Carbondale Spring is a people’s movement focused on defunding the Carbondale, IL Police Department and transferring those funds to build the conditions for a livable future. Since February 2019, residents of Carbondale have been making the case for drastic police reductions redirecting those funds into four initiatives: Food Autonomy, Care Workers, a Renewable Energy Fund, and a Cooperative Business Fund.

We see these initiatives as basic necessities for shared life in the world that is taking shape around us. Yet despite many reasonable arguments and presentations for over a year, the City of Carbondale has continued to prioritize the overfunding of the Carbondale Police Department instead of meeting the direct needs and priorities of its residents. Carbondale Spring has not waited around idly. Instead, we have launched a series of demonstration projects to prove that our ideas can work on the ground and to start building the city we need, with or without the support of the city hall.