An important update in the ongoing controversy over whether the most serious cases of police misconduct would be heard behind closed doors: A court just ruled that any serious misconduct arbitrations must be public.
As we’ve written before, for the last 60 years, the public Police Board has decided police misconduct cases that could result in officer terminations or suspensions of more than a year. But in their latest contract negotiations, the Fraternal Order of Police demanded that officers facing the highest sanctions be permitted to have their cases heard in private arbitration, out of public view. After an arbitrator sided with the FOP, we advocated for the City Council to reject this demand and vote against allowing private arbitration for serious misconduct. We’re proud the City Council did so—in two separate votes—which sent the issue to the courts.
Now, a Cook County Circuit Court has ruled that, while officers may choose to have their cases heard in arbitration, any arbitration for serious misconduct must be public. This is a significant victory for transparency in the most high-profile cases of misconduct, when community trust in policing is most fragile. The court’s ruling validates the City Council’s decision not to ratify closed-door arbitrations in the FOP contract. We again thank 19th District Alds. Vasquez (40), Knudsen (43), Lawson (44), Clay (46), and Martin (47), who voted twice to reject arbitration behind closed doors.
However, while this is a win for transparency, more must be done to ensure accountability. We already have accountability in the public Police Board, which is overseen by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. Under City ordinance, the CCPSA both nominates Police Board members to the Mayor and sets annual goals for the Police Board President. This system ensures the Police Board is accountable to community representatives.
By contrast, the CCPSA does not control accountability for arbitrators who may now decide serious misconduct cases. And there are few community-driven standards for what knowledge arbitrators must apply to those cases. For example, the Cook County judge who reviewed the FOP contract did not require arbitrators in serious police misconduct cases to undergo the same training as Police Board members.
In short, while the latest court ruling is a step toward transparency, we have more work to do to ensure that the most damaging incidents of police misconduct are fully accountable to the community at large. We will continue to monitor this issue, including any further activity in the courts, and advocate for the community’s voice to be heard.
Read more about the court decision in the Chicago Tribune, or check out the full opinion here. The portions most relevant to public accountability are at pages 15-20.
