A Vote for Transparency

A sincere thanks to League members and supporters who responded to the Action Alert from LWV Chicago’s Community Oversight of Public Safety (COPS) Committee and contacted their alders, urging them to vote against a provision in the city’s proposed contract with the Chicago police union.

The provision would have allowed officers accused of serious misconduct to have their disciplinary cases heard behind closed doors by a police union-approved arbitrator instead of the independent Police Board.

The 33–17 vote at the Council meeting on December 15 defeated the arbitration clause, canceling out a major part of an earlier deal between the Johnson administration and city’s police union. The Council’s rejection and reasoning will now head back to the arbitrator, who had ruled in favor of the arbitration clause and could send that same ruling back to alders within weeks for a vote. If the City Council votes down the arbitration clause for a second time, the matter then heads to circuit court.

In an unusual move, the arbitration matter was voted on separately from the rest of the contract. The Council did approve pay raises for officers totaling 20 percent over four years.