CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago police misconduct records may be more accessible to the public under a deal reached between Mayor Lightfoot and city aldermen. The Chicago City Council could finalize it next week.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was originally against putting a database of Chicago police misconduct records online. She said it was not worth spending “literally tens of millions of dollars” to create.
But now, Mayor Lightfoot, alongside Chairman of the Finance Committee Scott Waguespack and Chairman of the Public Safety Committee Christopher Taliaferro, announced the introduction of an ordinance to create a public database of closed Chicago Police Department misconduct files dating back to 2000.
“This database is long overdue, and I thank Mayor Lightfoot and Chairman Taliaferro for their leadership and support on this important issue,” said 32nd Ward Alderman and Chairman of the Finance Committee, Scott Waguespack, in a statement. “Shining a light on police misconduct and the consequences is always the right decision. This ordinance aims to build upon the accountability and transparency that Chicago deserves.”
The database will be created and maintained by the Office of the Inspector General. After determining an appropriate budget and staff, the OIG will create and publish on its website a searchable and downloadable digital repository of summary reports, which will include finalized disciplinary dispositions against members of the Chicago Police Department.
The database would include allegations that were both sustained and dismissed, all of which are already public records and can be obtained by making a Freedom of Information Act request.
The public would be able to see accounts of police misconduct, the incident that led to the alleged misconduct, the names of the officers involved, and how the case was decided by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability or the department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs, or whichever agency probed the allegation of misconduct.
No summary reports of investigations into alleged incidents of domestic abuse, child abuse or substance abuse will be published in the database.
The effort was championed by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson as a way to restore public confidence in the Chicago Police Department and trust in officers. Contrary to what Mayor Lightfoot originally said about cost, Ferguson told aldermen the database would cost $709,501 in 2022.
According to WTTW, Ferguson originally proposed that the database include all complaints dating back to 1994, but the date was changed to 2000 as part of the compromise.
The Mayor's Office said Wednesday that the publication of this disciplinary information is the next critical step in Mayor Lightfoot’s ongoing work to overhaul transparency and accountability for the Chicago Police Department.
"In order to mend the wounded relationship between the Chicago Police Department and the communities they serve, it is critically important that we double-down on our efforts to root the value of transparency within the department," said Mayor Lightfoot, in a statement. "This historic piece of legislation will help to do just that and give the public an important opportunity to see how far we've come and weigh in on what we still must do to bring about full police accountability. I want to thank Chairman Waguespack and Chairman Taliaferro for partnering with me on this ordinance and putting our city that much closer to achieving true police reform."
If endorsed by aldermen on May 24, a final vote on the measure is likely on May 26.
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