Individuals or groups failing to adhere to these
rules will be subject to removal from the remainder of the
meeting by the Sergeant at Arms.
City of Chicago City Council Rules of Conduct for Public
Meetings, 2023 to 2027.
Pursuant to Rule 58 of the Chicago City Council Rules of
Order and Procedure, the Sergeant at Arms sets forth the
following rules of conduct for members of the public.
These rules shall be in effect at all times that a viewing
gallery or room is open for a meeting of the City Council
or any of its committees. All individuals and their belongings
are subject to search at entry or upon request.
Individuals must remain seated at all times except,
one, when entering or exiting the gallery.
Two, when providing public comment during the portion of a meeting
set aside for that purpose.
Or three, when asked to rise and be acknowledged by a member
of the City Council.
Profane, threatening, harassing, abusive,
or defamatory behavior or speech, which in the
judgment of the meeting's chair or the Sergeant at Arms may
lead to a breach of the peace or disrupt the orderly conduct
of the meeting is not permitted. Disruptive or distracting
actions, such as the stomping of feet, waving of arms,
throwing any item, whistling, booing, shouting,
or other loud utterances are not permitted when, in the judgment of the
meeting's chair or the Sergeant at Arms, such actions are
disrupting or impeding the orderly conduct of the meeting.
Any item that poses a potential safety hazards, as determined by the
Sergeant at Arms, is prohibited in the gallery.
Such items include, but are not limited to, one, any
pointed objects, including knives of any kind.
Two, banners, flyers, or other forms of signage.
Three, food and beverages, including in glass or
metal canisters. Four, backpacks, large bags,
and sealed packages. Clear bags, not tinted in color,
that do not exceed 12 inches by six inches by 12
are permitted and subject to search.
And five, firearms, ammunition, fireworks,
laser pointers, stun guns, tasers, mace, pepper
spray, and toy weapons. Cell phones and other small
handheld recording devices must be placed in silent mode,
can only be used while seated, and can only be used in a
manner that does not interfere with the ability of other
individuals to view or hear the proceedings.
Individuals or groups failing to adhere to these
rules will be subject to removal from the remainder of the
meeting by the Sergeant at Arms.
City of Chicago City Council Rules of Conduct for Public
Meetings, 2023 to 2027.
Pursuant to Rule 58 of the Chicago City Council Rules of
Order and Procedure, the Sergeant at Arms sets forth the
following rules of conduct for members of the public.
These rules shall be in effect at all times that a viewing
gallery or room is open for a meeting of the City Council or
any of its committees. All individuals and their belongings are
subject to search at entry or upon request.
Individuals must remain seated at all times except,
one, when entering or exiting the gallery.
Two, when providing public comment during the portion of a meeting
set aside for that purpose.
Or three, when asked to rise and be acknowledged by a
member of the City Council.
Profane, threatening, harassing,
abusive, or defamatory behavior or speech,
which in the judgment of the meeting's chair or the Sergeant at
Arms may lead to a breach of the peace or disrupt the
orderly conduct of the meeting is not permitted.
Disruptive or distracting actions, such as the stomping of feet,
waving of arms, throwing any item, whistling,
booing, shouting, or other loud utterances are not
permitted when, in the judgment of the meeting's chair or the Sergeant at
Arms, such actions are disrupting or impeding the orderly
conduct of the meeting. Any item that poses a
potential safety hazards, as determined by the Sergeant at Arms,
is prohibited in the gallery.
Such items include, but are not limited to, one, any
pointed objects, including knives of any kind.
Two, banners, flyers, or other forms of signage.
Three, food and beverages, including in glass or
metal canisters. Four, backpacks, large bags,
and sealed packages. Clear bags, not tinted in color,
that do not exceed 12 inches by six inches by 12
are permitted and subject to search.
And five, firearms, ammunition, fireworks,
laser pointers, stun guns, tasers, mace, pepper
spray, and toy weapons. Cell phones and other small
handheld recording devices must be placed in silent mode,
can only be used while seated, and can only be used in
a manner that does not interfere with the ability of other
individuals to view or hear the proceedings.
Individuals or groups failing to adhere to these rules
will be subject to removal from the remainder of the meeting by
the Sergeant at Arms.
