Crime & Law

As Alderpeople Blast Push to Allow CPD Officers to File Felony Gun Charges, Mayor Backs the Pilot Program

The five alderpeople who represent Englewood blasted on Monday a decision by Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke to allow Chicago police officers to file felony gun charges without first getting approval from a prosecutor, even as Mayor Brandon Johnson said the program was worth trying.

The Felony Review Bypass Pilot Program allows Chicago police officers to charge those arrested in two South Side police districts with unlawful possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, which are felonies, without getting the approval of an assistant state’s attorney after a CPD lieutenant signs off.

The pilot program has been in effect in the Englewood (7th) Police District since January and expanded Friday to include the Calumet (5th) Police District. More than 85% of the residents of those two police districts are Black, according to city data.

The program is “absolutely” racially motivated, said Ald. Jeanette Taylor, whose 20th Ward includes part of Englewood.

“Unless you’re Stevie Wonder or Helen Keller, you can see it,” Taylor said. “We’ve got to have fairness in our justice system.”

A spokesperson for O’Neill Burke declined to answer detailed questions about the alderpeople’s concerns about the program in response to an inquiry from WTTW News.

Chicago Police Department Supt. Larry Snelling and O’Neill Burke defended the program at a news conference to announce charges against a man in connection with the sexual assaults of five women during a three-year period.

Allowing police officers to directly file what O’Neill Burke called “low-level gun cases” frees up assistant state’s attorneys to focus on the most serious crimes, like the sexual assault, she told reporters.

“This bypass program has nothing to do with railroading anyone,” Snelling said. “So, when you hear that, it’s nonsense. What we are trying to do is to be as strategic as we can about getting to the bottom of violent crimes and that our officers’ time is being utilized in the best interest of everyone in this city.”

Snelling and O’Neill Burke said the pilot program is an effort to streamline efforts and keep officers from spending hours waiting for charges to be approved, which Johnson said was a worthy goal.

“What I’m ultimately concerned about is making sure that we solve crime in cases of the city of Chicago, we can do it with expediency, we can keep our officers on the streets,” Johnson said. “What this is going to do is give us an opportunity to see if we can expedite the process that one, solves crime, but it doesn’t impede officers from returning back to the people.”

The five alderpeople who represent Englewood said they were concerned that it creates a two-tiered system of justice that does not offer those arrested in communities where a majority of Black Chicagoans live the same level of protections against police misconduct as those arrested in predominantly White neighborhoods.

Ald. Raymond Lopez, whose 15th Ward includes Englewood, said he was “frustrated” with how O’Neill Burke rolled out the pilot program, which came without notice to any of the alderpeople who represent Englewood or the surrounding neighborhoods.

“For her to do such a sweeping move and do it in a way that didn’t explain it left a very bitter taste in many people’s mouths,” Lopez said.

Johnson did not answer a question about concerns that the lack of review by a prosecutor of felony gun possession arrests made on the South Side could result in Black Chicagoans being arrested and charged in cases that would not be pursued in other parts of the city that are home to a majority of White Chicagoans.

Ald. William Hall (6th Ward), one of the mayor’s closest allies on the City Council and a member of the Black Caucus, said he was disappointed that O’Neill Burke did not attend a town hall meeting in Englewood on Saturday to discuss the pilot program.

“It goes to show that Black people’s freedom and the protection of the law is not her priority,” Hall said.

If officers must wait hours before they can present felony gun possession cases to an assistant state’s attorney, O’Neill Burke should hire more prosecutors and ensure her office is operating efficiently, Hall said.

“I think that without fixing the system, you’re only setting up for Burge part two,” said Hall, referring to disgraced former police Cmdr. Jon Burge, who city officials have acknowledged  tortured and beat more than 100 Black men, from the 1970s to the 1990s, to coerce confessions. “(O’Neill Burke) is setting us up for a lot of lawsuits that people are going to have to end up paying.”

Ald. Stephanie Coleman, whose 16th Ward includes Englewood, said she was frustrated that O’Neill Burke chose to launch the pilot program in her ward, without working to ensure that members of the community supported that decision.

“It also shows that it still goes to the narrative that we are a tale of two cities,” Coleman said. “I say if it’s good for Edgewater, it should be good enough for Englewood.”

Edgewater is in the Rogers Park (24th) Police District on Chicago’s North Side, which is nearly 44% White and 18% Black, according to city data.

“I would like to know the statistics, what’s the rhyme or reason — why Englewood?” said Coleman, who said that O’Neill Burke’s decision to launch the pilot program in her neighborhood risked reinforcing the narrative that Englewood is crime-ridden and someplace to avoid at all costs.

Ald. David Moore (17th Ward) said O’Neill Burke should have consulted with his office before launching the program.

“I get the concept and I understand what they’re trying to do, but you have to engage in community,” Moore said. “The state’s attorney has a duty to hire more people and figure out their efficiencies so that when officers call, somebody is getting to them quickly.”

There should not be different rules for arrests made in different parts of the city, Moore said.

“It’s not equal treatment,” Moore said. “If you’re going to roll it out, roll it out with the community. You want people to have equal, due process.”

Lopez said the pilot program has shown real promise, and should be rolled out citywide as soon as possible to address those concerns.

“We need to start looking outside the box to make things a little easier for all involved,” Lopez said.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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