President Kyle Cooper's update on the arbitration of police disciplinary cases

President Kyle Cooper's update at the March 19, 2026, Police Board public meeting:

As I reported previously, the Supreme Court of Illinois has accepted for review the appeal filed by the Fraternal Order of Police challenging the lower court ruling requiring arbitration proceedings for the most serious police disciplinary cases be open to the public.

The FOP filed its opening brief on February 4 and the City recently requested an extension of time to file its first brief. It now appears likely that briefing will last into summer, with oral arguments to take place after all briefs are filed. I believe it will therefore be Fall of 2026 or later when the Supreme Court decides the case.

While this litigation continues, only one police disciplinary case has been filed with the Police Board thus far in 2026, and only two cases have been filed since mid-October, both against police officers, who are members of the FOP and have elected arbitration.

While the court's establishment of the arbitration option does not apply to CPD supervisors (officers at the rank of sergeant or above), no disciplinary charges against a CPD supervisor have been filed with the Police Board since August 2025.

The Police Board will continue to closely monitor the litigation and number of disciplinary cases filed, and the News and Police Discipline sections of our website will continue to be updated with the most current information.

# # #