City of Chicago City Council Rules of Conduct for Public
Meetings, 2023 to 2027.
Pursuant to Rule 58 of the Chicago City Council Rules of
Order and Procedure, the Sergeant at Arms sets forth the
following rules of conduct for members of the public.
These rules shall be in effect at all times that a viewing
gallery or room is open for a meeting of the City Council or
any of its committees. All individuals and their belongings are
subject to search at entry or upon request.
Individuals must remain seated at all times except,
one, when entering or exiting the gallery.
Two, when providing public comment during the portion of a meeting
set aside for that purpose.
Or three, when asked to rise and be acknowledged by a member
of the City Council.
Profane, threatening, harassing, abusive,
or defamatory behavior or speech, which in the
judgment of the meeting's chair or the Sergeant at Arms, may
lead to a breach of the peace or disrupt the orderly conduct
of the meeting, is not permitted. Disruptive or distracting
actions, such as the stomping of feet, waving of arms,
throwing any item, whistling, booing, shouting,
or other loud utterances, are not permitted when in the judgment of the
meeting's chair or the Sergeant at Arms, such actions are
disrupting or impeding the orderly conduct of the meeting.
Any item that poses a potential safety hazards, as determined by the
Sergeant at Arms, is prohibited in the gallery.
Such items include, but are not limited to, one, any
pointed objects, including knives of any kind.
Two, banners, flyers, or other forms of signage.
Three, food and beverages, including in glass or
metal canisters. Four, backpacks, large bags,
and sealed packages. Clear bags, not tinted in color,
that do not exceed 12 inches by six inches by 12
are permitted and subject to search.
And five, firearms, ammunition, fireworks,
laser pointers, stun guns, tasers, mace pepper
spray, and toy weapons. Cell phones and other small
handheld recording devices must be placed in silent mode,
can only be used while seated, and can only be used in a
manner that does not interfere with the ability of other
individuals to view or hear the proceedings.
Individuals or groups failing to adhere to these
rules will be subject to removal from the remainder of the
meeting by the Sergeant at Arms.
City of Chicago City Council Rules of Conduct for Public
Meetings, 2023 to 2027.
Pursuant to Rule 58 of the Chicago City Council Rules of
Order and Procedure, the Sergeant at Arms sets forth the
following rules of conduct for members of the public.
These rules shall be in effect at all times that a viewing
gallery or room is open for a meeting of the City Council or
any of its committees. All individuals and their belongings are
subject to search at entry or upon request.
Individuals must remain seated at all times except,
one, when entering or exiting the gallery.
Two, when providing public comment during the portion of a meeting
set aside for that purpose.
Or three, when asked to rise and be acknowledged by a
member of the City Council.
Profane, threatening, harassing, abusive,
or defamatory behavior or speech, which in the
judgment of the meeting's chair or the Sergeant at Arms, may
lead to a breach of the peace or disrupt the orderly conduct
of the meeting, is not permitted. Disruptive or distracting
actions, such as the stomping of feet, waving of arms,
throwing any item, whistling, booing, shouting,
or other loud utterances, are not permitted when in the judgment of the
meeting's chair or the Sergeant at Arms, such actions are
disrupting or impeding the orderly conduct of the meeting.
Any item that poses a potential safety hazards, as determined by the
Sergeant at Arms, is prohibited in the gallery.
Such items include, but are not limited to, one, any
pointed objects, including knives of any kind.
Two, banners, flyers, or other forms of signage.
Three, food and beverages, including in glass or
metal canisters. Four, backpacks, large bags,
and sealed packages. Clear bags, not tinted in color,
that do not exceed 12 inches by six inches by 12
are permitted and subject to search.
And five, firearms, ammunition, fireworks,
laser pointers, stun guns, tasers, mace pepper
spray, and toy weapons. Cell phones and other small
handheld recording devices must be placed in silent mode,
can only be used while seated, and can only be used in
a manner that does not interfere with the ability of other
individuals to view or hear the proceedings.
Individuals or groups failing to adhere to these
rules will be subject to removal from the remainder of the
meeting by the Sergeant at Arms.
City of Chicago City Council Rules of Conduct for Public
Meetings, 2023 to 2027.
