Police Board 2025 Annual Report

The Chicago Police Board's 2025 Annual Report is now available. Below is the message from Police Board President Kyle Cooper that is included in the report.

Message from Police Board President Kyle Cooper

I am pleased to present this report on the Police Board's operations during 2025. As you will see in the following pages, the Police Board continued to further the values of impartiality and transparency in Chicago's police-accountability system. Before turning to sections on the Board's work in a variety of areas, I want to highlight the following noteworthy developments from the past year.

The arbitration of the most serious police disciplinary cases remains a significant issue for both the Police Board and the City. By way of background, in March 2024, a Cook County Circuit Court judge ruled that rank-and-file Chicago police officers may elect to have these cases decided by an arbitrator rather than by the Police Board. While the police officers' union, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), has appealed the ruling requiring arbitration hearings be open to the public, the City did not challenge the court's establishment of the arbitration option. In November 2025, the Supreme Court of Illinois allowed the FOP's appeal challenging the Illinois Appellate Court ruling requiring public arbitration proceedings. Oral arguments are expected to take place in mid-2026.

This litigation has brought to a standstill consideration of the vast majority of cases in which the recommended discipline is to discharge the accused officer from the Chicago Police Department. As of December 31, 2025, twenty-one Police Board discharge cases are on hold. These cases include charges of unjustified police shootings (7 cases), domestic violence (5 cases), excessive force (2 cases), and illegal searches (1 case). There can be no Police Board hearings regarding these cases without the consent of the accused officer, and there will be no arbitration hearings regarding these cases until there is agreement on an arbitration process that complies with the forthcoming Supreme Court order.

While these cases remain at a standstill, the Board continues to be active in carrying out its other responsibilities mandated by the Municipal Code of Chicago and collective bargaining agreements with unions. Notably:

• Three discharge cases are moving forward at the Police Board, two because the accused CPD members are supervisors (not FOP members) and one because the accused police officer elected to have a Police Board hearing rather than wait for arbitration.
• Individual Board members continue to rule on disagreements between the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the Chicago Police Department (CPD) regarding the discipline of officers.
• The Board is undertaking an effort to review and update CPD's Rules of Conduct. This project is intended to make improvements to the current version of the rules, which the Board adopted in the 1970s, that will more clearly and effectively communicate to officers and the public how CPD members are required to conduct themselves.
• The Board continues to consider appeals by applicants for a probationary police officer position who have been removed from the eligibility list due to the results of a background investigation.
• Our monthly public meetings provide an important opportunity to keep the public informed on a variety of community-safety issues. For example, we had Deputy Mayor Garien Gatewood speak about what the City is doing to protect Chicagoans in response to the troubling actions of federal agents, and we had Chief Angel Novalez provide the public with information on CPD's response to incidents involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Police Board meetings are carried live by CAN TV, which does an excellent job live-streaming and televising them. Our meetings generate significant public interest-CAN TV reports that the meetings consistently attract several thousand live views.

We welcomed three new Board members in 2025: Tyler Hall, Arlette Porter, and Cynthia Velazquez. They and the other members of the Police Board are a dedicated and diverse group of Chicagoans who deeply care about the City and work diligently to help ensure that all Chicagoans receive the most respectful, effective, and professional policing. I know that I speak for all my colleagues when I say that we are grateful for the honor of serving the people of Chicago.

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