Politics
CPD to Provide Required Update on System That Would Flag Officers With Multiple Complaints ‘Very Soon’: Johnson
(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday Chicago police brass will provide him with an update about their progress in crafting a system designed to alert officials about which officers have been the subject of repeated police misconduct allegations, as required by city law, “very soon.”
WTTW News reported Monday that there was no evidence that CPD leaders had complied with a provision of the ordinance that implemented the city’s 2026 budget that requires monthly updates on long-delayed efforts to craft and implement that system. The system 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.
“I’ve had conversations with the superintendent around this,” Johnson said. “We expect to have that report very soon.”
That monthly report was supposed to be sent to 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.
When he announced the requirement for monthly updates about the system, Johnson 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 had fully complied with 22% of the consent decree’s requirements, according to the most recent report from the court-appointed monitoring team charged with keeping track of efforts to comply with the federal court order. That order was prompted by a 2017 probe that found officers routinely violated the constitutional rights of Black and Latino Chicagoans.
Creating a system that flags officers with multiple complaints and lawsuits 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.
Chicago taxpayers paid $295 million between 2019 and 2024 to resolve lawsuits naming officers whose alleged misconduct led more than once to payouts, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.
WTTW News reported in September 2023 that officials could have rolled out an early warning system citywide in May 2021, but police brass transferred the department members assigned to run the system to patrol amid a surge in crime that has since abated.
Johnson is the fourth mayor of Chicago to attempt to implement an early warning system.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