Pursuant to Rule 58 of the Chicago City Council Rules of
Order and Procedure, the Sergeant at Arms sets forth the
following rules of conduct for members of the public.
These rules shall be in effect at all times that a viewing
gallery or room is open for a meeting of the City Council or
any of its committees. All individuals and their belongings are
subject to search at entry or upon request.
Individuals must remain seated at all times except,
one, when entering or exiting the gallery.
Two, when providing public comment during the portion of a meeting
set aside for that purpose.
Or three, when asked to rise and be acknowledged by a
member of the city council.
Profane, threatening, harassing,
abusive or defamatory behavior or speech,
which in the judgment of the meeting's chair or the
sergeant-at-arms may lead to a breach of the peace or
disrupt the orderly conduct of the meeting is not permitted.
Disruptive or distracting actions, such as the stomping of feet,
waving of arms, throwing any item, whistling,
booing, shouting, or other loud utterances are not
permitted when in the judgment of the meeting's chair or the sergeant at
arms, such actions are disrupting or impeding the orderly
conduct of the meeting.
Any item that poses a potential safety hazards, as determined by the
sergeant at arms, is prohibited in the gallery.
Such items include, but are not limited to, one, any
pointed objects, including knives of any kind.
Two, banners, flyers, or other forms of signage.
Three, food and beverages, including in glass or
metal canisters. Four, backpacks, large bags,
and sealed packages. Clear bags, not tinted in color,
that do not exceed 12 inches by six inches by 12
are permitted and subject to search.
And five, firearms, ammunition, fireworks,
laser pointers, stun guns, tasers, mace pepper
spray, and toy weapons. Cell phones and other small
handheld recording devices must be placed in silent mode,
can only be used while seated, and can only be used in
a manner that does not interfere with the ability of other
individuals to view or hear the proceedings.
Individuals or groups failing to adhere to these
rules will be subject to removal from the remainder of the
meeting by the sergeant at arms.
City of Chicago City Council Rules of Conduct for Public
Meetings 2023 to 2027.
Pursuant to Rule 58 of the Chicago City Council Rules of
Order and Procedure, the sergeant at arms sets forth the
following rules of conduct for members of the public.
These rules shall be in effect at all times that a viewing
gallery or room is open for a meeting of the City Council
or any of its committees. All individuals and their
belongings are subject to search at entry or upon request.
Individuals must remain seated at all times except,
one, when entering or exiting the gallery.
Two, when providing public comment during the portion of a meeting
set aside for that purpose.
Or three, when asked to rise and be acknowledged by a member
of the City Council.
Profane, threatening, harassing, abusive
or defamatory behavior or speech, which in the
judgment of the meeting's chair or the sergeant at arms may
lead to a breach of the peace or disrupt the orderly conduct
of the meeting is not permitted. Disruptive or distracting
actions, such as the stomping of feet, waving of arms,
throwing any item, whistling, booing, shouting,
or other loud utterances are not permitted when in the judgment of the
meeting's chair or the sergeant at arms, such actions are
disrupting or impeding the orderly conduct of the meeting.
Any item that poses a potential safety hazards, as determined by the
sergeant at arms, is prohibited in the gallery.
Such items include, but are not limited to, one, any
pointed objects, including knives of any kind.
Two, banners, flyers, or other forms of signage.
Three, food and beverages, including in glass or metal
canisters. Four, backpacks, large bags, and
sealed packages. Clear bags, not tinted in color, that do
not exceed 12 inches by six inches by 12 are
permitted and subject to search. And five, firearms,
ammunition, fireworks, laser pointers, stun guns,
tasers, mace pepper spray, and toy weapons.
Cell phones and other small handheld recording devices must be
placed in silent mode, can only be used while seated,
and can only be used in a manner that does not interfere
with the ability of other individuals to view or hear the
proceedings. Individuals or groups failing to
adhere to these rules will be subject to removal from the
remainder of the meeting by the sergeant at arms.
City of Chicago City Council Rules of Conduct for Public
Meetings 2023 to 2027.
Pursuant to Rule 58 of the Chicago City Council Rules of
Order and Procedure, the sergeant at arms sets forth the
following rules of conduct for members of the public.
