CITY COUNCIL

CITY OF CHICAGO
_____________
COUNCIL CHAMBER
SECOND FLOOR, CITY HALL
TELEPHONE: 312-744-6800
June 16, 2016
Dear Members of the Coalition to Follow Up on the Police Accountability Task Force:
We want to thank you for your letter regarding the next steps that we must take to reform our system
of police accountability in a way that restores public trust in the process and repairs the relationship
between police and our communities.
As Mayor Emanuel announced a few weeks ago, it is our intention to work together to draft an
ordinance that will fundamentally reshape our system of police accountability. The framework for the
new structure will be driven by core principles: independence, integrity, transparency and citizen
participation, and will reflect the basic tenets of the recommendations made by the Police
Accountability Task Force.
As you know, those recommendations were themselves the product of intensive public input. The Task
Force held a series of public hearings, and resulting recommendations reflect the input not only of
subject matter experts, but also the broader diversity of opinions held by residents throughout the City
of Chicago.
We would like to outline the next steps in the ongoing process of creating those reforms. In light of the
seriousness of the issue, the complexity of the ordinance required to address it, and how essential
public opinion is to shaping the solution, we are committed to providing meaningful opportunities for
public engagement on this issue. After meeting with Mayor Emanuel, we have collectively decided to
provide opportunity for additional public comment before introducing an ordinance on these reforms
for the City Council.
On July 6th and July 7th, we will be holding two subject matter hearings in front of the Committees on
Public Safety and Budget and Government Operations. The goal for these two hearings is to receive
input comments and insights from subject matter experts and members of the public to inform the
crafting of the ordinance language. We will then work together to craft the ordinance, and expect to
introduce it during the July 20th meeting of the full City Council.
These hearings will provide citizens the opportunity to make their voices heard. We will be reaching out
to subject matter experts to invite them to present testimony, and we encourage members of the public
to join as well. We believe that taking this extra step to engage the public will ensure that the final
ordinance language reflects the views, voices, and deeply-held beliefs of Chicagos citizens.
1

The overwhelming majority of our police officers continue to do their jobs well as they work under
dangerous conditions to bring safety to every community. However, when misconduct occurs, we must
have a system in place that brings real accountability through a process that every Chicagoan can trust.
That remains our ultimate goal.
We believe that by continuing to engage the public over the coming weeks and months as we work out
the final details of the new system, we will make the reforms even stronger. We thank you again for
making your voices heard as a part of this important effort.

Chairman Ariel E. Reboyras

Committee on Public Safety

Chairman Carrie M. Austin

Committee on Budget and Government Operations