Alexander M. Dunn: Winnetka officer shortage reflects a state and national crisis for policing
Winnetka's police chief admits the department is understaffed, with recruitment and extensive training requirements leaving them unable to meet the pressing need for qualified officers. Lack of recruitment isn't an isolated issue — it's a crisis rippling across Illinois, driven by years of hostile rhetoric, punitive legislation and a cultural shift that has turned the uniform into a target rather than a respected symbol. The defund-the-police movement, amplified by lawmakers and activists, didn't just try to cut budgets; it decimated morale and cratered interest in policing as a career.
Officers faced vilification, unfair scrutiny and new laws that made their jobs harder. Illinois' SAFE-T Act imposed confusing use-of-force standards, expanded expensive body-camera mandates and eliminated cash bail — changes that, however well-intentioned, piled additional burdens on short-staffed departments.
Take the elimination of cash bail: It should have reduced workload but somehow resulted in additional, cumbersome and duplicative paperwork for minor offenses. The forms themselves were obviously designed by someone who works at a desk — not someone who would have to fill them out in a squad car.
In Illinois, officers have retired in droves, and recruitment dried up as young people saw policing as a thankless, high-risk career with little public support. In October, the Sun-Times reported 1 out of every 6 newly hired Chicago police officers have left since 2016. Nationally, the story is the same. A 2023 Police Executive Research Forum report found that resignations spiked 47% in 2022 compared with 2019, leaving total staffing down 5%.
The political climate has made it nearly impossible to recruit and retain officers. Departments are receiving a fraction of the interest they once did, and departments such as Winnetka's are left chronically short. For perspective, a new police officer in Winnetka makes $85,397 — and they still cannot hire adequately. Many Illinois departments have resorted to poaching officers just to keep up.
Enter private security. P4 is a highly reputable and respected security firm. Its staff will probably do well for the residents of Winnetka. Private security has long been used in Chicagoland to enhance public safety at large-scale events, high-profile gatherings and more. But if we continue down this road, doing nothing to address the underlying police recruitment and retention crisis, eventually there won't be enough police for private firms to 'observe and report' to. This is a Band-Aid — not a long-term solution.
There are bills in the Illinois legislature right now that are going to make this situation worse. One proposal, House Bill 3458, would allow people charged with aggravated battery to a police officer to claim they were having a mental health episode. The legislature is also considering a bill to make it easier to decertify police officers. These types of bills are killing morale in law enforcement.
Law enforcement advocates understand changes will be made, but we need smart, calculated reform. The current situation is out of balance. In representing police officers throughout the state, I hear almost daily from young, qualified officers who want to quit the profession because of these types of measures and the feeling of being abandoned by legislators.
Illinois needs a course correction. Police advocates have long called for competitive salaries, high-quality training, mental health resources for officers and the public, and legislative backing that balances accountability with due process for officers. Instead, we've gotten ill-considered and rushed reform.
Most Illinois communities don't have the resources to hire private security. If we don't rebuild our police morale, there won't be enough private security to fill in the gaps.
Alexander Dunn is an attorney, retired police officer and president of the Illinois Council of Police (ICOPs) labor union. ICOPs represents police officers and public employees throughout Illinois. He also is a member of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police's legislative and political action committees.
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