CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- People who believe Chicago police may have improperly helped federal immigration agents would have a new avenue to lodge concerns, under a proposal now headed for the full City Council.
Members of two aldermanic committees gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a measure that would task the city's Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) with investigating claims that police officers violated Chicago's welcoming ordinances by providing assistance to ICE agents.
The sponsor of the measure, Humboldt Park Ald. Jesse Fuentes, said it's designed to clear up confusion about who investigates the roughly two-dozen complaints the city's already received about actions by police officers.
"Every single complaint needs to be taken seriously," said Ald. Fuentes (26th Ward). "This is like any other misconduct by the police department."
The vote followed more than 40 minutes of public comments, many from people supporting the change and claiming to have seen police violating the ordinance.
"They are the ICE Police Department ... not the Chicago Police Department," said one woman.
"We've got the videos. We've got the bruises. Do something. That's it," said another.
Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling and city Inspector General Deborah Witzburg have both said they support the change, and Mayor Brandon Johnson told reporters before the committee vote he hopes it passes the full Council.
"It is critical for the people of Chicago to understand that we take violations of our welcoming policy seriously," the mayor said.
The next City Council meeting is set for February 18.