Analysis: PROPOSALS TO ESTABLISH A CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT COMMISSION FOR THE CPD AND RELATED AGENCIES

Policy Statements

Today, the Chicago Council of Lawyers (Council) issues a memorandum reviewing and commenting on two alternative pending ordinances that would establish a Civilian Oversight Commission over the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), and the Chicago Police Board.

In the wake of the LaQuan McDonald’s murder by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke in 2014 (and the subsequent 2016 Task Force Report), the City of Chicago recognized a vital need to improve its oversight of the CPD. In response, the Chicago City Council agreed to an oversight structure comprised of three distinct parts, each critical to the goal of improved policing in the City and its communities: (1) improvements to COPA, the agency which investigates most police misconduct complaints, including use of force; (2) creation of the position of Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety within the City’s Inspector General Office, with responsibility for monitoring and reporting on patterns of conduct and operations of the CPD; and (3) creation of a Civilian Oversight Commission to assist in overseeing the operations of the CPD, COPA and related agencies. In 2016, the City Council enacted details for the first two parts of the reform structure, but has deferred creating a Civilian Oversight Commission to give community groups time to submit their own proposals for the oversight commission.

The community has devoted themselves to this important issue and two groups have produced alternative proposals for a Civilian Oversight Commission: the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) offered an ordinance to create a “Civilian Police Accountability Council” (CPAC) and the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability offered its own ordinance, which is widely referred to as GAPA.

The Council appreciates the significant efforts and recognizes the different perspectives of the community groups involved in the two competing proposals. The value of this work and these perspectives cannot be overstated, and the Mayor’s Office and the City Council would be wrong to ignore or dismiss them. It is long past time to establish the long-ago promised Civilian Oversight Commission in Chicago.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers does not endorse either of the two proposed ordinances in their entirety. The Council does endorse some aspects of the GAPA proposal, such as the provisions related to the qualification and disqualification required of potential Commission members, the Commission’s role in oversight of CPD policies, the relationship between the Commission and COPA, and the degree of power sharing with the Mayor and City Council on decisions such as the selection and firing of the Chicago Police Department Superintendent and Police Board members. Nonetheless, the Council has not endorsed fully either of the competing proposals.

The Council recognizes and respects that much of the plan for the Civilian Oversight Commission should come from those most directly affected by CPD actions—i.e., the communities being over-policed. At the same time, the charter for and formative powers granted to such an oversight commission, including its authority and who may serve as commissioners, present many fair and challenging concerns about the commission’s role vis-à-vis the Mayor’s Office, the City Council, CPD officers, and members of the public. Experience both in Chicago and in other cities shows that establishing an oversight commission can be difficult, but that it can be done.

Four years have passed since the City Council committed itself to creating the Civilian Oversight Commission; whatever model is chosen, this Commission should now be created. Experience with what works and what does not work for our City will prove essential in adjusting the responsibilities of such a Commission, but that work cannot begin until such a commission is at last established. One should not reasonably expect the commission to be perfect at the start; but it is time for the Mayor’s Office and the City Council to create it.

We divide our analysis of the GAPA and CPAC ordinances into two parts. First, we summarize how each ordinance addresses key provisions that any Civilian Oversight Commission charter should include, and we give the Council’s analysis of and position on these provisions. Second, we make recommendations on the substantive powers that the GAPA and CPAC ordinances give to the Commission. Read our full analysis here.