Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2025 budget plan for Chicago police slashes several offices that are critical to the ongoing federal consent decree, sparking alarm from policing experts who say now is not the time to take the foot off the gas with reform.
Johnson’s $17.3 billion spending plan for the city carves out $2.1 billion for the Chicago Police Department, a $58.7 million increase from this year’s allocation. However, it also includes 456 vacant positions being cut — 98 of them sworn and 358 civilian — saving more than $50 million in salary and other costs.
The mayor’s budget recommendation would cut staffing for the Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform by 57%, from 65 to 28. Established by interim CPD Superintendent Charlie Beck in 2020, the office was meant to combine all of the functions tied to consent decree efforts under one office, including training, professional counseling, and reform management…