Union-backed changes to Chicago’s police discipline system rejected by City Council and Mayor Brandon Johnson

The Chicago City Council followed Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson in rejecting changes backed by the city’s largest police union to decide serious police discipline cases behind closed doors.

The City Council voted 33-17 on Wednesday to strike a key part of the deal reached between the Fraternal Order of Police and the Johnson administration after lengthy legal debates with former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, according to the Chicago Tribune.

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As part of the 2021 police contract, the arbitrator ruled Chicago officers facing a suspension of at least a year or termination could have their cases decided by a third party behind closed doors rather than in public by the Chicago Police Board, a system that has been in place for 60 years. The proposal would assign a single arbitrator to each case as selected by the police union, instead of the board’s panel of nine.

Johnson urged the City Council to reject the arbitrator’s decision, a key part of the agreement brokered with the union.

“While we recognize police officers’ right to arbitration, it is crucial that disciplinary cases be handled in a manner that allows for public transparency and true accountability,” Johnson said in an October statement.

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The rejection will now head back down to independent arbitrator Edwin Benn, who approved the arbitration clause earlier this week and has the power to send his decision back to the aldermen. The arbitrator’s decision was voted on by the City Council in a separate ruling from the rest of the agreements.

The City Council approved a 20% pay raise for rank-and-file police officers for an extended two years, doubling negotiations reached under Lightfoot. The deal would extend the current contract by two years, through June 30, 2027, increasing the annual pay raises from 2.5% to 5% for officers in 2024 and 2025. Chicago police officers would get cost-of-living raises in 2026 and 2027, and those are expected to be between 3% and 5%.