The Chicago Police Department (CPD) spent $520.5 million more in 2023–2025 than the budget approved by the City Council allowed, according to documents released this week. Everything also indicates that CPD spending will exceed its set limit for the sixth year in a row.
The documents also show that Mayor Brandon Johnson, who took office in mid-2023, has proposed a 2027 spending plan that would increase the CPD budget by about 6%, to $2.24 billion. With more than two months left in 2026, it is nearly certain that the Chicago police will exceed their annual budget of $2.1 billion. According to a database published by the Office of the Inspector General, officers had already been paid $226.8 million in overtime through September.
It was noted that CPD’s annual overtime budget is $200 million. In addition, an analysis of city documents shows that since the beginning of 2026, Chicago taxpayers have spent more than $277 million to settle lawsuits over various kinds of police misconduct. The CPD’s 2026 budget set aside only $82.5 million to cover the costs of such cases.
The draft 2027 CPD budget again allocates $200 million for overtime, while the amount reserved for settling misconduct lawsuits has been increased to $90 million. Mayor Johnson has asked the City Council to approve an additional $481 million in borrowing to cover the cost of settling lawsuits involving CPD officers. As the city’s chief financial officer, Ashlee Gabrysch, said on Monday, the plan calls for the city to borrow $350 million in 2027 and another $131 million in 2028. According to Gabrysch, at current interest rates, the interest on the $350 million loan, which the city intends to repay over seven years, would come to $190 million.
On Wednesday, interim Chicago Police Superintendent Fred Waller appeared before the City Council’s Committee on Budget and Government Operations to defend the department’s proposed 2027 budget. It calls for spending to rise by $122.5 million compared with 2026, which is meant to cover pay raises under agreements with the unions representing officers. Waller is expected to serve as interim police chief through the end of the year while the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability searches for a permanent head of the force. The oversight body has until November 12 to present three candidates to Mayor Johnson. The mayor will then have 30 days to choose one or reject all three, which would mean starting the recruitment process over. The candidate chosen by Johnson must be approved by the City Council.
Available data show that more than 1,500 positions remain vacant at CPD. The number of sworn officers fell by less than one percent over the past year, and by 2.5% since May 2023, when Johnson took office. A spokesperson for the mayor said the CPD budget calls for converting 132 vacant police officer positions into civilian jobs. This would allow more than 100 officers to return to patrolling the streets, while saving millions of dollars. Officials said another 368 officer positions have remained frozen for the second year in a row, saving $20.6 million. The data show that while about 20% of CPD employees do not have police powers, civilian employees make up 35% of the New York Police Department (NYPD) and 30% of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), respectively.
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Source: Polski.FM
