Committee on Police and Fire meeting, November 12, 2026

When: Thu, Nov 12, 2026, 1:00 PM (Chicago time)
Where: 201A, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
Status: Scheduled & Published
Committee: Committee on Police and Fire
Video: https://vimeo.com/showcase/9823060?video=1235510803
Transcript: full text (26,076 words, automatic captions)

Video chapters

1:10:42 R2026-0026326 - Call for hearings on investing in the Office of Victim Services rather than increasing funds…
1:11:32 Nicole T. Lee: Framed the hearing as an honest conversation about using resources effectively on…
1:13:05 Nicole T. Lee: Reported a budget-hearing commitment that $400,000 in ARPA funding for gender-based and…
1:14:16 Nicole T. Lee: Cited Block Club Chicago reporting that OVS made contact with 6,383 of 18,052 victims…
2:21:32 Jeanette B. Taylor: Said the city has a working-together problem, not just a budget problem, and asked where…
2:23:26 Jeanette B. Taylor: Said housing is the number one need for domestic violence survivors and recounted a…
2:28:41 Jeanette B. Taylor: Said she believes in equity and wants to fund, not defund, services, arguing the $1.4…
3:25:51 Chris Taliaferro: Offered to huddle with OEMC and advocates to ensure 911 call information is transferred…
3:26:00 Chris Taliaferro: Echoed Taylor's request that advocates' funding letter go to all 50 alderpersons.
3:26:10 Chris Taliaferro: Closed the hearing, asked members to keep the families of Officer Martin and the…

Meeting notes

AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.

The Committee on Police and Fire held a subject-matter hearing (no votes) on resolution R2026-0026326, examining investment in CPD's Office of Victim Services versus increased funding for emergency housing and legal aid programs for domestic violence and gender-based violence survivors. Public comment featured survivors and advocates, and two survivors, Officer Katina Watkins Lloyd and Sarah Brown, gave opening remarks. CPD Deputy Director Mike Milstein described the Office of Victim Services' staffing (50 victim specialists), $4 million budget, and 2025-2026 outreach data, while Amy Fox of Lifespan, Sarah Layden of Resilience, and Madeline Baron of the Network described chronic underfunding of community-based legal aid, housing, and rape crisis services and raised concerns about confidentiality privilege within a police department. Alderpersons Lee and Taylor pressed witnesses on caseloads, confidentiality versus the Brady rule, referral duplication, and equitable funding. No vote was taken; members asked for CPD's written confidentiality policy, slides, and contact information to be shared with all 50 alderpersons.

Topics: domestic violence, victim services, CPD Office of Victim Services, gender-based violence funding, confidentiality and privilege, sexual assault services, legal aid, housing, city budget, police

Agenda items discussed

1:10:42 R2026-0026326 - Call for hearings on investing in the Office of Victim Services rather than increasing funds for emergency housing and legal aid programs (subject-matter hearing, no votes) (R2026-0026326): discussed

Alderpersons who spoke

Chris Taliaferro (alderperson): Offered to huddle with OEMC and advocates to ensure 911 call information is transferred correctly. (3:25:51); Echoed Taylor's request that advocates' funding letter go to all 50 alderpersons. (3:26:00); Closed the hearing, asked members to keep the families of Officer Martin and the Taliaferro family in their prayers, thanked the survivors and witnesses. (3:26:10)
Nicole T. Lee (alderperson): Framed the hearing as an honest conversation about using resources effectively on gender-based violence, not taking money from anyone. (1:11:32); Reported a budget-hearing commitment that $400,000 in ARPA funding for gender-based and domestic violence would be replaced by DFSS. (1:13:05); Cited Block Club Chicago reporting that OVS made contact with 6,383 of 18,052 victims attempted, that outcomes are not tracked, and only 4 of 56 providers reported receiving referrals. (1:14:16)
Jeanette B. Taylor (alderperson): Said the city has a working-together problem, not just a budget problem, and asked where the county and CDPH are in the conversation. (2:21:32); Said housing is the number one need for domestic violence survivors and recounted a constituent who stayed with her abuser because there was nothing for her. (2:23:26); Said she believes in equity and wants to fund, not defund, services, arguing the $1.4 million increase to OVS should equitably go to rape crisis services. (2:28:41)
Silvana Tabares (alderperson)

Exchanges between members

2:21:27 Taylor pressed witnesses on collaboration, federal funding advocacy, and county/CDPH roles during the hearing Lee convened; Lee later referenced Taylor's comments and looked to her when discussing the Women's Caucus commitment to resources (11081-11097).

Documents

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