Council Committee Approves Police Board Reform

By Chris Bentley in News on Sep 7, 2011 7:20PM

2nd Ward Ald. Robert Fioretti’s ordinance to bring Chicago Police Board decisions into the open passed City Council’s Public Safety Committee Tuesday. The full council could vote on the plan as soon as tomorrow.

The measure would require the nine-member review board to post its decisions online within 10 days of each hearing, along with an explanation of its decision. Currently the board only posts the case outcome and a one-sentence description of the alleged infraction.

But Fioretti’s ordinance would expose the disciplinary board’s largely secretive decision-making process to public review.

It would also impose term limits for board members and allow for dismissal of members who miss too many meetings. And, the Chicago News Cooperative reported, the ordinance would require the board to call a public hearing on police policies if it receives a petition signed by at least 500 registered Chicago voters.

The board has struggled with issues of credibility and transparency. Fraternal Order of Police President Michael Shields has even suggested eliminating it altogether in favor of arbitration. Mayor Rahm Emanuel cut annual pay for Police Board members by 20 percent, from $15,000 to $12,000.

The Chicago Justice Project analyzed ten years of Police Board cases in 2009 and found that civilian police employees brought before the board were 36 percent more likely to be charged with criminal activity than sworn officers facing similar charges.

They also found that the board voted to retain two-thirds of the officers recommended for firing by the police superintendent. Fioretti proposed a similar ordinance in 2009, after the Chicago Justice Project released the report, but that ordinance was never adopted.