Chicago, Ill. Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and Chicago Police Department (CPD) Superintendent David O. Brown announced the expansion of the Neighborhood Policing Initiative to the 9th (Deering), 10th (Ogden) and 11th (Harrison) District. As part of the expanded initiative, each district will rollout new District Coordination Officers (DCOs) this fall, who will work directly with community members to resolve public safety issues through collaboration and remedy neighborhood issues with the help of beat officers, detectives, aldermen, area businesses and sister agencies. To ensure DCOs are fully integrated in the neighborhoods they serve, the Department is also launching a new community-immersion training program, completing one of Mayor Lightfoot’s 90-day reforms announced in early June.
The Illinois State Police is spending $1.4 million to outfit every patrol trooper and sergeant with a video-equipped Taser that would capture footage of every instance in which the high-voltage devices are used, according to the Associated Press.
In an effort to bolster police forces by 700 officers, Alderman George Cardenas has proposed a "safety and security fee" of $5 per month for every household in Chicago.
Despite being five days shorter, the Taste of Chicago food festival will see plenty of police presence to deter "anyone with an agenda," police Superintendent Carry McCarthy says.
