CONSENT DECREE DOCUMENTS
On August 29, 2017, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit to obtain reform of the Chicago Police Department. The Illinois Attorney General's Office and the City of Chicago agreed to stay the lawsuit and negotiate an enforceable consent decree based on the findings of the Justice Department's investigation and the Task Force's report that revealed a pattern of civil rights violations caused by systemic deficiencies within CPD. After months of negotiations, the Attorney General's Office and the City of Chicago announced a draft consent decree on July 27, 2018. The Attorney General's Office posted the draft consent decree and invited Chicagoans to offer their input.
After months of negotiations, the Attorney General's Office and the City of Chicago announced a draft consent decree on July 27, 2018. The Attorney General's Office posted the draft consent decree and invited Chicagoans to offer their input.
The Attorney General's Office and the City carefully reviewed the nearly 1,700 comments received and negotiated changes to the consent decree based on the comments. The Attorney General's Office and the City then filed the revised consent decree in federal court on September 13, 2018. The federal judge overseeing the case accepted written comments on the draft consent decree and held public hearings. The judge approved the consent decree on January 31, 2019.
Consent Decree
- Consent Decree Approved by the Court on January 31, 2019
- Consent Decree Fact Sheet
- Proposed Consent Decree Filed with the Court on September 13, 2018
- Draft Consent Decree Released for Public Comment on July 27, 2018
- Draft Consent Decree Fact Sheet
- Draft Consent Decree Fact Sheet with Expanded Detail
Court Filings
- July 17, 2023 Court Order Setting Public Hearing on the Stipulation Regarding Investigatory Stops, Protective Pat Downs, and Enforcement of Loitering Ordinances for August 9, 2023.
- June 27, 2023 Court Order Entering Stipulation Regarding Investigatory Stops, Protective Pat Downs, and Enforcement of Loitering Ordinances
- March 25, 2022 Court Order Entering Stipulation Regarding Search Warrants, Consent Decree Timelines, and the Procedure for Full and Effective Compliance
- August 4, 2020 Court Order Setting Listening Sessions and Public Comment Period
- April 1, 2019 Court Order Appointing the Honorable David H. Coar as Special Master
- March 1, 2019 Court Order Appointing Maggie Hickey as Independent Monitor and Intention to Appoint the Honorable David H. Coar as Special Master
- January 31, 2019 Court Order Entering the Consent Decree
- October 22, 2018 Court Order with Further Details for the Public Fairness Hearing on Proposed Consent Decree
- September 19, 2018 Court Order Setting the Public Fairness Hearing and Written Comment Period on Proposed Consent Decree
- August 29, 2017 Illinois vs. Chicago Complaint
Press Releases
- March 31, 2021 Press Release Calling on CPD to Continue to Enact Key Consent Decree Reforms
- March 24, 2021 Press Release Calling for Reform of CPD's Search Warrant Policy
- June 5, 2020 Press Release on Attorney General Raoul's Statement Regarding the Chicago Police Consent Decree
- March 1, 2019 Press Release on Independent Monitor and Special Master Selection
- January 31, 2019 Press Release Announcing Approval of the Consent Decree
- October 18, 2018 Press Release Announcing the Four Finalists for Independent Monitor
- September 26, 2018 Press Release on the Schedule for Selecting an Independent Monitor and Additional Opportunities for Public Comment
- September 13, 2018 Press Release on the Filed Proposed Consent Decree
- September 6, 2018 Press Release on the Pointing a Firearm Reporting Requirement
- July 27, 2018 Press Release on the Draft Consent Decree
- August 29, 2017 Press Release on Illinois vs. Chicago
INDEPENDENT MONITOR REPORTS
On March 1, 2019, Judge Dow appointed Maggie Hickey and her team as the independent monitor to help oversee implementation of the consent decree. The independent monitor will evaluate and issue public reports on whether the City and CPD are meeting the requirements of the consent decree. These reports can be found on the independent monitor's website at www.cpdmonitoringteam.com/reports/ and/or below.
