Police Reform

Erika Boyd (right), mother of Nathen Jones, holds Nathen's hand during a press conference at the Salvi Schostok and Pritchard law offices on March 18, 2024.

City Hall

Mom says 'no amount of money' can bring back 'healthy, active' teen injured in unauthorized police chase

“I don’t talk about all the hard work and dedication it takes to take care of my son and the effort and the hard work that his siblings put in. … This is gonna be the rest of our lives,” Erika Boyd told reporters shortly after the city authorized a $45 million settlement to cover her son’s medical care.

By Fran Spielman

City Hall

Family of teen killed in fatal foot chase could get $2.25 million from city to settle lawsuit

The officer who shot and killed 19-year-old Roshad McIntosh in 2014 was cleared of wrongdoing twice by Chicago police oversight agencies.

By Andy Grimm

Crime

Cook County approves $17 million settlement for man exonerated of the murders of 2 Chicago Police officers

Jackie Wilson’s third trial for the 1982 murder of two Chicago Police officers collapsed amid allegations of prosecutor misconduct and police torture.

By Andy Grimm

City Hall

Teen who can't walk, speak after crash during unauthorized police chase offered $45 million settlement

The April 2021 pursuit that led to the devastating injuries suffered by Nathen Jones was one of a long line of Chicago police chases ending tragically. It also violated a newly-revised CPD policy intended to rein in vehicular pursuits. The payment, one of the largest in Chicago history, will help with the around-the-clock care Jones will need for the rest of his life.

By Fran Spielman and Tom Schuba

Chicago Police Sgt. Michael Vitellaro is seen in an image from video last August kneeling on the back of a 14-year-old boy in Park Ridge.

Crime

Chicago cop shown kneeling on 14-year-old's back in viral video faces dismissal

The process of firing Sgt. Michael Vitellaro for allegedly using excessive force and lying about what happened was already in motion when he was acquitted last June on criminal charges stemming from the 2022 incident.

By Tom Schuba

CPD 2024 Sergeant's Exam YouTube video clip

Columnists

What color is a trusted face?

Some Chicago police officers are upset that a CPD video promoting the upcoming sergeants’ exam leaves out a certain category of cop.

By Neil Steinberg

Crime

Chicago cop responding to ShotSpotter alert opened fire on boy lighting fireworks, oversight agency says

Chicago police initially claimed officers were fired upon by a man, but the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released information Tuesday indicating the person involved was a child and did not shoot at police.

By Sophie Sherry

ShotSpotter equipment at Stony Island Avenue and East 63rd Street in Chicago.

City Hall

ShotSpotter contract extension might be illegal, sources say

Mayor Brandon’s Johnson’s administration negotiated an extension under less favorable terms than the original deal, which could violate city code, sources say. But the city’s Law Department says “a myriad of code provisions” permit the mayor’s extension.

By Fran Spielman and Tom Schuba

City Hall

Judge plans to rule next month on whether serious police disciplinary cases can be heard in private

Judge Michael T. Mullen on Monday lifted a freeze on proceedings before the Chicago Police Board. He said he will rule on the case March 20.

By Tom Schuba

Lincoln Park

COPA investigating officer-involved shooting in Lincoln Park; no injuries reported

A CPD officer was in the 2700 block of North Halsted Street when he saw two people running toward him about 3:20 p.m. One person had a gun. The officer fired a shot. The two people fled.

By Sun-Times Wire

A Dollar Tree store in Chicago, behind people sitting and standing at a CTA bus stop.

City Hall

City Council reins in Chicago dollar stores

Ald. Matt O’Shea described overflowing dumpsters and litter-strewn parking lots, broken fences and light fixtures and tipped-over shopping carts. But “in a predominantly white suburb, I don’t see that. I see clean, well-maintained stores and parking lots,” O’Shea said.

By Fran Spielman

A Chicago police badge hangs in front of the City of Chicago Public Safety Headquarters on December 1, 2015. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Crime

Disciplinary cases before Chicago Police Board could be halted even longer amid court battle

The battle over police discipline stems from an arbitrator’s finding that state labor law affords the union’s rank-and-file members the right to seek “final and binding arbitration,” like other public sector employees.

By Tom Schuba

City Hall

Chicago police union asks judge to rule cops accused of serious misconduct can have cases heard in private

The Fraternal Order of Police’s motion for summary judgment was filed after alderpersons voted once again to reject an arbitrator’s finding that officers facing dismissal or suspensions over one year have the right to circumvent the Chicago Police Board.

By Tom Schuba

Police Reform

Anjanette Young continues fight to ban no-knock warrants 5 years after botched CPD raid

After an attempt to pass an ordinance in City Council in 2022 failed, Young hopes reforms will be addressed in the ongoing federal consent decree process with the Chicago Police Department.

By David Struett

Police Reform

City Council again rejects allowing police disciplinary hearings to be held in secret<br/>

Thursday’s vote — after an emotional debate that forced Mayor Brandon Johnson to call for decorum four times — reaffirms the Council’s symbolic commitment to police reform and accountability, but the victory for Johnson and his allies may be both short-lived and Pyrrhic.

