2-56-230 Public safety deputy – Powers and duties.

   The Public Safety Deputy shall have the following powers and duties:

   (a)   To conduct periodic analysis and evaluation of the results of all closed disciplinary investigations conducted by the Office and the Police Department to identify trends and summarize the number and results of such investigations, and to issue an annual report concerning such analysis and evaluation, and the performance of the police disciplinary system more generally;

   (b)   To conduct reviews and audits of particular policies, procedures or practices of the Police Department, the Office, and the Police Board with respect to police disciplinary investigations and hearings, and to make findings and recommendations based on those findings to inform and improve future investigations and hearings;

   (c)   To review and audit individual closed Office and Police Department disciplinary investigations, and to make findings and recommendations based on those findings: (i) to inform and improve future investigations and ensure that they are complete, thorough, objective, and fair; and (ii) if it finds a deficiency that it concludes materially affected the outcome of the investigation, recommend that the investigation be reopened;

   (d)   To review and audit the Police Department's policies, practices, programs and training (i) with respect to constitutional policing, discipline, and use of force, or (ii) that affect the Police Department's integrity, transparency, and relationship with City residents; and to make recommendations to the Superintendent and the Chair of the City Council Committee on Police and Fire, or its successor committee, to address problems or deficiencies or make improvements in such policies, practices, programs, and training;

   (e)   To review, audit and analyze civil judgments and settlements of claims against members of the Police Department, and to issue recommendations based on its findings to inform and improve or correct deficiencies in the conduct, or operation of the Police Department;

   (f)   To review and audit all sustained findings, disciplinary recommendations, and decisions made by the Police Department, the Office, and the Police Board, and any subsequent arbitration decisions, for the purpose of assessing trends and determining whether discipline is consistently and fairly applied, and determining whether final disciplinary decisions are being carried out;

   (g)   To address community groups and inform the public on the mission, policies and ongoing operations of the Public Safety Deputy;

   (h)   Subject to applicable law, to have full access to all information in the possession or control of the Police Department, the Office, the Police Board, and any other City department or agency in order to conduct, any review or audit within the Public Safety Deputy's jurisdiction; and

   (i)   To set minimum qualifications and appropriate screening procedures for all persons to be considered for employment by the Office of the Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety, and to set appropriate staffing levels to carry out the powers and duties set forth herein.

   The Public Safety Deputy shall have the authority to make recommendations, based on its reviews and audits, to the Police Department, the Police Board and the Office with respect to changes in policies, procedures, practices, operations, directives, training and equipment to address any deficiencies or problems or implement any improvements identified by its reviews and audits. The Public Safety Deputy is also authorized to make recommendations to other City departments and agencies that it determines are necessary or helpful to effect its recommendations as to the Police Department, the Police Board, and the Office.

(Added Coun. J. 10-5-16, p. 34471, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 7-19-23, p. 1768, § 1)

2-56-240 Public safety deputy – Reports.

   (a)   Reporting the results of individual reviews or audits. Upon concluding a review or audit, the Public Safety Deputy shall issue a written report setting forth its findings and conclusions and recommendations to the entity or entities that were the subject of the review or audit (i.e. the Police Department, the Police Board, and/or the Office). The report shall include:

      (1)   A description of the scope of the review or audit, the categories of information collected in connection with the review or audit, and the method of conducting the review or audit;

      (2)   The Public Safety Deputy's findings and conclusions, including findings or conclusions with respect to any problems, deficiencies, or improvements observed or discovered in the course of the review or audit;

      (3)   The Public Safety Deputy's recommendations for addressing any problems or deficiencies, or implementing any improvements, described in the report; and

      (4)   Such other information as the Public Safety Deputy may deem relevant to the review or audit, or its findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

   (b)   Annual report. The Public Safety Deputy shall publish an annual report that summarizes its reviews and audits conducted during the prior calendar year, and that reports on the Public Safety Deputy's analysis of information, including patterns and trends, during the prior calendar year, the outcomes of individual reviews or audits, and its recommendations during the prior calendar year. The annual report shall also report on the status of the Police Department's, the Police Board's, the Office's, and any other City departments or agency's adoption of the Public Safety Deputy's previous recommendations.

   The Public Safety Deputy shall make all reports prepared under this section publicly available in accordance with Section 2-56-250.

(Added Coun. J. 10-5-16, p. 34471, § 6)

2-56-241 Appearance before committee.

   Within 45 days of issuance of the annual report required in Section 2-56-240(b), the Public Safety Deputy or their designee shall appear at a hearing of a joint City Council Committee consisting of the Committee on Police and Fire and the Committee on Public Safety, or their respective successor committees, to respond to questions concerning such report.

(Added Coun. J. 10-5-16, p. 34471, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 7-19-23, p. 1768, § 1)

2-56-245 Response to recommendations by the public safety deputy.

   If the Public Safety Deputy's report includes recommendations concerning the Police Department, the Police Board, the Office, or another City department or agency, that entity must submit a written response to such recommendation within 60 days of its receipt of the Public Safety Deputy's report. The response shall include either (1) a description of any corrective or other actions taken or to be taken in response to the recommendation, (2) the basis for rejecting the recommendation in whole or in part, or (3) a request for a 30-day extension for making its response if additional time is needed by the entity to respond to the recommendation. In addition, at the request of at least three aldermen, the Chair of the City Council Committee on Police and Fire, or its successor committee, shall request that the head of the department or agency in question, or their designee, appear at a hearing of a joint City Council Committee consisting of the Committee on Police and Fire and the Committee on Public Safety, or their respective successor committees, to explain and respond to questions concerning such response.

(Added Coun. J. 10-5-16, p. 34471, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 7-19-23, p. 1768, § 1)

2-56-250 Publication of the public safety deputy's reports and responses to the public safety deputy's recommendations.

   Upon receipt of the response(s) to its reports and recommendations, the Public Safety Deputy shall promptly post the report and recommendations and all responses thereto on the Public Safety Deputy's website for public review and serve copies on the Mayor, or their designee, the Chair of the City Council Committee on Police and Fire, or its successor committee, and the Chair of the City Council Committee on Public Safety, or its successor committee, except to the extent that information contained therein has been redacted because it is exempted from disclosure by the Illinois Freedom of Information Act or any other applicable law.

   Neither the Public Safety Deputy nor the Police Department, the Police Board, or the Office shall publicly disclose any recommendations or responses provided in Section 2-56-240(a) and Section 2-56-245 before the processes set forth in Section 2-56-245 are completed.

(Added Coun. J. 10-5-16, p. 34471, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 7-19-23, p. 1768, § 1)

2-56-260 Public safety deputy – Cooperation in reviews or audits.

   It shall be the duty of every officer, employee, department, and agency of the City to cooperate with the Public Safety Deputy in any review or audit undertaken pursuant to Sections 2-56-200 through 2-56-280.

(Added Coun. J. 10-5-16, p. 34471, § 6)

2-56-270 Public safety deputy – Retaliation, obstruction or interference prohibited – Penalty.

   (a)   Retaliation. No person shall retaliate against, punish, intimidate, discourage, threaten or penalize any other person for providing information, testimony or documents to, or otherwise cooperating with or assisting the Public Safety Deputy in the performance of his duties.

   (b)   Obstruction or interference. No person shall knowingly interfere with or obstruct a review or audit authorized by this chapter and conducted by an announced employee of the Public Safety Deputy.

   (c)   Penalty. Any person who willfully violates this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than $1,000.00 and not more than $5,000.00 for each such offense, or imprisonment for a period of not less than 30 days and not more than six months, or both a fine and imprisonment. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. Actions seeking the imposition of a fine only shall be filed as quasi-criminal actions subject to the provisions of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure. Actions seeking incarceration, or incarceration and a fine, shall be filed and prosecuted as misdemeanor actions under the procedure set forth in Section 1-2-1.1 of the Illinois Municipal Code, 65 ILCS 5/1-2-1.1.

(Added Coun. J. 10-5-16, p. 34471, § 6)