SW Side alders call on mayor to honor 'will of Chicago,' create new police district

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago alderpersons, who have been pushing for the sprawling and underserved 8th Police District on the Southwest Side to be split in half, rallied on Saturday to demand that Mayor Brandon Johnson stop making excuses and make it happen.

The city council members were among a large group that gathered outside the former National Guard Armory on the edge of Midway Airport, which the state of Illinois is giving up for $1 so that it may be used as a police station. The mayor has suggested the building be used for storage .

Some aldermen have said the mayor’s opposition is about his politics — defund the police politics. They include Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) and Ald. Ray Lopez (15th). Quinn equated it to Johnson’s recent decision to cancel two police academy classes .

“That is defunding the police,” he said. “It absolutely is. The mayor has a lot of issues. This is a win for him. He should take it. This is a 2-foot putt. Take it; it’s a win. Reset your politics today.”

Lopez accused the mayor, as well as those who support him, of being “police abolitionists who think that, at some point, criminals are going to come to their senses and respect communities.”

The 15th Ward alderman, whose district includes neighborhoods on the South and Southwest Sides, went on to say Johnson “does not care” about the Northwest and Southwest Sides or law enforcement. He said the mayor is “not trying to support police.”

More than 88% of residents voted for a new police district.

Southwest Side Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) said this was about “putting the will of Chicago first.”

“This mayor likes to talk about the soul of Chicago,” Tabares said. “I want to talk about the will of Chicago. Residents on the Southwest Side want more police. They want this new police district and they want elected officials to prioritize public safety.”

Quinn said the mayor will have trouble getting a budget passed if he doesn’t come around on this issue. Roughly 250,000 residents live in the 23-square-mile police district.

Proponents of a new district say it has the lowest officer-to-resident ratio in the city, with about 10 officers for every 10,000 residents.

There have been complaints for years about slow police response times.

Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok