It is clear that in Chicago, police officers have been relegated to the status of second-class public servants.
Nowhere is this more in evidence than in the decision by Mayor Brandon Johnson and his City Council supporters to oppose providing police with the same arbitration rights as other public employees. The police arbitration issue is not about accountability; it’s about fairness. Johnson deserves credit for approving a new Chicago Police Department contract that is financially generous and fair. This, along with his selection of a new police superintendent drawn from the Chicago Police Department, signals a move beyond the anti-police rhetoric of his supporters. Both actions could provide a much-needed boost to morale and help improve police retention and recruitment.
It is therefore disappointing, if not surprising, that the mayor feels the need to oppose an arbitrator’s decision to allow cops to contest serious misconduct cases in arbitration, thereby ensuring that police officers have the same rights as all other public employees.
All Illinois public employees, covered by the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, have a fundamental right to a fair and impartial hearing before a labor arbitrator selected by their employer and their union to determine whether discipline issues against them are for just cause. Section 8 of the statute provides that all contracts must have a “final and binding” arbitration clause.
The arbitrator in the Fraternal Order of Police case has held that the new FOP contract should respect this fundamental right to due process and that police officers should have the right to select a hearing before an arbitrator jointly selected by the employees’ union.
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This decision is consistent with decisions all over the state for police officers and firefighters who have obtained contract rights to elect to have their discipline cases, termination and suspensions heard by labor arbitrators. The city is attempting to break away from the universal pattern that has been established throughout the state.
It’s high time the city entities specifically charged with CPD oversight — the bureau of internal affairs, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the Police Board — be consolidated into a single professional oversight body and provided resources and support needed to ensure not only absolute fairness and consistency but also that investigations are concluded and recommendations made and acted upon in real time.
COPA has a history of long delays in investigations. Justice delayed is justice denied, even for police officers. These multiple layers of conflicting and sometimes unprofessional oversight are contributing to the historic exodus of officers and are destroying the proactive policing needed to deal with a surge in crime, as officers fear being punished and unsupported.
An Office of Inspector General report from 2022 points to a lack of consistency and fairness by which discipline of CPD members is reviewed and recommended. The OIG concluded agencies charged with investigating CPD members “do not operate with sufficient guidance and controls to ensure procedural fairness and consistency.”
An allegation that a CPD member has committed misconduct is usually investigated by CPD’s bureau of internal affairs or COPA.
The OIG found that BIA and COPA’s policies do not “contain clear and actionable guidance on how investigators should weigh aggravating and mitigating factors in reaching disciplinary recommendations. Updates to BIA and COPA’s policies may still be inadequate to ensure consistency and fairness. The Police Board lacks formal policies to consistently and fairly determine discipline for cases it considers.”
The lack of credible training for COPA investigators is a well-documented problem. Every CPD officer must be proficient and pass standardized testing and training in order to become a police officer. Why can’t COPA employees be held to the same standard? Those promoted into COPA leadership positions seem to have been selected for reasons other than proven competence and expertise. Little wonder the OIG reports the lack of consistency and fairness in investigations of CPD members.
It’s time to afford the police the same arbitration rights afforded other state and local public employees in Illinois. It’s also time to consolidate and professionalize police oversight and bring fairness and speed to the investigations of police officers. Eliminate COPA and consolidate police oversight under one board with police representation and investigatory expertise.
Joe Ferguson, a onetime inspector general, said it best: “Justice must run in all directions — for all.”
Paul Vallas is an adviser for the Illinois Policy Institute. He has run for Chicago mayor twice and was previously budget director for the city and CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
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