These rules shall be in effect at all times that a viewing
gallery or room is open for a meeting of the City Council or
any of its committees. All individuals and their belongings are
subject to search at entry or upon request.
Individuals must remain seated at all times except,
one, when entering or exiting the gallery.
Two, when providing public comment during the portion of a meeting
set aside for that purpose.
Or three, when asked to rise and be acknowledged by a member
of the City Council.
Profane, threatening, harassing, abusive
or defamatory behavior or speech, which in the
judgment of the meeting's chair or the sergeant at arms may
lead to a breach of the peace or disrupt the orderly conduct
of the meeting is not permitted. Disruptive or distracting
actions, such as the stomping of feet Waving of arms,
throwing any item, whistling, booing, shouting,
or other loud utterances are not permitted when in the judgment of the
meeting's chair or the sergeant-at-arms, such actions are
disrupting or impeding the orderly conduct of the meeting.
Any item that poses a potential safety hazards, as determined by the
sergeant-at-arms, is prohibited in the gallery.
Such items include, but are not limited to, one, any
pointed objects, including knives of any kind.
Two, banners, flyers, or other forms of signage.
Three, food and beverages, including in glass or metal
canisters. Four, backpacks, large bags, and
sealed pack-
Good afternoon, everyone. The Committee on Police and Fire will come to order.
We will have a roll call to establish a quorum. Alderman Taliaferro's present.
Vice Chair Robinson. Alderman Hall.
Alderman Mitchell. Alderwoman Lee.
Alderman Curtis.
Alderwoman Taylor. Alderman Mosley.
Alderwoman Tabaris. Alderman Irving.
Alderman Cardona. Alderman Sposato.
Alderwoman Nugent.
Alderman Napolitano. Alderman Knitzan.
Alderman Gardner.
Alderwoman Clay.
Alderwoman Silverstein.
We have nine members present. We do have a quorum.
Pursuant to Rule 59, we've had requests from Alderwoman Taylor, Alderman
Irving, Alderman Napolitano,
and... Well, those three.
Pursuant to Rule 59, they've requested to appear by remote means.
So moved by Alderman Curtis.
All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say nay.
Okay, in the opinion of the chairs, the ayes have it.
Should they log on, they will be counted as present, but as of
the present moment, none have logged on.
Alderman Taliaferro, Chairman, I'm on. This is Alderman Irving.
Alderman Irving, are you with us?
Yes, sir.
Okay. Alderman Irving is considered present for purposes of a quorum.
Right now, we will begin with public comments.
We have two speakers slated for public comments.
Each of you will be given three minutes.
We will begin with Professor Vince Davis.
Alderman Mosley is present.
Hello, everyone.
Mr. Davis.
How you doing, sir?
I'm doing well, Professor.
And other aldermen.
I've been sending countless of emails and letters to Police and
Fire Committee, and also to various
individuals
working in the Procurement Department, Police Department, also the Inspector
General,
and to no avail, nothing happened.
I spoke in City Council, I think, I believe about a year ago, in regards to crimes
being concealed.
And, I'm going to discuss
what I have here.
I would like this document to be CC'd to Mayor Brandon Johnson,
Chicago Procurement Department Director, Charlla Roberts, City of
Chicago Inspector General, the new one, David Gardner,
City of Finance, Steven Marr, and Mary Richardson.
Laurie,
she's
over the law department.
Again,
there have been countless of fraudulent concealment.
I have evidence that there's a fraud contract that was
not approved by the City of Chicago,
with a forged signature of the mayor.
Also, I have two fictitious federal certification under
the Department of Health and Human Service. That's fraud.
And also,
I was injured on duty as a police officer, and I went down to the medical section
in Central, my medical leave,
and my physical was normal.
A month later, they said I came up positive.
They took a urinalysis that was transported to a fraudulent company named
Toxtex Laboratory,
and it was transported by a police officer to a fraudulent company.
And as a result of that, I was fired and discharged, but I was reinstated
because I didn't have a hearing within 30 days.
Also, $2 million was stolen. So I have documents
here that I want you guys, the aldermen, to
CC, again, to Brandon Johnson, the Procurement Department, Charlla Roberts,
the new inspector general, because the previous inspector generals refused to do
anything. Nothing about this. But since then, as I
said before, I went back to school, got my law degree. I got three master's degree.
