Committee on Police and Fire meeting, September 22, 2023
- When: Fri, Sep 22, 2023, 1:00 PM (Chicago time)
- Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on Police and Fire
- Video: https://vimeo.com/866448120?share=copy
- Transcript: full text (26,104 words, official captions)
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 met on September 22, 2023, to consider the appointment of Chief Larry Snelling as Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, following the selection process run by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. After one public commenter, interim Superintendent Fred Waller and Chief Snelling gave remarks, and committee and non-committee members thanked Waller and questioned Snelling on officer mental health, recruitment and retention, community policing, beat integrity, supervision under the consent decree, district boundaries, robberies, catalytic converter thefts, technology such as license plate readers and drones, pretrial fairness, overtime and mental health response. Snelling said he would assess specialized units and staffing, give district commanders more autonomy, add sergeants, and work with communities and federal partners. On a motion by Alderperson Gregory I. Mitchell, the appointment was approved by voice vote, to be reported to the City Council on September 27.
Topics: police superintendent appointment, police recruitment and retention, officer mental health, community policing, consent decree, beat integrity and staffing, police technology, pretrial fairness, mental health crisis response, district boundaries
Agenda items discussed
- 15:33 Motions to allow Alderpersons Silverstein and Clay to attend remotely: passed
- 15:55 Public comment
- 20:08 Appointment of Larry Snelling as Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department: passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Chris Taliaferro (chair): Thanked interim Superintendent Waller and credited the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability's nationwide search under the council's new hiring process. (23:37); Closed by thanking Superintendent Waller and the commission for bringing the appointment forward. (2:58:47)
- Silvana Tabares (alderperson): Asked what more is needed for officer mental health resources. (31:34); Asked whether the merit promotion process would be codified to recognize education and training credentials. (33:01); Said she anticipates proposals to cut vacant police positions from the budget and asked about strategies to recruit strong candidates. (34:46)
- Lamont J. Robinson (alderperson): Thanked Superintendent Waller and credited the mayor for choosing someone who rose through CPD's ranks. (41:27)
- Jeanette B. Taylor (alderperson): Described her past interactions with Superintendent Waller, praised him for acknowledging mistakes, and raised concerns about commander changes in her districts. (43:22); Said the public pays heavily for police misconduct and that many Black residents distrust police, which affects recruitment. (45:42); Called for bringing back CAPS and real community policing and criticized long officer shifts. (49:39)
- Timothy R. Knudsen (alderperson): Asked what a community policing strategy means for Chicago. (59:04); Noted the 18th District lost a third of its sworn officers and asked about beat integrity and decentralizing officers from downtown. (1:00:08); Asked what more can be done about the number of guns in the city. (1:03:23)
- Jason C. Ervin (alderperson): Asked whether district and beat boundaries, unchanged for decades, would be considered for realignment. (1:09:30); Asked whether officer schedules could be changed to meet service needs with fewer officers. (1:10:43); Asked how CPD would increase supervisors to bring span of control to a reasonable level. (1:13:15)
- Angela Clay (alderperson): Urged officers to build relationships with young people outside of uniform and asked how officers' mental health would be supported. (1:19:17); Asked how to balance special event deployments with neighborhood safety. (1:26:40)
- Nicole T. Lee (alderperson): Congratulated the selection of a candidate from within CPD and asked about officer retention. (1:28:26); Asked what efforts will recruit and train officers who speak the languages of the communities they serve, citing Chinatown. (1:32:06); Asked how alderpersons can help increase community involvement beyond the same CAPS attendees. (1:35:32)
- Nicholas Sposato (alderperson): Praised Superintendent Waller, expressed full support for Snelling, and asked about a reported officer suicide prevention effort. (1:38:51)
- Samantha Nugent (alderperson): Said morale has improved under Waller and asked which consent decree areas Snelling would prioritize. (1:41:06); Urged better public education on consent decree compliance and asked about improving the supervisor-to-officer ratio. (1:44:22); Encouraged colleagues to take CPD's use-of-force training and asked about coordination with federal and county partners. (1:46:35)
- Gregory I. Mitchell (alderperson): Said most violence in his area ties back to rental properties and asked about holding landlords liable when they do not act on problem properties. (1:49:37); Said the council should align policy with police needs and moved to approve the appointment. (1:51:46)
- Derrick G. Curtis (alderperson): Asked about Snelling's views on license plate readers and how police use that information. (1:54:03); Asked whether programs like the police Explorer program would return. (1:57:17)
- David H. Moore (alderperson): Praised Waller and asked that police be allowed to do their job without political interference. (1:59:16); Asked how pretrial fairness affects officers' ability to address people loitering in front of stores and vacant houses. (2:01:19); Asked how many squad cars and reserve vehicles are needed ahead of the budget and whether squadrons are being used. (2:05:04)
- Matthew J. Martin (alderperson): Noted declines in shootings and carjackings but robberies up over 40 percent and asked where CPD can improve on robberies. (2:10:34); Asked where CPD sees opportunities to reach full consent decree compliance, including training. (2:16:04)
- Marty Quinn (alderperson): Asked whether Snelling took part in recent staff changes and whether they would remain under his leadership. (2:19:25); Raised catalytic converter thefts in the 8th District and asked about the vehicle pursuit policy. (2:21:00); Asked whether drones could address street takeovers and said he would use ward menu money to buy them. (2:23:26)
- Pat Dowell (alderperson): Said she would vote for Snelling and asked about re-evaluating the relationship among CPD, CHA and the Park District. (2:26:28); Urged Snelling to follow through on reviewing district and beat boundaries, noting prior superintendents did not. (2:30:19); Asked how CPD will address rising vehicle break-ins in the 1st and 2nd districts and suggested a task force. (2:31:17)
- Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (alderperson): Asked Snelling to commit to training with the Chicago Therapy Collective on trans inclusion, given threats against LGBTQ residents. (2:39:01); Described a friend's mental health crisis response and asked for a commitment to bring non-police responders into such calls. (2:43:12)
- Peter Chico (alderperson): As a former officer trained by Snelling, praised his respect among officers and the public and asked about overtime and tiered deployment. (2:47:42); Asked about recruiting officers to serve in the districts where they grew up. (2:52:23); Asked about having federal partners work with district officers on chronic problems. (2:53:47)
- Michelle A. Harris (alderperson): Thanked Waller and asked Snelling to hold regular area meetings bringing commanders and alderpersons together. (2:55:38); Asked whether the DCO program could be expanded through training based on districts where it works well. (2:57:26)
Exchanges between members
- 46:39 Alderperson Jeanette B. Taylor said Alderperson Silvana Tabares asked the question she planned to ask and built on it.
- 58:21 Alderperson Timothy R. Knudsen followed up on Alderperson Jeanette B. Taylor remark about the 20th Ward, noting Snelling attended school in the 43rd Ward.
- 1:57:17 Alderperson Derrick G. Curtis referred to programs Alderperson Jeanette B. Taylor mentioned in asking about the Explorer program.
- 2:21:00 Alderperson Marty Quinn built on Alderperson Nicole T. Lee question about catalytic converter thefts.
- 2:25:09 Alderperson Marty Quinn referred to Alderperson Jason C. Ervin point about outdated district boundaries.
- 2:59:12 The chair asked Alderperson Gregory I. Mitchell to renew his motion to approve the appointment.