As the Chicago City Council heads into budget season, department heads are facing tough questions about their spending. The police department has been asked to come up with $92 million in cuts.
CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling is warning that proposed cuts could impact public safety.
Snelling took his turn in the budget hot seat Wednesday, telling City Council members that the department is well aware of the current budget crisis. He realizes CPD will have to do its part, but he has concerns.
"I want to be very careful and cautious about where we cut, what we do, so that it doesn't affect the progress that we're making right now, in the safety of the city," Snelling said.
Before the hearing, advocates gathered outside demanding that money allocated for unfilled police positions be reallocated for public health and community care.
"So we have a system that is broken and we need to fix it, and the only place where we can find the money to fix it right now is in the police department," Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez of the 33rd Ward.
There were concerns about police overtime as well.
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"I think when you've got a... $1.5, billion deficit, you've got to look at every department and so what I've called for isn't necessarily cutting but auditing at the very least, right, are we spending the money as effectively as possible," said Ald. Andre Vasquez of the 40th Ward.
The police department has already racked up $28 million more than the $100 million it's budgeted for overtime, due to a multitude of major events.
The superintendent said organizations like NASCAR, which had its own inside security, helped defray police overtime, suggesting other event hosts might need to do the same.
Snelling said he is concerned meeting the suggested $92 million in cuts could hurt public safety, with the department already short nearly 1,000 officers.
"We still have a lot of work to do. We're going in the right direction," Snelling said. "It's going to take some time, and we just have to make sure that our department is properly staffed to get that done."
And while Snelling usually tries to dodge anything political, he did weigh in on the possible deployment of the National Guard to Chicago.
"If the National Guard were to come, if they were, I'd find a way to work with them," Snelling said. "Because what I want is for all of the residents in the city of Chicago to have peace of mind that the streets are not being overrun or occupied or, you know, with an occupying force."
Snelling also dismissed comments President Donald Trump made Tuesday, when he called Chicago a death trap, saying he doesn't pay any attention to stuff like that. He also noted that Mayor Brandon Johnson's new executive order on protecting civil rights of protesters is something the police department is already doing.