Crime & Safety
Mayor Plans to Hire More Cops in Chicago
Record crime numbers will be combated with more police officers, according to a Rahm Emanuel ally on the City Council.
CHICAGO, IL - The city of Chicago will hire “hundreds” of additional police officers as a response to the noticeable increase in crime in 2016, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s City Council floor leader told the Chicago Sun-Times.
The city is coming off an August that saw the highest number of fatal shootings in 20 years. There have already been more reported murders in the eight months of 2016 than all of 2015.
“We need to put more officers on the street,” 40th Ward Ald. Pat O’Connor said. “We have a large number of police officers retiring and a big increase in crime and people demanding more cops. We’re not gonna be able to keep up with attrition with the current numbers.”
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The city has the smallest budget shortfall it has seen in at least a decade, so that and other budget adjustments could help pay for the cost of the additional officers.
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