Chicago Police Department Staffing Cuts and Budget Negotiations Spark City Council Clash
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed $17.6 billion budget eliminates 132 police positions, continuing a trend of reductions that has drawn criticism from city officials. Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson has accused the mayor of “chopping away” at the Chicago Police Department to help balance his pre-election budget following three years of shrinking the department by attrition.
The budget freezes 368 police vacancies and replaces dozens of additional police officers with civilians. Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) pressed police leadership during Wednesday City Council budget hearings on the department’s shrinking personnel footprint. Reilly noted that in 2024, 833 police officer positions were eliminated; in 2025, a net 54 officer positions were cut; and last year, six were added back.
Acting Police Superintendent Waller Details Academy Negotiations and Recruitment Challenges
Acting Police Superintendent Fred Waller told the City Council that he negotiated with the mayor’s office to keep the police academy going year-round. While the mayor’s office asked for the 132 position cuts, Waller said the department negotiated to have academy classes of 50 or more for the whole twelve months of 2027.
Chicago Mayor says shuting off shot spotter is the reason homicides dropped … … since its removal, we've had the lowest amount of homicides and shootings in the history in 60 years …Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has announced a new six-month public safety… pic.twitter.com/jUGFeE8fQN
The academy schedule aims to offset ongoing staffing losses. Last year, the department hired 539 officers and lost 397 to retirement. So far this year, there have been 407 hirings and 363 retirements. Waller noted that when he was chief of patrol, he thinks the department had about 14,000 officers, give or take maybe 1,000 or so.
Response Times and District Strain Draw Scrutiny
Response times have suffered most in South and West Side police districts where violent crime has traditionally been highest. Finance Chair Pat Dowell (3rd) questioned how the hiring freeze would impact the difference in response times between districts and the time available to devote to community policing.
First Deputy Police Superintendent Antoinette Ursitti stated that department leadership analyzes trends watch by watch and district by district to identify bottlenecks. Ursitti defended the push to civilianize police jobs, explaining that officers in roles that can be fulfilled by a non-sworn member are being moved to essential duties like responding to a call for service. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) raised concerns over a rash of burglaries hitting businesses along Clark Street, where 13 windows were smashed on Monday night alone.
Chief of Detectives Kevin Bruno acknowledged that retail burglary investigations are challenging because they traditionally involve off-hours break-ins by masked offenders in stolen vehicles. Bruno pledged to build those investigations through video, license plate readers, and cell phone data to track down, identify and disrupt these burglary crews. Knudsen added that the number of officers assigned to the Near North and Town Hall Districts is down quite significantly, noting that on some nights officers are all around Wrigley Field and they cannot get a patrol car down to the north part of his ward.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Chicago Police Budget
What happened to the ShotSpotter replacement in the new budget?
Police department officials refused to provide specifics or name the winner of the ongoing bid process to replace the gunshot-detection technology system during the budget hearings.
How does the department plan to staff the new gun detection pilot program?
Officials directed inquiries regarding the citywide pilot program to the mayor’s chief procurement officer, who announced the program in a letter last week.
Which specific districts are facing the most acute staffing pressures?
Aldermen highlighted strains in South and West Side districts experiencing high violent crime, as well as North Side districts like the Near North and Town Hall districts.
Related reading