Latest news with #FelonyReviewBypassPilotProgram
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Pilot program letting CPD officers file felony gun charges without review is expanding
CHICAGO — A controversial pilot program that allows Chicago police officers to file low level felony gun charges without review is expanding to more police districts. The Felony Review Bypass Pilot Program is now expanding to the 5th District after launching in the 7th District in January. CPD Supt. Larry Snelling and the Cook County State's Attorney say the program is working and allows officers to spend more time solving crimes. On Thursday morning, 5th District officers participated in a training led by the felony review unit supervisor for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. The bypass program allows 5th and 7th District officers to file charges and bypass felony review by a Cook County State's Attorney prosecutor for low level felony gun cases. Those include unlawful possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon. Pilot program allows 7th District CPD officers to file gun charges without felony review process After an officer files the charges, they have to be reviewed by a CPD Watch Operation Lieutenant. Although felony review is bypassed, prosecutorial review is not. After the defendant goes to first appearance court, the case is sent to either a preliminary hearing or a grand jury. Supt. Snelling says allowing officers to bypass felony review in certain cases puts them back to work on the streets faster. 'If an officer came in we're looking at six to eight hours wait time, sometimes even longer, to get those charges approved. That takes an officer off the street for an entire tour of duty. So if that arrest is made at the beginning of that officer's tour, that car is down the rest of the day. This helps us to get our officers back on the street,' Snelling said. Eileen o' neill burke, cook county state's attorney 'Every single one of the bypass cases out of the 7th District has made it through preliminary hearing, which means they are solid cases, which means that is what we would expect from this program,' said Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke. The pilot program will officially launch in the 5th District on the Far South Side Friday. State's Attorney O'Neill Burke says her office also plans to slowly expand the program to suburban police departments. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
New program allows 7th District CPD officers to file gun charges without felony review process
CHICAGO – A new pilot program in the Chicago Police Department's 7th District allows officers to file felony gun charges without a felony review process from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. However, the program is already raising questions in the Englewood neighborhood where it will be deployed. Right now, Chicago police have to clear all felony charges except drug cases with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office before they are filed, but in the 7th District, that's not the case anymore with gun possession cases. 'The community deserves better. Englewood deserves better. For them to launch an initiative right here, it tells you how they feel about us,' 7th District Council Member Joseph Williams said. Family of 21-year-old woman killed in Stone Park nightclub shooting files wrongful death lawsuit Williams told WGN he was not made aware about a new pilot program that launched Jan. 1. The program is a collaboration between CPD and new Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke's office. It allows police to file felony gun possession charges without approval from a prosecutor, who would typically review body camera footage and police reports before making a decision. 'There's a due process that we are supposed to follow, and now they're now going to give that due process solely to police officers to make that decision. If it's a felony or not, that decision should not solely be on police,' Williams said. The 'Felony Review Bypass Pilot Program' sidesteps prosecutor approval and passes the responsibility to a CPD on-duty watch lieutenant, who determines if there is probable cause. When asked if he supported the program, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the following. 'Constitutional policing, building relationships within the community and restoring relationships and maintaining relationships with law enforcement – that is my top priority.' According to 'Bolts' Magazine, since the program launched on Jan. 1, the 7th Police District has filed 22 felony gun cases. In 2024, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office denied gun charges in 464 of 4,200 felony cases, a little more than 10% of the time. 'This process really just, I think, opens the floodgates to more biased policing and more false arrests. I think it's really problematic. It is not where we should be putting our resources and time, and I hope this ends,' Alexa Van Brunt, director of Northwestern University's Civil Rights Litigation Center, said. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines WGN reached out to CPD for comment and was sent the following statement: 'This initiative is currently being evaluated in collaboration between the Cook County States Attorneys Office and CPD. Public safety and community trust is at the forefront of this collaboration.' The Cook County State's Attorney's Office said it plans to share provide updates on the program in the coming weeks. The program will be reviewed every three months and could potentially expand to other area of the city. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
