The Latest Breaking News from CPD

At least eight migrants were killed as dozens attempted a hazardous crossing of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, officials said Friday

CHICAGO — Though the Chicago Police Department is years into efforts to reform and rebuild trust among communities, young Black and Latino men persist in having negative perceptions of and interactions with Chicago police officers, according to a special report from an independent panel reviewing the department.

More than a dozen officer suicides have been reported since 2018.

Earlier in August, the Office of Budget and Management reported 1,408 sworn vacancies — and a staggering 814 retirements this year, compared to 973 in all of 2021 and 625 in 2020.

Paul Vallas’ plan includes waiving the residency requirement for veteran officers as well as for new officers during their 18-month probationary period. He also wants to run the training academy night and day.

The new policy comes after the city’s watchdog reported that the police department had scheduled nearly 1,200 officers to work at least 11 straight days earlier this year.

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg conservatively estimated that “at least 1,190” Chicago Police officers were scheduled to work at least eleven consecutive days between April 1 and May 31 of this year.

“There were obviously an extra amount of days off canceled throughout this last spring and summer period. That has been scaled back,” said Elena Gottreich, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s fourth deputy mayor for public safety.

More than three years into the consent decree, the city continually fails to make key reforms. The federal monitor’s most recent report found that CPD has fully complied with less than 5% of the decree’s requirements.

CHICAGO — An analysis last year of Chicago Police Department deployment data appears to raise questions about whether Chicago police officers are consistently on the street at times when most shootings happen in the city.

Reforming this city’s police force within the framework of the federally mandated consent decree should never become a second tier priority. A recent personnel move at the department suggests it already has.