment to police reform, even if the president of the United States is not," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
"You don't get to just drape local control over unconstitutional conduct and call it justice. It's wrong, and we'll continue to fight it," said Buckner.
The movement extended beyond police reform. In 2020, companies pledged to invest in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. But Dr. Lauren Tucker, a business consultant, said those promises often became empty buzzwords.
"I had clients that didn't respond well. The employers didn't respond well and employees walked out," Tucker said.
That includes a DOJ investigation into hiring practices under Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
"As far as, you know, the president's animus towards women, people of color, working people, we have always known who he has been. This is not a surprise. He's a monster," Johnson said.
Mental health experts say the fallout is personal as well as political. Clinical psychologist Dr. Cynthia Langtiw said the trauma of Floyd’s murder still haunts Black communities.
"I never watched the videos. Still haven't. I will never watch. It's not for me. And I get why some people have, but I know that part of what I was doing was protecting myself by not watching. But I remember feeling ill, and I remember being a Black mother, being front and center. And then I remember thinking, what am I gonna tell my children?" Langtiw said.
Langtiw described a moment when her teenage son wanted to race her home after dinner.
"I had this moment of, you know, please don't hurt my boy when you see him running down the street, right? And then the conversation is, do I have that conversation with him? Do I keep it to myself? How much do I share? Do I tell him to look around and be careful, right, but not careful of other people, you now, him being scared of other people but other people being scared as him. And that's part of the racial trauma, the insidious nature of having to be vigilant," she said.
Despite a national reckoning, Pew Research found that nearly three-quarters of Americans believe the focus on race after Floyd’s death has not improved life for Black people.
Langtiw sees that disconnect every day.
"Most people said the murder of George Floyd was wrong. That was not okay. What we saw was an overreaction. I don't know that everybody thought it was racially motivated. I don't know that everybody thought that it called for a racial reckoning. And I think that we are seeing that divide right now," she said.
Still, many continue to push forward — for accountability, and for hope.
"Hopefully we don't have to continue to learn the names of folks who suffer the ultimate fate, folks like Sonya Massey… In order to make that change happen," Buckner said.
Langtiw finds hope in community resilience.
"Folks are going to line dance, and they're going to come together. And things are hard, but they're going to dress up nice, and they are going learn, and they going to laugh. And it's going to still be hard, but they are gonna find their way. We are going to find our way," she said.
What's next:
As the city reflects, many believe the future of justice in Chicago won’t be shaped in courtrooms or campaigns — but in everyday acts of truth, equity, and solidarity.
Because here, the question isn’t whether we remember. It’s whether we choose to build something better.