The current collective bargaining agreement between the City of Chicago and the local unit of the Fraternal Order of Police substantially burdens the investigation of officers who are accused of misconduct, according to testimony presented to the City Council today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois on behalf of itself and a number of community-based organizations. Speaking to the Chicago City Council Police and Fire Committee this morning, ACLU of Illinois lawyer Wendy Park outlined four specific provisions in the current police contract that undermine the ability of the City and its citizens to hold rogue police officers accountable for misconduct.

In testimony prepared for the Committee hearing, the ACLU of Illinois cited the problems, including: a provision mandating the premature destruction of disciplinary records; improper limits on the use of past disciplinary records in investigating and resolving present complaints; improper limits on the investigation of anonymous complaints; and, improper limits on the disclosure of the names of officers who are the subject of a civilian complaint.

"Most police officers deserve our gratitude and respect for doing a hard job in a lawful and professional manner," the ACLU's Park told the Committee. "But a badge and a gun confer awesome power, and, unfortunately, some officers abuse that power."

"Thus, Chicago must have an independent and effective system of investigating allegations of police misconduct," added Park.

The testimony presented by the ACLU of Illinois today also was supported by other community organizations, including: the Chicago Coalition for Police Accountability; Citizens' Alert; First Defense Legal Aid; the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic of the University of Chicago Law School; the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression; and Professor Dick Simpson, Head of the Political Science Department, University of Illinois at Chicago (former Chicago Alderman).

Download a copy of the ACLU's testimony: http://www.aclu-il.org/news/archives/policeaccountability.pdf.