Emanuel Vows Police Budget Cuts Won't Hurt Safety
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Emanuel is promising that cuts to the police budget will not jeopardize public safety.
Emanuel on Wednesday confirmed that he has asked Police Supt. Garry McCarthy to cut $190 million from the police department budget.
That may mean that open jobs would be left unfilled. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that not hiring for those positions would save about $93 million, leaving nearly $100 million in required reductions.
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Emanuel would not say whether all of the nearly 1,400 positions would go unfilled.
The mayor did say he remains committed to putting more officers on the streets. He has added 750 more cops by mostly reassigning them from desk duty.
He says his main target will be bureaucracy in the central office
"We are putting officers on the street," Emanuel said. "I have already done 750. We're going to have more."
"In my office, I cut 10 percent [in salaries]," Emanuel said. "I don't think the mayor's office has slowed up. We cut $450 million out of the Chicago Public School's central office. There will be no central office that's not part of reform."
