Chicago budget hearing Friday focused on CPD funds as councilors look to close nearly $1 billion deficit

CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago’s financial crisis is playing out at City Hall.

A hearing Friday will focus on the police budget as the city faces a nearly $1 billion budget deficit.

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This comes after the The City Council voted to halt Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed property tax increase of $300 million.

The City Council meets with various departments to discuss their city budget needs.

Chicago police leaders will meet with council members Friday as they try to figure out how to make up for the city’s budget deficit and pass a budget before the year-end deadline.

Mayor Johnson’s current proposal includes a plan to eliminate 400 positions within the CPD.

And some community groups are critical of what Police Chief Larry Snelling has proposed for his department so far.

A group spoke outside City Hall Friday morning, objecting to things like increasing funding for SWAT teams and the Marine/Helicopter Unit.

“I lost my brother to gun violence. I found him lying in the alley with gunshot wounds to his chest. I remember the trauma, the loss, and the feeling of having to pick up the pieces on our own. We didn’t need more police. what we needed was support, I needed mentors and resources that could help prevent tragedies like this from happening,” said Reynia Jackson of GoodKidsMadCity.

The mayor said he stands behind his “values”: no layoffs or cuts that “invest in people.”

But the CPD funding that Johnson wants to cut would help the department with a federal consent decree created after the police shooting of Laquan McDonald.

ABC7 Chicago has received a letter from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, which was sent to the mayor through a Freedom of Information Act request.

It says the city is at risk “of being prosecuted for contempt of court for failure to comply with the consent decree.”

Johnson defended his efforts for police reform, saying the city has hired more detectives to create better oversight.

On Thursday, 32 councilors were also expected to introduce an amendment to include gunshot detection technology in the 2025 budget.

The proposal is for $15.8 million for gunshot detection technology.

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