CITY HALL — A coalition of community groups rallied Thursday to demand changes to the city’s contract with the police union, saying the deal that expires Friday represents “the old way of doing things in Chicago.”
The Coalition for Accountability in Police Contracts — which includes the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and Action Now — said it would press Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City Council to reject any agreement that fails to ensure that police officers will be held responsible for their misconduct.
Willie Preston of Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation said the current contract — which will remain in effect until a new deal is ratified by the mayor and aldermen — was a product of an obsolete era in Chicago.
"The old Chicago way is no longer acceptable," Preston said.
Lindsay Miller of the ACLU said the coalition would present elected officials with a long list of changes needed to bring about "real and lasting change" and eradicate the "code of silence" and lack of oversight illuminated by the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald.
"The oversight system is broken," Miller said.
Emanuel has said any new agreement with the police union must be significantly different than the current one.
An Emanuel spokeswoman said representatives of the mayor planned to sit down with the coalition in the coming weeks.
"We appreciate the sincere interest in these important negotiations by the residents of Chicago," a news release from the mayor's office stated.
Neither Emanuel nor a spokesman for Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham would discuss the negotiations. Both sides saying they would not negotiate "the contract in the media."
Graham, elected in April, said he would fight "the anti-police movement in the city" during the contract negotiations.
That puts Emanuel squarely in the middle of a looming fight between the union and the 11 members of the City Council's black caucus, which endorsed the coalition's goals and has vowed to vote against any police contract that does not significantly change the way allegations of officer misconduct are investigated.
"A new contract is a chance to get it right," said Adeline Bracey of Action Now, drawing large cheers from the crowd before the rally and news conference ended in a brief chant of "No Justice — No Peace."
The coalition wants anonymous complaints about officer misconduct to be allowed. State law now requires a signed affidavit to be filed before a formal investigation can be launched.
In addition, the group wants restrictions lifted on the use of past disciplinary records in the investigation of current complaints.
Officers involved in shootings should no longer be allowed to wait 24 hours before being interviewed by investigators, the coalition said.
An investigation by the U.S. Justice Department sparked by the outcry after McDonald's death found that Chicago police routinely violated the civil rights of residents by using excessive force caused by poor training and nonexistent supervision.
The investigation also found that officers are too rarely held accountable for misconduct, and discipline is unpredictable and ineffective.
