City negotiators are advocating in negotiations and arbitration for key reforms to the police collective bargaining agreements to increase accountability and transparency, including ending the prohibition on investigating anonymous complaints, ensuring that disciplinary records are not destroyed, preventing the names of complainants from being disclosed to officers in advance of their interrogations, and putting limits on secondary employment for officers.

Police Union Reforms with Policeman's Benevolent & Protective Association (PBPA)

On June 26th, 2020 Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot announced a host of historic police reforms that the City obtained in arbitration with the police unions that represent the more than 1,500 sergeants, lieutenants and captains in the Chicago Police Department. Arbitrator George Roumell Jr.’s 106-page award sets the terms for the next contract with the three Policemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (PBPA) units. In addition to issues decided by the arbitrator, the City and union resolved a host of issues through bargained agreements. The award reflects legitimate input from the unions and efforts by the City to ensure the agreement strikes a balance between accountability, transparency and supervisors’ needs for reasonable procedural safeguards.

The historic measures fought for by the City and awarded by the arbitrator will be applied to the Chicago Police’s sergeants, lieutenants and captains once the City Council ratifies the contracts, including:

• Allowing anonymous complaints to be investigated,
• Ending the requirement of destroying disciplinary records,
• Preventing the names of complainants from being disclosed to officers until they are interviewed, and
• Additional reforms that will align Chicago with national best practices.

The reforms won in the police supervisors’ contracts will serve as a roadmap for measures being pursued in the contract for rank-and-file officers as part of ongoing negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7.