By Fran Spielman

Martina Standley Provided to the Chicago Sun-Times.jpg

City Hall

$3.25M settlement proposed for family of bipolar woman run over by Chicago police vehicle

Martina Standley’s family says she was suffering a “mental health crisis” on Nov. 13, 2019 when she walked up to a police department SUV with Chicago Police Officer Brian Greene behind the wheel. After she touched the spotlight on the vehicle, Greene sped off, driving over her.

By Fran Spielman

ShotSpotter technology is seen at the intersection of North Lavergne Avenue and West Division Street in Austin in June 2023.

Crime

Top prosecutor says ShotSpotter has little impact on gun violence cases as mayor faces pressure to renew contract

With Mayor Johnson on the clock to decide whether to renew the ShotSpotter deal, an internal document obtained by the Sun-Times underscores previous criticism that the technology is ineffective and too costly.

By Tom Schuba and Matthew Hendrickson

City Hall

City Council committee OKs study on how best to deploy Chicago police as resources shrink, some crimes spike

In pushing for the review, Ald. Matt Martin (47th) cited the need to respond more quickly to 911 calls and close the gap between response times in different police districts.

By Fran Spielman and Tom Schuba

City Hall

Judge halts all proceedings before Chicago Police Board after City Council again delays vote on what cases can be heard in private

During Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Johnson’s allies used a parliamentary maneuver to push back a vote on whether cops facing dismissal or suspensions over one year can choose to have their cases heard by an arbitrator instead of the police board.

By Fran Spielman and Tom Schuba

City Hall

City Council committee rejects arbitrator’s police disciplinary ruling for a second time

For the second time in two months, the Committee on Workforce Development rejected a ruling that would allow Chicago police officers accused of serious wrongdoing to bypass the Police Board in favor of arbitration behind closed doors.

By Fran Spielman

Gresham

No evidence of shots fired before Chicago cop shot at a man on South Side, police oversight agency finds

An officer heard a loud bang and began shooting at a man who was standing near a home on the South Side Thursday night, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. No one was arrested or injured.

By Violet Miller

Larry Snelling, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pick to lead the Chicago Police Department, has expressed support for mental health workers to help respond to some 911 calls.

Crime

Chicago’s top cop halting initiative that has sent ‘scarecrow’ police cars downtown

The blue glow of police lights has become a constant fixture downtown, where cops working overtime have been assigned to act as a crime deterrent simply by sitting in their cars.

By Tom Schuba

Police Reform

Prosecutors drop charges against 2 Chicago police officers accused of beating teen

Officers Jeffery Shafer and Victor Guebara were set to appear for a bench trial Wednesday, but prosecutors instead announced they were dismissing all charges because the alleged victim, now in his 20s, was no longer cooperating.

By Matthew Hendrickson

Mayor Brandon Johnson presiding at the Chicago City Council meeting on Jan. 24, 2024.

City Hall

Johnson calls off 2nd vote to reject police arbitration

“He’s a coward,” Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara said afterward. The matter now goes to a City Council committee chaired by an ally of the mayor.

By Fran Spielman

Protesters in an upstairs gallery bang on the glass during a contentious debate at a December Chicago City Council meeting.

City Hall

Mayor to seek second vote rejecting arbitrator’s ruling on CPD disciplinary hearings

The Council rejected the ruling, which allows Chicago police officers accused of the most serious misconduct to have their cases decided in closed-door arbitration. The arbitrator reaffirmed his original decision, returning it to the Council for a second vote, which could come Wednesday.

By Fran Spielman

Then-Chicago police Supt. David Brown speaks at the opening of the Public Safety Training Center, the city’s new police academy, at 701 N. Kilbourn Ave. in Humboldt Park on Jan. 25, 2023.

The Watchdogs

Firm tied to former Chicago top cop David Brown back at police academy after being dumped over cost

Interim police Supt. Fred Waller ordered that ties with Professional Law Enforcement Training be cut, but PLET was brought back late last year.

By Tom Schuba and Frank Main

A still from video showing a man fatally hit by semi while being chased by Chicago police last month,

Police Reform

Video shows man being fatally struck by semi as he flees Chicago cops on West Side

The officers chased Vesmo Banks, 35, after they saw him leave a stolen vehicle last month, police said.

By Tom Schuba

Members of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability meet at Kennedy-King College on July 13, 2023.

City Hall

Applications now open to serve on civilian police oversight commission

A lengthy list of requirements includes living in the city for the last five years, and not working for CPD, COPA or the Police Board in that time. The deadline to apply is noon on Feb. 7. Out of 14 nominees, the mayor will choose seven.

By Fran Spielman

Chicago Police Department shoulder patch.

City Hall

Arbitrator reaffirms police disciplinary ruling, urges City Council to reconsider its rejection

Arbitrator Edwin Benn said state law guarantees Chicago police officers accused of the most serious wrongdoing the right to bypass the Police Board in favor of arbitration. Benn also criticized Mayor Brandon Johnson and the 33 City Council members who rejected his earlier ruling.

By Fran Spielman

Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg speaks at a City Club of Chicago luncheon at Maggiano’s in November.

City Hall

Inspector general’s office passes consent decree test as CPD struggles to comply

While CPD is the main focus of the decree — and has the farthest way to go to meet its terms — the inspector general’s office had been among several other agencies still being scrutinized by the feds.

By Mitchell Armentrout