Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling defends CPD's $2 billion budget plan for 2024
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Less than a month after he was sworn in, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling was in the hot seat on Tuesday at City Hall, defending Mayor Brandon Johnson's nearly $2 billion proposed budget for the Chicago Police Department for next year.
The mayor's 2024 spending plan has the Chicago Police Department budget increasing by $91 million over this year, increasing from $1.9 billion to $1.99 billion.
Officer retention, new hires, and expensive equipment were the main focus during CPD's budget hearing at City Hall, as well as some slightly off-topic controversies.
"We're going to be a lot more fiscally responsible with this upcoming budget," Snelling told the City Council Budget Committee.
The "Personnel Service" category of the CPD budget – which covers officers' salaries, overtime, and more – would grow more than $37 million under the mayor's budget proposal.
The new budget calls for 100 more sergeants, 20 more lieutenants, 10 more captains, three more commanders, and 100 more detectives.
The 2024 budget allocates $106 million to police overtime, leading to questions from aldermen who noted that last year officers racked up about $200 million in overtime.
"We'll continue to assess throughout so that we can be fiscally responsible, especially as it relates to overtime and officer wellness. We don't want officers working so many hours that they're so stressed out that they're not going to do the job properly," Snelling said.
Snelling also said the "mass exodus" of officers from recent years has been slowing down, but is still an issue they are facing.
Top brass said nearly 900 police officers are over the age of 55, and eligible to retire. The department is expecting about 200 of those officers to retire next year, but Snelling noted that number could change.
Snelling also touched on "civilianizing" a portion of the department. About 400 of the department's more than 11,000 sworn positions will be open to civilians, helping the city save money on salaries and returning some officers to the streets. The superintendent said they are considering bringing in retired officers for those roles, too.
Speaking of officers on the payroll, there were several questions from aldermen about current police officers with allegations that they have ties to the Oath Keepers organization. CPD confirmed that they received allegations last week against nine police officers accused of belonging to the right-wing anti-government extremist group.
Snelling said the department will move to have any such officers removed from the force if an investigation confirms their ties to the Oath Keepers or other extremist groups.
"Once those investigations have been completed, and due process is served, and we find that there are members amongst our ranks who are members of hate groups, we will do everything that we can to remove those members from our ranks. It serves the Chicago Police Department in no way good to have members amongst our department who are filled with bias, or members of hate groups, and we will not tolerate it," Snelling said.
The investigations into those allegations will be completed in less than six months.
When it comes to technology, Snelling said he wants to install more license plate readers around the city to help with stolen cars and robberies.
"With the recent rash of robberies, and things of that nature, they need to be all over the city, because we need to identify these stolen vehicles, because we know that the vehicles that are stolen – usually the Kias and the Hyundais – those are used in secondary crimes, mostly robberies," Snelling said.
Several aldermen also brought up concerns about Chicago's lack of working police helicopters compared to other large American police departments. For example, Chicago has just three working helicopters, while Los Angeles has 36.
As the CBS2 Investigators have reported, air surveillance is a way to eliminate some of the safety issues surrounding police chases.
Snelling said CPD is still working on a contract for two new helicopters – after funding was approved for them in this year's budget – but CPD deputy director Ryan Fitzsimons said the department doesn't expect to get those two new helicopters until the end of 2025.
Snelling said, if CPD tried to get more expensive dual engine choppers, then it could possibly get a new helicopter sooner. A handful of aldermen said they'd support spending more to get the dual engine helicopters.