I have a bachelor's degree and three associate's degrees.
So this strengthened me to accomplish a lot of things in life.
And I've been a member of the Inspector General office from another agency, and I
went to the Federal Inspector General Academy.
So I'm asking the committee to revisit the resolution that was
submitted by Alderman Virgil Jones, but it's been held in the
committee by Alderman Beavers, he's deceased.
And,
Alderman, I sent you various letters as well.
And give me some directions in terms of the next meeting.
Maybe I can submit some documents that we can have a
hearing on the previous crimes that has been committed, and
current concealment and obstruction of justice going right now within
the City of Chicago.
So I'm going to leave this information, and whoever wants it.
But I want this to be CC'd to the mentioned people.
Thank you, Professor Davis. Our next speaker is Patricia Fuentes
Blancas.
Thank you.
My name is Patricia Puente, and I'm here
regarding noise ordinance. There
is a noise ordinance
in Illinois
Of 1961, Section
27.
The reason is because there are people
that are throwing fireworks
at any time... Well, not, it said 10:00,
11:00, 12:00, 1 o'clock fireworks.
You really don't know if these are fireworks or
gunshots.
And they really don't care. They're doing it on purpose.
But then later on, you notice that somebody did
get shot.
But first, everybody else is throwing
fireworks.
I'm not saying this because it's happening only right
now in June, that it shouldn't be happening.
And I know in July, thank God for this beautiful nation
since 1776, 250 years,
but the thing is that they are stating, "Oh, it's the Fourth of
July." No, it's not the Fourth of July.
And there should be consequences.
I feel that the law enforcement
should
citate these persons
doing
this,
how do you say it? I'm sorry, I just went blank right now.
Doing this. We have veterans.
We have kids that need to go to sleep,
babies, and they're throwing fireworks?
Okay. The other thing is,
sorry,
noise, with their music very loud.
These same people that have their music very loud are the ones that are throwing
the fireworks. They don't care. This is what they told me.
"This is not our country, so what?" And I'm like, "Are you
kidding me?" And they have the Mexican flag.
I'm like, "Then why are you not abiding by the
law,
and why are you not respecting this country if it's not your
country?"
And actually, that is it.
The
law enforcement, please, give them citations.
The city does need the monies.
We don't need people that say, "Hey,
if the law enforcement doesn't do anything, we could get away with murder."
Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Blancas. Our next speaker is Mr. George Blakemore. Mr. Blakemore.
Damn it. It's already recognized me.
Listen, what did I tell you? Stop harassing me, and get out of my
face.
You don't have to take nothing that-
Mr. Blakemore, your three minutes has started
... the chairman recognized me as a speaker.
That should've been sufficient
for you to insist that I give you this and go down
here. This is out of control here.
There's nobody here. Why would you do that?
Why, thank you, honorable chairman.
I think I'm at the right place at the right time.
Isn't this the police-
Yes, it is
... all right. Well, I don't see a lot of
policemen and firemen here.
So if it's dealing with
that group of our employees,
our workers,
they should be present.
And is this information only, and no votes will be
taken? Is this correct?
I'm asking you, sir. Okay, this is not a question and
answer session, but it's very important.
I almost had a stroke trying to get down to this meeting.
Look at these empty seats here.
What? Something is wrong here.
Something is
wrong here. You don't have to be able to read or write,
but you can look.
Look at the empty seats. And if it's dealing with police and
firemen, if it's that important,
seem like some of these people would be present.
And the citizens are not here.
It shows this is a non-functional government here.
And I don't know, I must be addicted. Oh, I was running.
I got to go to this meeting because I want to make
sure that I don't have a mental problem.
I said, "I got to go to this meeting to see."
I don't think it's me,
I think it's the system
is broken.
And you aldermans
have no...
You don't want to fix it.
It's a corrupt machine here,
and they're all Democrats.
Didn't we all get along in America when they had that civil war between
the North and the South?
And I always mention what's going on over in France in the French
Revolution, and I don't want to seem like I'm the type of
person that advocating for violence, but when
Marie Antoinette say, "Forget about the people, feed them cake," they cut
her neck off.
