Here are the hard truths that will shape reform - Crain's Chicago Business

After some genuine and mostly justified anger at how police operate in this city and country, we're now moving to the more important stage: figuring out what to do about it. As I wrote last week, action is critical and the time to act is now, because if we let this moment of horror pass, we'll surely revisit it.

Here's a little truth-telling I hope will move the process forward.

Truth one: There is waste in the Chicago Police Department, as in any government agency. Redirecting some of the money toward violence prevention, mental health and community help programs is more than appropriate.

I can't give you a figure. A recent Injustice Watch report concluded that per-capita police spending here has tripled since 1964, though most of the increase came before 1999. A Fortune study based on FBI statistics found that CPD has relatively fewer employees than New York or Washington but more than Los Angeles or Atlanta. That suggests some trims are in order. I'd start by taking a good look at top-heavy management in some areas and by eliminating some of the myriad vacant posts CPD always seems to have.

That having been said, reprioritizing is not the same as willy-nilly "defunding." The truth is, Chicago has the number of police it has because Chicagoans demanded them, like the 500 officers Rahm Emanuel was pressured to add. A good example is the $30 million being spent on police in high schools, which has become an issue not because schools didn't ask for help fighting gang violence (they did) but because Mayor Lori Lightfoot this year began billing schools for the cost and the Chicago Teachers Union objected. A related truth: Implementing the police consent decree, a critical step for the city, will take more money, not less; the cheapest way to run a department is to keep everybody at the station house 24/7 and just roll out for emergencies.

Implementing the consent decree also means building Lightfoot's new police training academy, because it's clear to the world that better police training is needed here.

Another truth: Bad cops need to be held accountable for their actions—and I'm talking about conduct a lot worse than napping in Bobby Rush's office while looting raged outside, as bad as that was.

The current disciplinary system is a joke. The CPD contract with the Fraternal Order of Police—the union didn't return calls seeking comment—makes achieving real accountability nearly impossible. So does a state law that sends contract impasses to arbitrators, who usually just split the difference, blocking fundamental change. City agencies that review matters make lawyers look fast; we still don't have the full story on why Lightfoot fired ex-top cop Eddie Johnson.

At the same time, if you're going to have police—a proposition most of us still agree on—you have to have good people who want the job. That means treating them fairly, treating them with respect and listening to their concerns. Bringing more new blood into the department would help, too.

The latest hot idea for fixing CPD's accountability woes is licensing police statewide, as we do with doctors and lawyers. That certainly would create a paper trail and provide a good way to get around obstreperous unions and meek arbitrators. My concern: It could let local officials off the hook of fighting for better contracts and true accountability, allowing them to just blame the licensing commission.

Two more bits of truth: While race is clearly at the core of much that has occurred, not every abuse is racially motivated. Ask the 75-year-old white guy who is still in the hospital in Buffalo after being shoved down, head first. And, however big and deep and lasting the police reforms, nothing will really solve the problem until there's more economic opportunity in this town. It's still the economy, stupid.

Lawmakers and aldermen, mayors and governors have a lot to ponder nowadays. Here's hoping they can multitask.

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June 13, 2020 at 02:43AM
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Here are the hard truths that will shape reform - Crain's Chicago Business
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