The 39 remaining school resource officers stationed within Chicago Public Schools will be eliminated under a plan the board of education has backed unanimously.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who won his first term last year, appoints members to the board of education — rather than the community, which is more standard practice across much of the nation’s school districts. Johnson repeatedly has made headlines for his soft-on-crime approach, despite persistently high murder rates within the nation’s third largest city.
The board of education on Thursday took a stance similar to Johnson’s, adopting a resolution “to create a comprehensive whole school safety policy in Chicago Public Schools,” which is on page 15 of the meeting packet.
The resolution states CPS “prioritizes emotional safety and relational trust, with a more restorative approach to discipline.” The document further outlines the school district’s efforts in recent years to phase out school resource officers.
Alternative job descriptions and concepts, such as “restorative justice coordinators” and “youth interventionist specialists” are peppered throughout the document.
Prior to their unanimous vote in favor of eliminating all remaining SROS, the board of education took public testimony at the lengthy meeting and heard impassioned comments on both sides of the argument.
While the Johnson-appointed board of education was in lock step with the mayor, a number of opponents — including local and state elected representatives — took aim at the resolution.
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State Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar, who represents Illinois’ 22nd District in the General Assembly, was one of multiple speakers who stated the SRO decision should be in the hands of local school councils that make neighborhood-based decisions.
“I don’t know if any of you have seen these videos — where a teacher gets slammed into a locker, where they get chairs thrown to them, where they are pushed around, where they are shoved to the floor,” Guerrero-Cuellar said. “How many of these individuals that you now are going to want to take those jobs when someone doesn’t protect them?”
Ald. Monique Scott, who represents the city’s 24th Ward, said she viewed the plans as short sighted.
“Violence is prevalent in a lot of communities that lack investments,” Scott said. “We’re not investing in communities the way we should. To just pull things away and not have that investment — it would be a true detriment to our community.”
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While public comment was taken at the meeting, Ald. Silvana Tabares of the city’s 23rd Ward said she viewed the decision as insular and lacked a broader community discussion.
“Having an open debate about these issues is healthy and warranted,” Tabares said. “Your responsibility is to your successors on this board — not the one who appointed you. You do them, and the students of our city no services by implementing dramatic and controversial changes, only to wash your hands and walk away from the repercussions.”
Murders in Chicago in 2023 declined in year-over-year comparisons, but the city still notched 644 killings. Included in that figure were the murders of 76 school-aged children.
Johnson’s budget in his first year as mayor included the elimination of 833 police positions. This figure is in top of the 614 sworn positions Johnson’s predecessor, Lori Lightfoot, slashed during her tenure.