#2,560 - Lets Go Brandon Johnson defunds Chicago Police Dept.

News For Reasonable People

The Chicago Police Department won’t launch recruit classes for at least two months — fueling complaints that Mayor Brandon Johnson is reneging on his promise to exempt public safety agencies from a citywide hiring freeze.

And at an emergency Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Chief Operating Officer John Roberson ordered other department heads to identify personnel cuts — beyond reductions already made — and submit proposals by Friday. The goal: $75 million in additional savings in 2025.

Each department head will be given a specific budget number to reach in what city officials referred to as an “exercise.”

Departments already had been required to cut 3%. But now “they’re saying that doesn’t go far enough. They need to find another $75 million,” said a source at the meeting where Roberson lowered the boom. The source said the mayor’s office expected no support in that effort from unions or City Council members.