Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot Butts Heads With Mayor Emanuel

FILE - Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot speaks on WBEZ’s Morning Shift.
Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot speaks on WBEZ's Morning Shift. Jason Marck / WBEZ
FILE - Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot speaks on WBEZ’s Morning Shift.
Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot speaks on WBEZ's Morning Shift. Jason Marck / WBEZ

Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot Butts Heads With Mayor Emanuel

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When Mayor Emanuel appointed Lori Lightfoot to head the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force and the Chicago Police Board back in 2016, he put his faith in the former federal prosecutor to help usher in a new era of reform for the Chicago Police Department. 

For a time, it appeared the mayor and his appointee’s visions were more or less aligned. Back in January, Lightfoot supported Emanuel when he committed to a federal consent decree under then President Barack Obama’s Justice Department that would give a judge a court-appointed monitor the power to enforce changes within the CPD. 

More recently though, Emanuel changed tacks, deciding instead to negotiate with President Donald Trump’s Justice Department for less federal oversight. According to Lightfoot, the proposal that the Emanuel administration sent to DOJ not only lacks transparency but does not institute the sort of systematic reforms needed to truly change the police department. 

Morning Shift talks to Lori Lightfoot about her vision of police reform in Chicago, how it differs with Mayor Emanuel’s, and what she believes the best next steps would be in achieving true reform.