Police Settlement Transparency and Accountability (PSTA) Ordinance
The PSTA (Police Settlement Transparency and Accountability) Ordinance will lift the veil of secrecy from police misconduct litigation in Chicago. With the PSTA, we have a chance to bring transparency, democratic oversight, and justice to the city’s police accountability system. If we pass this reform, Chicago will set the standard for police accountability for cities […]
CJP’s Policy Recommendations For Accountability and Transparency
Overview: A component of our efforts at the Chicago Justice Project is monitoring and analyzing policy and legislative trends on public safety in Chicago. Our Legislative Agenda for Accountability and Transparency aims to bring about a more just, community-driven, and evidence-based policing and police accountability system in Chicago. A .pdf of the report is attached […]
Alvarez Shooting Video Released
The videos collected in the Anthony Alvarez shooting was released late last week with by the Citizen Office of Police Accountability (COPA). One of those videos was from a home security camera outside the house where the shooting occurred. From the video is seems like Alvarez never did anything that could be construed as threatening […]
COPA Compliance with Video Release Policy
An audit of the Citizen’s Office of Police Accountability’s (COPA) compliance with the City of Chicago’s video release policy shows systemic failures in the police accountability system in Chicago that lead to COPA failing to live up to the office’s obligations under this policy. The policy was put in to place in the wake […]
MMB: Dart, Gang Database, Lightfoot
Defunder in Charge This is just another clear demonstration of how the Cook County Sheriff, Tom Dart, tries to manipulate and shape the Sheriff’s Office into whatever will allow him to keep or gain additional power. In this article, Dart tries to position the programs he is running in the jail as being exactly what […]
What Exactly has Raoul Championed?
“Now, nearly two years in as Illinois attorney general, Raoul is a figure to watch as a state official responsible for translating protest and outrage on the streets into actionable criminal justice and policing reforms after Floyd’s death and the August shooting of Jacob Blake in neighboring Wisconsin. While not ignoring the attorney general’s role […]
Sharon Fairley on Police Reform in Chicago
This episode features a discussion with Sharon Fairley who is a professor from practice at the University of Chicago Law School a, former federal prosecutor, and the former chief administrator of the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) and Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). We discuss Sharon’s recent commentary published by the Chicago Tribune […]
FOIA: COPA FOP President Related Records
This FOIA request is being submitted to get more information about the circumstances that led to Chicago Police Officer and President of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) John Catanzara being striped of his police powers while an internal investigation is conducted by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. Catanzara was just recently elected […]
FOIA: COPA Type of Records
This request to COPA (Civilian Office of Police Accountability) in one in a series of FOIA requests aimed at getting a better understanding of the data and records COPA maintains and in what format they maintain it. There is section within the FOIA law that requires public bodies to maintain a list of the […]
FOIA: Muhammad FOIA to Office of the Mayor
Below is CJP’s FOIA in the Sgt. Khalil Muhammad case to the Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office in his unjustified shooting, and subsequent murder, of Ricardo “Ricky” Hayes in the Chicago’s Morgan Park Neighborhood back in August of 2017. Below is the content of our FOIA we filed with the Office of the Mayor on […]