Mayor Johnson reverses plan to cut CPD positions tasked with implementing court-ordered reforms
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Brandon Johnson said he will restore funding for positions within the Chicago Police Department tasked with implementing reforms—as required by a federal consent decree.
Johnson had planned to eliminate dozens of positions in charge of overseeing the reforms in order to cut costs from the city budget. But Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul urged the mayor to reconsider—saying the cuts would place the city at risk of the city held in contempt of court.
"Superintendent Snelling and his leadership team at CPD are building momentum toward effective, constitutional policing and, ultimately, a safer Chicago. I have had positive conversations with the corporation counsel and believe the right leadership team is in place at CPD," Raoul said in a statement earlier this month. "Now is the time to build on their momentum, not to pull the rug out from under CPD's progress. Certainly, the city at large is facing budgetary concerns; however, targeting court-ordered reform work for budget cuts is simply not an option. Cutting back on key consent decree reforms like having adequate staff for officer training and expanding officers' access to mental health services would hurt both officers and the public. Now is not the time to take away the resources CPD needs to do the vital – and legally-mandated – work of implementing the consent decree."
On Monday, Johnson changed course—and said he will restore all 162 vacant consent decree positions.
The consent decree was ordered by a federal court in 2019. The decree's purpose was to end CPD's decades of systemic and excessive use of force in communities of color that contributes to the erosion of trust in the community. It also targeted the department's failure to hold officers accountable.