Four years after the idea was first floated and after months of intense negotiations, City Hall and community groups have reached consensus on how to craft Chicago’s first civilian police oversight board, city leaders announced Thursday.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a proposed ordinance that would create the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability.
“Since day one, Mayor Lightfoot has been clear that implementing civilian oversight over the Chicago Police Department is an essential component for building greater transparency, accountability and trust between our law enforcement and the residents they serve,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
The details around the new seven-member commission are sure to be met with some resistance in the coming weeks as the proposal heads to the City Council for a vote, with some elements of earlier drafts stripped away. And there remain other vocal activist groups who have supported greater control over the department than the new board would have as proposed.
But after decades of police abuse scandals and costly civil rights settlements that severely damaged relationships between the department and residents, the creation of the commission means residents will be able to weigh in on key matters, including by reviewing and approving policy and submitting the names of superintendent candidates to the mayor.
The proposal for the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability comes after hundreds of meetings between city officials and the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability, a consortium of neighborhood organizations.
“Following more than 200 meetings with community leaders and organizations from across Chicago, we are delivering on our campaign promise with an ordinance developed in partnership with GAPA leadership that establishes a civilian oversight body that is committed to making our neighborhoods safer by not only increasing accountability but also ensuring community members have a voice at every level,” Lightfoot said. “We look forward to working with the City Council to pass this legislation as soon as possible.”
Ald. Chris Taliaferro, who chairs the City Council public safety committee, released a statement saying the proposal would “strengthen this city.”
“Having an elected and community voice in policy, procedure and practices of our police department and Civilian Office of Police Accountability (will serve as a catalyst to increase trust between our city’s residents and the Chicago Police Department,” Taliaferro said.
In addition to the commission, the ordinance establishes three-member district councils in each of Chicago’s 22 police districts. The councils are responsible for nominating commission members, who will be selected by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council. Commission members will be selected based on their expertise in areas such as civil rights, social work, work with immigrant and undocumented communities, and law. Two of the seven commissioners will be between the ages of 18 to 24 and have experienced police misconduct.
Experts who testified at a City Council hearing in January said Chicago, despite having numerous discipline oversight boards, has always lacked a formal way to get ongoing and direct insight from residents. Such input, they argued, is what restores trust in policing and creates a way to effect systemic change.
“The missing element is the robust citizen input,” police accountability expert Samuel Walker said.
Earlier plans called for the board to have the ability to issue a no-confidence vote against a superintendent, which would then be delivered to the City Council and mayor for consideration. But that option was removed from the new proposal, which could lead to criticism from activists who want greater authority to potentially sanction a superintendent.
Citizen oversight was first proposed by the Police Accountability Task Force that Lightfoot chaired for former Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the wake of the Laquan McDonald shooting scandal.
As the city reeled from the release of disturbing footage of a white officer shooting McDonald 16 times as the teen, armed with a pocket knife, appeared to walk away, Emanuel announced several reforms .
Emanuel vowed to create an oversight board but deferred to community groups’ requests that they help design it.
![Residents and taxpayers of Barrington School District 220 rated safety and security, and a new auditorium at Barrington High School, as priorities for the school district, officials learned as community input was collected in preparation for a potential multi-million-dollar referendum that would be placed on the ballot in the November election. The data was shared with school board members April 2 by EO Sullivan Consulting, which was hired by the district to collect community feedback through phone and online surveys, four public engagement sessions and referendum advisory committee meetings. Information had been collected in three phases and began earlier this […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PPN-L-bcr-district-220-feferend-002.jpg?w=390 "Residents and taxpayers of Barrington School District 220 rated safety and security, and a new auditorium at Barrington High School, as priorities for the school district, officials learned as community input was collected in preparation for a potential multi-million-dollar referendum that would be placed on the ballot in the November election. The data was shared with school board members April 2 by EO Sullivan Consulting, which was hired by the district to collect community feedback through phone and online surveys, four public engagement sessions and referendum advisory committee meetings. Information had been collected in three phases and began earlier this […]")