- Independent Monitoring Report 7 (June 29, 2023)
- Attorney General's Office's Comments on the Independent Monitoring Report 7
- Independent Monitoring Team's Community Survey Report (October 2021-May 2022)
- Attorney General's Office's Comments on the IMT's Community Survey Report (October 2021-May 2022)
- Independent Monitoring Report 6 (December 15, 2022)
- Attorney General's Office's Comments on the Independent Monitoring Report 6
- Independent Monitor's Special Report: Focus Groups with Black and Latino Men, Ages 18-35
- Attorney General's Office's Comments on the Focus Groups Special Report
- Independent Monitoring Report 5 (April 11, 2022)
- Attorney General's Office's Comments on the Independent Monitoring Report 5
- Independent Monitoring Report 4 (October 8, 2021)
- Attorney General's Office's Comments on the Independent Monitoring Report 4
- Independent Monitor's Special Report Regarding the City of Chicago's and the Chicago Police Department's Responses to Protests and Unrest
- Attorney General's Office's Comments on the Independent Monitor's Special Report
- Independent Monitoring Report 3 (March 30, 2021)
- Attorney General Office’s Comments on the Independent Monitoring Report 3
- Year Two Monitoring Plan (July 3, 2020)
- Independent Monitoring Report 2 (June 18, 2020)
- Attorney General’s Office’s Comments on the Independent Monitoring Report 2
- Independent Monitoring Report 1 (November 15, 2019)
- Attorney General's Office's Comments on the Independent Monitoring Report 1
- Year One Monitoring Plan (May 30, 2019)
MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH THE COALITION
In March of 2018, the Attorney General's Office, the City, and the Plaintiffs in Campbell v. Chicago, N.D. Ill. Case No. 17-cv-4467 and Communities United v. Chicago, N.D. Ill. Case No. 17-cv-7151 (collectively, the “Coalition”) entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). The MOA establishes a mechanism for meaningful community participation in the enforcement of the consent decree.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
As part of the process of drafting a consent decree, the Illinois Attorney General's Office worked with community organizations throughout Chicago to hold 14 Consent Decree Community Roundtables. The purpose of these roundtables was to ensure that all interested Chicagoans had a meaningful opportunity to provide input on police reform. The Attorney General's Office invited the Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement (IPCE) at the University of Illinois at Chicago to lead the community roundtables and present a summary report of key findings and themes from those conversations and other sources of input. IPCE's report summarizes the ideas, concerns and experiences community members shared during the community roundtables, during a number of small group conversations, and through feedback forms available on this website and emails.
CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER ENGAGEMENT
The Attorney General's Office also sought the input of CPD officers on the Department's challenges and the ways to address those challenges through a consent decree. The Attorney General's Office invited the Police Foundation, a national nonprofit, to facilitate a series of focus groups of sworn CPD officers. The Police Foundation's report summarizes the key findings and themes from these focus groups.
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Documents
In 1994, following the Rodney King incident in Los Angeles and subsequent focus on how the federal government could better address police misconduct, Congress passed a law giving the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) the authority to sue state and local governments to ban patterns or practices of unconstitutional policing, including the use of unnecessary or excessive force and discriminatory policing. Since then, DOJ has conducted more than two dozen investigations of law enforcement agencies throughout the country, including the Chicago Police Department.
- DOJ Investigation of the Chicago Police Department Report
- DOJ's Fact Sheet on its Investigation of the Chicago Police Department
- DOJ Investigation of the Chicago Police Department Press Release
- DOJ's Special Litigation, “Conduct of Law Enforcement” Website
Chicago Police Accountability Task Force (PATF) Documents
Following the November 2015 release of the video showing the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald by a Chicago Police officer, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed a Police Accountability Task Force (PATF) to review the system of accountability, oversight and training for Chicago's police officers. In April 2016, the Task Force released a report with more than 100 recommendations for reform.