CHICAGO (WLS) — Highlighting a decrease in crime rates, Chicago’s chief law enforcement officer stood before City Council representatives on Wednesday, advocating for the police department’s budget proposal for the coming year.
Although not entirely exempt from scrutiny, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling’s session with the City Council was notably less tense compared to previous years. This is largely due to his receipt of commendations for the persistent drop in crime statistics and improved case resolution rates.
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“The involvement of the community has been crucial in advancing these investigations, whether through tips or video submissions provided by locals,” stated Snelling.
Snelling addressed the City Council’s Budget Committee to discuss the proposed $2.1 billion allocation for the Chicago Police Department for 2026.
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The Chicago Police Department, which boasts the largest workforce and budget among city departments, has routinely exceeded its budget in recent years due to rising overtime expenses.
“We try to control over time every year, and we have limited success in doing that, and you find out the hard way that you can’t control over time,” Public Safety Committee Chairman Ald. Brian Hopkins said.
Hopkins says the answer is hiring more officers. Snelling says the use of police over-time is due to the large amount of protests and festivals that take place in the city.
“There has been all of work we have put into overtime and reducing it we’ve seen year over year reduction in tens of millions of dollars,” Snelling said.
Chicago’s top cop was also asked several questions about ICE enforcement and CPD’s role in how citizens deal with situations where they accuse federal agents of being unlawful. CPD says while it can help someone with documentation to report an incident to federal authorities, it legally cannot conduct a criminal investigation.
“Local law enforcement we are caught in between these situations, what we are not going to do is violate the law, interfering work done by federal agents,” Snelling said.
Shotspotter was also brought up again Wednesday. Since Mayor Brandon Johnson canceled the contract for the gun recognition technology, CPD has been looking for a replacement. Snelling says a new vendor will be chosen soon and the technology may be ready by early 2026.
CPD October crime data
Overall crime numbers in Chicago are dropping.
A Chicago police report out Wednesday shows there were 34 homicides citywide in October. That’s a 38% drop from October of last year, when there were 55.
An analysis by the ABC7 Data Team, found that over the last 12 months, murders are down nearly 32% when compared to the yearly average of the prior three years.
ABC7’s analysis also found that violent and property crimes are decreasing rapidly in the city. However, violent crime on the CTA is still up slightly.
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