Welcome to Newswire — your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what action we can take to make our city great, featuring public meeting coverage by City Bureau’s Documenters.

Quote/Term of the Week

“I'm very concerned about those who are actually masked and unidentifiable. And I am disgusted by the tactics that are being used, not just on my neighbors, but on my staff, on extended family members. I was there with two of my staff members’ mothers who didn't know where they were for six hours, crying in my arms”

— Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd Ward) questioning Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling about the department’s policies for how  officers interact with federal agents.

[AFTERNOON 2026 Chicago Budget Hearing: Public Safety Day 1, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025]

CPD: Overtime and over budget

The Chicago Police Department has a pattern of overspending — by a lot. The department exceeded its budget by a combined $501 million from 2019 to 2024, and it is on track to exceed its $2.09 billion budget in 2025, as well. 

This year alone, taxpayers have already paid $192.3 million for officers’ overtime and at least $266.8 million to resolve lawsuits pertaining against the department, exceeding  that part of the 2025 budget by nearly $185 million. 

Supt. Larry  Snelling said  that many of those overtime hours were spent responding to protests. 

CPD has exceeded its budget for legal settlements every year since at least 2011 with the exception of 2020, when courts were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis by the Better Government Association. 

For 2026, CPD’s budget will bump to $2.1 billion, which includes $101.1 million more in overtime, nearly double this year’s budget. 

CPD accounts for one-third of the city’s $6 billion corporate fund, a funding source for which alders have a lot of say in how the city spends that money. 

The rate of vacancies: Victim services and police reform

Even as the department’s budget has ballooned, hundreds of positions remained unfilled throughout the year. From February to September, 742 of the budgeted full-time positions were vacant. 

That includes the two, full-time positions budgeted for domestic violence protection and improving the department’s response to DV, sexual assault and stalking.  Funds for domestic and gender-based services also will be cut by 43% in the proposed Department of Family and Support Services budget. 

Another division with a high rate of vacant positions is the Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform, which oversees CPD’s compliance with  the Consent Decree. 

Overall, 14 positions were cut from the 2026 proposed budget, mostly from the OCPR. 

CPD on ICE

Earlier this summer, community members and alders called for a full investigation into whether the Chicago Police Department violated the city’s Welcoming City Ordinance during a South Loop raid June 4. The ordinance prevents local police from assisting federal immigration enforcement.

Since then, CPD has faced increased scrutiny for what role officers have when the feds ask officers to respond to immigration enforcement operations. Officers also have been criticized for  failing to protect community members who are present during raids. 

Additionally, the FBI put out a bulletin warning the public of criminals posing as ICE agents, and urged federal agents to properly identify themselves, after a spike in reports of assaults by ICE impersonators. 

According to Snelling, when CPD officers are called to a scene where federal agents are carrying out raids, they can verify that the raid is being carried out by actual federal agents. Once this is confirmed, Snelling said the role of police officers is twofold: The first is to “step back,” in order to avoid breaking local sanctuary laws, or federal laws by interfering with ICE raids. 

“They have to be aware of all of those things so that they don't find themselves on the bad end of an investigation and see themselves getting suspended or worse,” Snelling said.

The second, he said, is to try and to maintain or restore “some level of peace,” noting that while it may look like CPD is protecting federal agents, they’re trying to make sure “no one is harmed.”

Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd Ward), whose constituents in and near Little Village have been subjected to a heavy ICE presence, said CPD officers could do more to ensure they are keeping neighbors safe considering the “acts of violence” being carried out unlawfully by federal agents.  

“I am very concerned. Concerned that we are going to be in a situation like in Franklin Park potentially, where our officers are on duty on site, and one of these agents takes the life of somebody,” he said, referring to the death of Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez who was fatally shot by ICE agents in September after dropping his children off at daycare.

“I assume that those agents are lying. I've heard lie after lie coming out of this federal administration about these incidents, as well. So I'm very concerned about our protocols and posture.”

What you can do:

What do you think the City Council should prioritize this budget season? Click here to find your ward and contact your alder.

Follow along with Chicago Documenters this #BudgetSzn🤑. We’re covering every budget hearing leading up to City Council finalizing the spending plan at the end of the year. Follow our work at docs.org, Twitter.com and Bluesky.

A version of this story was first published in the November 13, 2025 issue of the Newswire, an email newsletter that is your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what we can do to make our city great. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter here.

Have thoughts on what you'd like to see in this feature? Email Civic Editor Dawn Rhodes at dawn@citybureau.org.