Police Board Reforms Approved By City Council Committee
CHICAGO (CBS) -- After years of being stalled in the City Council, a bill to change the way the Police Board operates has won preliminary approval.
As WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports, the City Council Public Safety Committee has approved a measure that ensures decisions by the nine-member Police Board will be posted online within 10 days.
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Sponsoring Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) says the reasons behind the decisions, and any dissents, will be spelled out.
"Far too long, the decisions have remained without reasons. Two people that were charged with the same offense – one may receive a few days' suspension, and the other could be up to a year or two years," Fioretti said.
So what has changed since previous attempts at passage of reforms to the Police Board?
Retired Mayor Richard M. Daley resisted the ordinance, but Mayor Rahm Emanuel favors it. Meanwhile, Public Safety Committee Chairman Ald. James Balcer (11th) says he wants to move on.
"If the mayor wants, you work on it, and if the City Council wants it, you pass it," Balcer said.
The Police Board disciplines officers and reviews prospective superintendents.
