# Today's domestic violence hearing is about one $3.9 million line. The numbers alderpersons will have in front of them *The Police Department's Office of Victim Services grew from seven staff to 55. It reached 6,383 people last year and doesn't track whether they got help. The Police and Fire Committee meets at 1 p.m.* By Chicago Politics · Updated Nov 12, 2026 The City Council's Committee on Police and Fire meets at 1 p.m. today in Room 201A at City Hall for the domestic violence hearing that failed to reach a quorum on Oct. 1 ([meeting page](/meeting/051DB20E-BCC9-F111-AAAE-001DD803894A)). Nine of its 18 members must be in the room. Why it matters: the hearing asks whether about $3.9 million the City added to the Police Department's Office of Victim Services in 2025 is reaching survivors, or whether it would do more in emergency housing and legal aid. It is the only public session on that question scheduled before the Council votes on the 2027 budget. [Yesterday's story](/on-my-block/domestic-violence-hearing-thursday-home-share-gap-protecting-care-fund) covered who sits on the committee and what the budget hearings already put on the record. This one sets out the numbers the hearing is about. ## What the resolution asks Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) introduced the resolution in June, asking police representatives to testify "on the allocation of $3.9 million to the Office of Victim Services and other initiatives around domestic violence prevention and services" ([R2026-0026326](/matter/R2026-0026326-call-hearing-addressing-concerns-about-investing)). Thirteen alderpersons co-sponsored it; with Lee, they are 14 of the Council's 18 women, [Block Club Chicago reported](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/06/30/alderpeople-call-for-hearing-on-domestic-violence-program-after-block-club-investigation/). Committee Chair Chris Taliaferro (29th) said then that a Block Club investigation raised "very serious concerns." ## The numbers From that [Block Club investigation](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/06/10/the-city-spent-millions-on-a-flailing-domestic-violence-program-no-one-asked-for-advocates-say/), published in June: - **Staff:** the office, which began in the 1990s, was to grow from seven people to 55 under the expansion that took effect Jan. 1, 2025. In spring 2026, 26 positions were still vacant; by June, five were. The department blamed the City's hiring process. - **Reach:** in 2025, civilian victim specialists tried to contact 18,052 victims of violent crime and reached 6,383, mostly domestic violence survivors. - **Results:** the department doesn't track whether those contacts led to services, citing confidentiality. Of 56 community providers on the program's referral list, Block Club interviewed more than 40; four said they got referrals in 2025. - **The hotline:** police referrals to the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline were 3,384 in 2023, 2,659 in 2024 and 2,704 in 2025, per the hotline operator, after the expansion took effect. - **The other side:** police leaders called the investment a good use of money, and the office's deputy director said it helps rebuild survivors' trust. ## Questions the record leaves open - How many of the 55 positions are filled now, and what the office's 2027 budget line is. - Whether the department will start counting referrals that lead to services. - How the office's work fits with the Department of Family and Support Services, which funds the community providers. At the Nov. 6 budget hearing, that department said community gender-based violence providers will be funded at least at 2026 levels and that a $400,000 drop in Home Share surcharge money will be covered ([watch](/meeting/62AEBFEC-93C9-F111-AAAE-001DD80B58E5?t=23363)). ## What our records add **Attendance.** On Oct. 1, eight members were in the room: Lee, Robinson (4th), Mosley (21st), Cardona (31st), Sposato (38th), Nugent (39th), Knudsen (43rd) and Silverstein (50th), [Block Club reported](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/10/01/council-hearing-on-city-domestic-violence-program-canceled-after-not-enough-alders-show-up/). Remote attendance doesn't count toward a quorum. **The committee's backlog.** Lee's resolution is one of 18 items waiting in Police and Fire, where the median wait is 828 days, our [committee page](/committee/police-and-fire) shows. No vote is taken at a subject-matter hearing. ## What's next We'll report who attended and what was said. The video and our notes will be on the [meeting page](/meeting/051DB20E-BCC9-F111-AAAE-001DD803894A) once the City posts the recording. ## Sources 1. Block Club Chicago: [Block Club Chicago reported](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/06/30/alderpeople-call-for-hearing-on-domestic-violence-program-after-block-club-investigation/) 2. Block Club Chicago: [Block Club investigation](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/06/10/the-city-spent-millions-on-a-flailing-domestic-violence-program-no-one-asked-for-advocates-say/) 3. Block Club Chicago: [Block Club reported](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/10/01/council-hearing-on-city-domestic-violence-program-canceled-after-not-enough-alders-show-up/) --- Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/domestic-violence-hearing-today-office-victim-services-3-9-million-questions · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt