Politics

Chicago Police Oversight Board to Get New Leader as President Steps Down Amid Bid for Congress

Anthony Driver Jr., president of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, announced Friday he will step down as the leader of Chicago’s police oversight board but remain a member as he runs for Congress.

Driver, who is also the executive director of the Service Employee International Union Illinois State Council, is one of at least seven candidates who are running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who has represented Illinois’ 7th Congressional District since 1997.

Driver, who has led the commission better known as the CCPSA since it was created in 2022, will remain a member of the police oversight board.

“The work of the commission has always been bigger than one person,” Driver said. “It has been an honor to serve as the first president, and I look forward to continuing to serve as commissioner alongside my colleagues as we continue to build on this important foundation.”

Vice President Remel Terry will lead the commission until the CCPSA’s seven members select a new president at an upcoming meeting.

Driver steps down as the leader of the commission as it works to select a new chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which has been without a permanent leader since February.

Andrea Kersten resigned after Driver and Terry informed her the commission planned to recommend her termination for a number of failures they said had compromised Chicago’s police accountability system, eroding public confidence in policing and police oversight.

Driver has also led the commission’s efforts to draft a new policy governing Chicago Police Department’s use of traffic stops amid a debate over whether CPD should be allowed to pull over drivers for minor registration or equipment violations in an effort to find evidence of “unrelated” crimes.

Supt. Larry Snelling has said police officers must be allowed to continue stopping drivers for improper or expired registration plates or stickers and headlight, taillight and license plate light offenses to ensure that Chicago’s streets do not become more “dangerous” for all drivers.

However, a majority of the commission, including Driver, believe that the stops “do more harm than good” and should be banned, with some exceptions.

City officials agreed more than a year ago to allow a federal court order requiring CPD to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers, known as the consent decree, to expand to include traffic stops.

That will require the traffic stop policy to win the support of not just the CCPSA but also the Illinois Attorney General’s office as well as the independent monitoring team charged with enforcing the court-ordered reforms known as the consent decree. U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, the judge overseeing the reform push, has the power to resolve any disputes.

The commission, known as the CCPSA, has the authority to approve new CPD policies.

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

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