The people come first. A revolution is needed
here. I don't care who bring it, Trump, Dump, hump, bump.
There's something inherently wrong with this system
here.
Something is evil and wrong
Thank you, Mr. Blakemore. That concludes our public comment.
I want to thank each of our speakers for their
comments this morning. Each of you should have received, by way of
email on May 19th, our Rule 45 report
for the committee held on May 6th, 2026.
Can I get a motion for the passage of the Rule 45 report?
So moved by Alderman Mosley. All those in favor, say aye.
All those opposed, nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The Rule 45 report
has passed.
We do have two items on the agenda. Item number one is
A2026-0025555, the
reappointment of Walter Schroeder as a member of the Chicago Emergency
Telephone System Board. And item number two is a quarterly one
report for 2026 of COPA's
quarterly report.
Our first item, if I could have
Mr. Walter Schroeder
come forward, please. If you could come over here, that'd be good.
You want me by you?
Yes.
Now, Walter, am I pronouncing it correct? Schroeder or Schroeder?
Schroeder? Okay.
Either way, sir.
All right. Just as long as the paycheck is there.
Okay. Yeah.
And Walter, if you would like to give an opening comment for three to five minutes,
I appreciate it, and then we open up for question and answers.
Certainly.
Questions and comment.
Well, thank you, first of all. Dear members of the Police and Fire Committee,
first, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my biggest support system, my
family,
who's here with me today.
We are missing one, my daughter,
who was unable to join us
as she's working today, and I might add, for the greatest city that we all
love.
I'm grateful for this opportunity to
be considered for reappointment for the Chicago Emergency Telephone System Board.
Serving this board has been a great privilege, and I remain deeply committed to
strengthening the Chicago Emergency Communication Network as the city continues to
evolve and modernize.
Throughout my tenure,
I have worked to support the board's mission by applying more than 35 years of
experience in public safety, emergency management, and communication
systems. My background, from leading complex life safety
operations and implementing technology upgrades that improve response
times, has allowed me to contribute meaningfully to the board's
oversight and strategic direction.
I have valued the opportunity to collaborate with fellow members of public
safety agencies and city partners to ensure that the Chicago
911 system remains reliable, resilient, and
aligned with national best practices.
As the city advances toward full next generation 911
capabilities, enhanced GIS integration, and emerging
technologies that support faster and more accurate emergency
response,
I am eager to continue contributing to this critical work.
My experience with regulatory compliance, operational coordination, and
technology modernization positions me to help guide these efforts
responsibly and effectively.
Equally important, I remain committed to advocating for the frontline
professionals, call takers, dispatchers, and first
responders
whose work is the backbone of this system.
Ensuring they have the tools, support, and infrastructure they need to always
be the central to my approach.
It would be an honor to continue serving the residents of Chicago in this capacity.
I respectfully request your support for my reappointment and welcome any
questions, discussions you may wish to have with me.
Thank you for your consideration. Thank you.
Thank you, Walter.
The chairman does recognize our vice chairman, Robinson, for purposes of a
quorum. Are there any questions or comments?
Alderman Curtis.
Thank you, Chairman. Walter, I just want to
thank you for your years of service working with this
important board. People don't understand how important
this board really is to the City of Chicago, making sure that
everyone has access
to our systems to
let our various departments know
what's going on, emergencies, things like that.
So thank you for your service, and we're looking forward to
continue working with you. Thank you.
Thank
you.
Thank you, Alderman Curtis.
Any other questions or comments?
All right. There being no further comment... Alderman Sposato.
A motion to pass.
So moved by Alderman Sposato. Again, Walter, thank you so much for your service to
the City of Chicago. It's always good talking with you, and thank you so much.
Thank you.
So moved by Alderman Sposato. All those in favor say aye.
Aye.
All those opposed, nay.
And in opinion, the ayes have it. Walter, thank you so much once again, and
congratulations. This item will be reported out at the next city council
meeting. Our next item, item number two,
2026 COPA's quarterly report.
And if we could take a few seconds to have our chief administrator, LaKenia White,
and her team come forward.
Thank you for joining us, Chief. We appreciate it.
And Chief, when you get settled, if you could introduce your team, we'd appreciate
it. That's in the box.
Absolutely
I'm actually going to introduce you in my speech.
