Defund Police? Chicago Alderman Says Not Without A Vote

CHICAGO — The thousands of protests nationwide that have called for a movement to "defund police" have been heard in Chicago, but one city alderman says if funding is altered for the Chicago Police Department it should be a decision made by voters.

"No alderman or elected official should determine a lowering of funding levels for public safety or whether there is a police presence in their community," said 19th Ward Ald. Matt O'Shea, who introduced an ordinance Wednesday during the city of Chicago's public safety committee meeting that if passed would keep police funding at its "current level" unless there was a vote otherwise through a binding referendum.

In O'Shea's 19th Ward neighborhoods of Beverly, Mount Greenwood and Morgan Park, he said the call has for years to have an increased police presence in the area. The area is well-known as the home of hundreds of Chicago Police Department families.

"Everywhere I go — whether it's Beverly, Mount Greenwood or Morgan Park — I'm stopped by people who say they want to see more police. It is everywhere in the ward," O'Shea, whose represented the 19th Ward since 2011, said.

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Demonstrators have marched, sharing signs to "defund the police," in the 19th Ward twice since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The ordinance the alderman introduced Wednesday states, in part, "the annual budget for the department of police shall each year be no less than that department's budget for fiscal year 2020... And may be reduced below that threshold only if authorized by a binding referendum."

O'Shea called the Floyd death a "tragedy," and that better training needs to be offered for police officers at a national level.

"But the narrative of 'defunding the police,'" he said, "I don't support defunding the police. I support better training."

The alderman informed local residents of his plan to introduce the ordinance in an email earlier on Wednesday.

"I support any effort or policy change that will enhance public safety and improve relations between police and the communities they serve," he told residents. "However, I do not believe that defunding the Chicago Police Department, a move that would likely result in police layoffs, will make our city safer."