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Happy Friday. Ease into Valentine’s Day weekend with these stories from WTTW News.
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(WTTW News)
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Chicago police brass must change the way officers are assigned to patrol the areas of the city with the most crime and violence, according to the executive summary of a long-awaited study required by the federal court order known as the consent decree.
The study, which examined whether officers are efficiently and effectively deployed across the city to stop crime and respond to calls for help, found “inconsistent service levels, constrained proactive time, and limited supervisory capacity in high-demand areas.”
The 21-page executive summary of the study released by CPD officials Wednesday did not define what it referred to as “high-demand areas,” nor did it detail how CPD should change how it operates in those areas.
Some backstory:
The vast majority of violent crimes and murders occur on Chicago’s South and West sides and have for decades. Those wards, home to mostly Black and Latino residents, also have some of the highest rates of 911 calls for police service per population, according to an audit by the inspector general released in August 2023.
CPD leaders promised to release the full study — conducted by Matrix Consulting Group — in the coming weeks.
The study offers “recommendations, not mandates, that ensure staffing aligns with public safety needs,” according to a statement from the department. “These recommendations focus on balancing the workload of members, while also promoting a more effective use of resources aimed are strengthening community trust.”
The issue of how officers are deployed has long been the third rail of public safety politics in Chicago, with City Council members loathe to take any action that residents of their wards could construe as reducing the presence of officers near their homes and businesses.
Any effort to reallocate police resources to the South and West sides from the North Side or downtown will be met with fierce opposition from elected officials and their wealthier constituents, who are more than willing to exert pressure at City Hall.
The draft workforce allocation study identified “significant disparities in patrol workload across districts and sectors, despite relatively even staffing allocations by district,” according to the executive summary, which did not detail that imbalance.
The study also recommends that CPD hire more non-sworn employees to fill positions responsible for timekeeping, administrative tasks and evidence processing. In all, CPD needs 405 new civilian positions and an additional 121 sworn positions, according to the study.
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Chicago's new hybrid Board of Education meets for the first time at the Chicago Public Schools Loop headquarters on Jan. 15, 2025. (WTTW News)
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Chicago’s Board of Education has terminated its contract with the search firm hired to find the city’s next schools chief, as some members accuse Mayor Brandon Johnson of sabotaging the selection process.
The board is no longer working with the Alma Advisory Group, which was hired last May to help guide the search for Chicago Public Schools’ next permanent CEO, according to the statement from six elected board members Che “Rhymefest” Smith, Ellen Rosenfeld, Carlos Rivas Jr., Angel Gutierrez, Jessica Biggs and Therese Boyle.
More context:
In their statement, the members said they are “extremely disappointed” in Johnson and his handpicked board members whom they claim have “chosen to sabotage the process.”
“This blatant political interference is harmful to the entire District — to schools, staff, families, and most importantly, the students,” the board members said. “Every problem becomes more difficult to solve when there is leadership instability.”
According to the board members’ statement, the selection process had been “working well” until November, when they claim “Johnson and his allies” began “running political interference.” At that time, the names of two finalists were leaked publicly and the board members said since then “progress has stalled and major decisions have been put on hold.”
A search for a new district leader has been underway since a previous iteration of the board voted to terminate then-CEO Pedro Martinez, who left at the close of the 2024-25 academic year.
The board had previously been fully appointed by the mayor until January 2025, when it grew to a 21-member hybrid board. Beginning next year, it will be a fully-elected body.
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(Page Light Studios / iStock)
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One in four Chicago adults — more than 500,000 residents — live with a disability, with the South and West sides having a higher percentage of residents with a disability compared to the North side, according to a new report from the city released earlier this week.
The “Neighborhood Conditions for Adults with Disabilities in Chicago” report released this week aimed to better understand the experiences and needs of Chicagoans with disabilities across neighborhoods. The report was created in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and the Chicago Department of Public Health.
The report found eight community areas where more than 40% of adults report having a disability: West Garfield Park, North Lawndale, Fuller Park, West Englewood, Burnside, Roseland, South Deering and Riverdale.
CDPH Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige said public agencies must incorporate the feedback and recommendations of people with disabilities in planning and resource allocation.
“We cannot do a good job as public agencies if we’re not listening, if we’re not learning, if we’re not documenting the realities of the people we are supposed to be serving,” Ige said. “People living with disabilities are not a separate group — they are Chicagoans. We must listen.”
The report found, that compared to adults in the city without a disability, those with disabilities reported experiencing:
More environmental concerns
A harder time accessing resources like transit and fresh produce
Less trust in law enforcement
Less sense of belonging
Greater fear of crime
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: February 13, 2006 - All Six Inmates Who Escaped Cook County Jail Caught
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In 2006, six inmates at Cook County Jail, including two who were charged with murder, escaped the Chicago correctional facility during the night of Feb. 11. They were detained at a special unit for inmates with disciplinary problems, but that night, only one guard was on duty because of staffing shortages. One inmate overpowered the guard and then opened the doors to let the other inmates out. Four of the six escapees were captured within 24 hours. On this day 20 years ago, Feb. 13, 2006, the remaining two fugitives surrendered peacefully to police after a standoff.
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Other News From Around Town:
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Every Friday, WTTW News highlights our favorite stories about Chicago from the local and national press.
Chicago’s Puerto Rican Restaurants Were Slammed Sunday — Thanks To Bad Bunny — Block Club Chicago
"Puerto Rican restaurants across the city had a rush of orders ahead of Bad Bunny’s halftime performance Sunday, with one restaurant owner calling the upswing in business a “madhouse.”
People across Chicago tuned in to watch the famed Puerto Rican artist with bacalaítos, tostones and other classics from the island. The flood of orders was a boon for restaurants that typically see business slow in the winter, with owners saying some customers were brand new to Puerto Rican cuisine while others were Boricuas looking to celebrate their culture."
Chicago Housing Workers Call the City’s Encampment Closures ‘Unconscionable’ — Chicago Reader
“During encampment closures, people lose their belongings, relationships, and tent homes. Chicago evicts people from encampments in below-freezing temperatures, regardless of whether or not each resident has a safe, permanent home in which to move. The Reader observed an encampment closure on December 6, 2024, when temperatures dropped to 16 degrees Fahrenheit. Many, like John and Jay, ended up in a new camp down the street.
John and Jay’s experiences are not unique. Over the past couple of years, city crews have systemically evicted residents from public spaces in direct opposition to the city’s own policy goals of making homelessness “brief and nonrecurring.” Housing workers question why the city continues to evict unhoused people. There are far from enough shelter
beds in Chicago for everyone who is currently unhoused as it is, and shelters frequently deny available beds to Chicago’s sizable disabled homeless population.”
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What's your ideal date night in Chicago?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to
say:
"Our ideal date night in Chicago is hard to narrow down because there are so many wonderful options! But I’d say dinner at a neighborhood restaurant followed by a storefront theatre production. Celebrate local!" — Jill C.
"Tango Sur in Lakeview! Because it's delicious!" — @meli_mel91
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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