Maldonado Urges Police Union Contract to Spell Out Workplace Steps that Restore Citizens' Trust
(July 29, 2017)--Roberto Maldonado, 26th Ward Alderman, pledged to withhold support for a police union contract that does not protect police whistle-blowers, allow anonymous complaints to be investigated and--in the case of a police shooting--get a statement immediately from officers instead of waiting up to 24 hours.
Maldonado supports the 14 point recommendations of the Coalition for Police Contracts Accountability, a city-wide coalition of community, policy, and civil rights organizations.
Maldonado explained, "Since 2004, the City of Chicago has paid out a staggering sum of $625 million to victims of real and alleged police misconduct. Think about that for a moment. Remember the outrage over the $540 million property tax increase that I voted against? Well, these settlements are $85 million more than that coming out of the pockets of renters and owners alike."
"If we had common sense reforms in place twenty years ago, much of that $625 million in lawsuits and settlements could have been averted. Simply put, Chicago taxpayers cannot afford to ignore the way we police our citizenry."