Okay.
Matt going to make a-
Okay,
good afternoon again, Chief, and we welcome you to the Committee on Police and
Fire. And if you could go ahead and begin your opening remarks.
Thank you. Good afternoon, Chairman Telefero,
Vice Chairman Robinson over there, and members of the Police and
Fire Committee. My name is La Kenya White, and I am
the Chief Administrator of the Civilian Office of Police
Accountability, also known as COPA.
And I'm excited to present operational updates
regarding our work of the most recent quarter.
First, however, I would like to make some brief
introductions to the members of my staff who join me
today.
Josh Hunt
began as First Deputy Chief Administrator just over two
weeks ago,
and we are very excited to have this COPA
alum returning.
Josh began his career serving as a police
officer in Savannah,
ultimately becoming a homicide detective with
100% clearance rate.
After his service in Savannah,
Josh relocated to Chicago and worked with
COPA as Deputy Chief Administrator before
leaving to become Chief of Investigations
at the Cook County State's Attorney's office, and most
recently, the Director of Intelligence and
Investigations for the Cook County Sheriff's office.
We are incredibly excited about Josh's return
to COPA,
and the wealth of knowledge he will contribute to this
agency's important work.
And then also joining us is Angie Snell,
now General Counsel after formerly serving as Assistant
General Counsel,
and Shannon Hayes, now Deputy Chief,
after formerly serving as Director of Investigations over
our Video Release and Transparency unit.
And finally, I have Matt Thurman, who is my Manager
of Legislative Affairs.
Now,
some brief operational highlights.
First,
we are excited to announce that we are very close
to full approval
of a formalized pattern and practice investigations
policy.
This important work will further expand COPA's
capabilities to include investigations into
many of the pattern and practice issues raised by
members of this body,
and the communities you represent.
While much of COPA's work is rooted in
individual investigations,
we are confident that through pattern and practice
investigations,
we can work alongside the department to address
many of the challenging issues that have not only
affected department members, but
have had longstanding effects on the
communities they serve.
We also recognize and hear the calls by members of this
body,
and the council as a whole, to address the financial
burdens
of litigation surrounding police settlements.
We are confident that this important work
will have a direct impact on reducing the city's future
risk exposure.
Disciplinary consistency and transparency
has also remained central to our work.
For too long,
both members of the public and the department
have had to rely on a disciplinary system
that lacked clear
guidelines.
Countless officers have told us they understand the need
for accountability,
but
that the system lacked clearly defined
expectations.
To address this,
a working group between our office and the department
has been formed,
wholly focused on this issue.
Substantial progress has been made, and the parties are close
to an agreed-upon set
of aggravating and mitigating factors that will help
guide disciplinary decisions.
Consultations with the unions is underway,
and their feedback has recently been received.
The committee will continue to receive updates on this important
work as it proceeds.
And lastly,
we have reconstituted our Community Advisory Committee,
which consists of Chicagoans from over a dozen wards,
and represent a diverse set of viewpoints.
The committee will be tasked with reviewing COPA's policies and
providing helpful external feedback on the policies
that govern agency operations.
In the interest of time,
we have provided you with a paper handout
Outlining statistical information surrounding
investigations for the most recent quarter, which was quarter
one.
My staff and I welcome any questions that you may
have. Thank you.
Thank you, Chief White. Pursuant to
Rule 59
that was passed, Alderwoman Taylor requested, and it was so approved,
that she appear by remote means. Alderwoman Taylor, have you joined us?
I'm here, Chairman. Thank you.
Thank you, Alderwoman Taylor. And also Alderman Mitchell and
Alderwoman Taylor are present for purposes of a quorum.
Are there any questions or comments for Chief Administrator
LaKenia White?
Alderman Sposato.
Thank you, Chairman. Just one question on the sheet you gave us there,
589 pending investigations. Does that mean you
started them already, or you didn't start 589 of them?
That means we started them already.
Started them. Okay, so right now they're going out. Okay. Just a simple question.
Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman.
Any other questions or comments?
Chief White, if I may ask just very briefly, as far as staffing, how are
your staffing levels with regard to being able to
efficiently and quickly,
and thoroughly of course, investigate complaints?
Whoa.
Oh, bad question.
