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36 New Officers In Jefferson Park Fulfill Promise From Top Cop, Ald. Says

By Alex Nitkin | December 7, 2016 5:54am
 A total of 230 officers will report to the city's most expansive district by year's end, up from 192 officers this summer, Sposato said.
A total of 230 officers will report to the city's most expansive district by year's end, up from 192 officers this summer, Sposato said.
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DNAinfo/Devlin Brown

CHICAGO — Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson will assign an additional 12 police officers to the Jefferson Park District by the end of the month, fulfilling his September promise to beef up the force, according to Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th).

A total of 230 officers will report to the city's most expansive police district by year's end, up from 192 over the summer, Sposato said.

The district saw 10 new officers added in October, then another 10 in November, the alderman said. On Tuesday, Johnson told district Cmdr. Bill Looney he'd get another 12 this month.

Johnson "kind of dribbled along with his promise there for a while, but now it's complete," Sposato said. "I'm thrilled, the commander's thrilled. ... This was very much needed."

The 32 extra bodies don't include assignments making up for retirements and attrition, he added.

Facing a spike in reported crime, Sposato joined other aldermen on the Far Northwest Side in June to demand reinforcements from Johnson, coaxing the top cop to commit 20 more officers to the district by the end of the year.

With fewer than 200 officers charged to cover the 36 square-mile district, many residents reported feeling unprotected amid a citywide crime surge.

Robberies were reported 162 times in the Jefferson Park police district between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, compared to just 119 during the same period in 2015, according to city data. Meanwhile, 368 car thefts were reported in the district through October 2016, up from 290 the previous year.

Earlier this month, the City Council passed a 2017 budget including $60 million to hire 250 new officers, 92 new field-training officers, 100 new detectives, 37 new sergeants and 50 new lieutenants across the city's 22 police districts.

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