Illinois AG Kwame Raoul Seeks to Ensure Transparency in Chicago Police Disciplinary Hearings

In an effort to maintain a decades-long tradition of open hearings in the face of serious police misconduct, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has intervened with a

legal brief

advocating for continued public access to Chicago Police Department (CPD) disciplinary hearings. Raoul’s filing in the Illinois Appellate Court challenges a recent arbitrator’s decision which could potentially shift these hearings from a public forum to private arbitration.

The Attorney General’s action stems from the ongoing demand for transparency within CPD operations, as the city navigates the parameters of a consent decree, a sweeping mandate for police reform overseen by his office, which has been a key component in rebuilding public trust; this same decree insists on wide-ranging transparency reforms to address long-standing issues within the department, going against the grain, a Cook County Circuit Court judge intervened vacating an arbitrator’s award that would have allowed such proceedings to go private, aligning with Illinois public policy favoring transparency in critical police disciplinary matters.

Raoul’s position is clear – public scrutiny is integral, claiming, “Increasing transparency is a cornerstone goal of the state’s consent decree with the city to reform policing practices,” according to the

Illinois Attorney General’s office announcement

. By asking the appellate court to affirm the ruling for open proceedings, the Attorney General is pushing back against moves that could potentially shield CPD’s disciplinary process from the public eye.

With the brief, Raoul aims to uphold the mandates of the consent decree, which include supplying complainants with better insights regarding the progress and resolution of their complaints, all this in a bid to cultivate a trusting relationship between the force and the community; he stresses the importance,

asserting that

“transparency in disciplinary matters is essential to fostering public trust,” citing alignment with the Department of Justice and expert recommendations on policing transparency eliminating public access to these hearings would only serve to erode an already fragile communal trust.

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