That has definitely been a challenge, Chairman Tellaferro.
Currently, right now, I have about 34 vacancies.
I have somebody scheduled to leave next week.
The challenge that we have is that I fill particular roles through promotions,
and then I lose another role.
So it's a domino effect. It's something that we are working with OBM
to address, but it is definitely a challenge for my staff
as we are all doing double and triple work.
I will tell you that having my first deputy
is a tremendous help. However, I have my deputy,
Shannon Hayes, over there doing communications, transparency,
and investigations.
I have my
general counsel
with a staff of about four or five people
doing consent decree work, analysis, non-concurrence,
OIG recommendations, et cetera. I am also managing a
team under my guidance. So
it is a heavy lift,
but I am so grateful to my staff for their commitment,
and we're going to continue to do the work, and hopefully this will eventually get
resolved.
Thank you. And when you compare your
quarters there,
how is the first quarter looking in comparison to
some of your previous quarters? Are you seeing a decrease or increase
in the number of cases that you're intaking?
So if you could give me a brief comparison, I'd appreciate it.
Thank you for that question as well, too, Chairman Tellaferro.
So as you see quarter one,
you see 589. But what you don't see is quarter two
coming up, where I'm at 680 cases.
I have had a great increase in cases for quarter two,
and it's challenging.
What type of cases? Is there an increase in a
specific or certain type of case?
I can get you that answer-
Okay
... through the chair, yes.
Okay.
But if I can continue just a little bit.
With all the festives, we had Gay Pride parade, we had the
Puerto Rican parade. We had an increase in cases.
Mm-hmm.
Okay. Thank you.
Are there any other questions or comments for Chief White?
Oh, I'm sorry. Vice Chair Robinson.
Chairman, thank you very much.
Chief White, just wanted to commend you on the hard work that you're
doing
in certainly tough times. I'm curious to know,
we know the
budget cuts that we're under. I'm just curious to know, do you have the
resources you need to continue the great work that you're doing?
Do you think that you have the resources?
Do you think that you need more resources?
I'm just curious if you could walk us through that
as we come up to the budget season.
Sure. Do I think I have the resources? I don't believe so.
But again, we're managing, and the reason why we're managing is because I have
people doing double and triple duty.
I am cognizant, however, that if somebody was to
walk away from doing those double and triple duties, I would
definitely be at a deficit.
So again, working with Office of Budget Management, continuing to press upon
them the needs for my staff.
I'm hoping that it can get resolved.
Thank you.
Thank you, Vice Chair. Alderwoman Lee.
Thank you, Chairman, and thank you, Chief White.
Just along the same line of questioning,
what's the hold-up with your vacancies?
Are you
having trouble finding people? Is the process long?
What's the runtime right now in onboarding new staff?
The issue is getting it approved through Office of Budget
Management because we had to hit our turnover target, but I can
get you that information as well through the chair.
Yeah. That'd be great. I don't have your turnover number off the top of my head,
but we're going into July at this point.
We know it takes time to onboard people.
So even with the turnover number,
I would hope that OBM would release those
positions knowing that if it takes three to four months,
that you're not starting at a deficit.
Surely you'll hit your turnover number, but then you're putting you three months
behind on hiring. That's problematic, so I would love to have that
information through the chair. Thank you.
That's all I have, Chairman. Thank you.
Thank you, Alderwoman Lee. Are there any further questions or comments for Chief
White?
Okay, there being no further questions or comments, Chief, thank you for bringing
your team.
They had a difficult time answering some questions, but we certainly
appreciate them nonetheless. And
we want to thank you for bringing that hot weather from Savannah up with you.
But if you could take it back, we'd appreciate that even more.
He has to stay.
As far as I know, it's pretty hot.
It's hot in Savannah, right?
About like this, sir. Yes, sir.
Yep, see. This is something that we're not used to in Chicago.
But there being no further questions, well, First Chief, thank you as well.
Thank you.
It's been a pleasure working with you as well.
And if there are no further questions or comments,
that concludes our agenda, and there are no further items on the agenda for
today. Can I get a motion to adjourn?
So moved by my friend, Alderman Mitchell. All those approved, say aye.
All those that want to stick around, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. This meeting is now adjourned.