Politics
CPD Failed to Provide Required Updates on System That Would Flag Officers With Multiple Complaints for Last 4 Months: Records
(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
Chicago police brass has failed for four months to update Mayor Brandon Johnson and three City Council committee chairs about progress in crafting a system designed to alert officials about which officers have been the subject of repeated police misconduct allegations, records show.
The ordinance that implemented the city’s 2026 budget included a provision requiring monthly updates on long-delayed efforts to craft and implement that system, which is required under the terms of the consent decree, the federal court order designed to compel the department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers.
CPD did not update Johnson; Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward), the chair of the Finance Committee; Ald. Jason Ervin (28th Ward), the chair of the Budget Committee; and Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward), the chair of the Police and Fire Committee, as required in May, June, July or August, records show.
The last update was published in April, records show.
A CPD spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from WTTW News about why the department did not comply with the ordinance and provide the required updates. A spokesperson for the mayor did not respond to a request for comment.
Chicago taxpayers have paid $2.7 million for a system designed to alert officials about which officers have been the subject of repeated police misconduct allegations, WTTW News reported in June.
The monthly updates for February, March and April consist of a single paragraph that does not offer specifics about the efforts to craft the system, records show.
When Johnson announced the requirement for monthly updates about the system, he said it would make it possible for police leaders to offer officers “early, individualized interventions that improve performance, accountability and wellness — reducing misconduct, building community trust, and lowering litigation costs,” according to the mayor’s office.
CPD has fully complied with 25% of the consent decree’s requirements, according to the most recent report from the monitoring team.
Creating a system that flags officers with multiple complaints and lawsuits to prevent incidents is central to the consent decree, which is designed to restore the public’s trust in CPD, which has faced decades of scandals, misconduct and brutality.
Allyson Clark Henson, the executive director of CPD’s Office of Constitutional Reform, told a joint session of the City Council’s Budget and Police and Fire committees on May 5 that the system was on track to launch by the end of June 2027.
The system will use CPD data and “advanced predictive analytics” to identity officers “at elevated risks” and enable supervisors to intervene, Clark Henson told the alderpeople.
The system will not be used to discipline officers or promote them, Clark Henson said.
“The goal of the system ultimately is prevention,” Clark Henson said.
The system will automatically flag a CPD member when their profile exceeds “predefined thresholds” for poor attendance and complaints, Clark Henson said.
Supervisors can also use the system to flag officers “to address a pattern of professional conduct that suggests referral may be warranted,” Clark Henson said.
CPD leaders anticipate that approximately 4% of the department’s 12,312 employees will be flagged annually, Clark Henson said.
Those officers are expected to account for approximately a quarter of all investigations, and approximately 30% of all serious disciplinary cases, Clark Henson said.
Before the early intervention system can be implemented, CPD must draft new policies governing its use and train supervisors to use it. That policy is subject to review by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office and the coalition of police reform groups that sued the city to force it to agree to federal court oversight of CPD, which began more than seven years ago.
The policy must be approved by the independent monitoring team charged by U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer with keeping tabs on the city’s progress in complying with the consent decree, which requires CPD to stop routinely violating Black and Latino Chicagoans’ constitutional rights.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
