“The elements of my approach lean into the historic consent decree governing police reforms in Chicago. However, for me, the consent decree is a floor not a ceiling to our aspirations for a modern police department. In building a modern police force, I will focus on rebuilding the police department using…”

“When confronting racial disparity of any kind – but especially in public services – we have to understand that these barriers, that these costs were created intentionally, so we need to be extremely intentional about how we tear them down. It is clear that the way law enforcement is working now, is not working…”

“Strong correlation should be respected as raising and requiring immediate attention to a host of questions, the answers to which should be probed immediately. Under my administration, that follow-up and assessment should be citizen-informed, transparent and swift…”

Mayor Lightfoot declined to respond to this civil rights questionnaire.

“I am absolutely committed to implementing the consent decree and creating a police force dedicated to community support and safety. I do not support the current gang database and will commit to review of police data and records by the OIG or appropriate agencies…”

“Yes, I believe that a strong city council is an essential element of good governance in the City of Chicago, and I would commit to holding City Council hearings on new surveillance technologies that the city is rolling out or considering.”

“This is an important question. Law enforcement is not immune from the allure of new technology that pervades our society and leads us in both the public and private sectors to plunge in without consequential thinking or analysis. We seldom do the analysis of…”

Mayor Lightfoot declined to respond to this civil rights questionnaire.

“As part of implementing the consent decree I will mandate transparency in how we handle and release public data and data on residents. Releasing public records is critical to maintaining public trust and information should be made available despite legal bases if the public is better served by their release.”

“Yes, transparency is an essential component of good governance. Chicagoans deserve to know what their government is working on for them, and what is not working at all. To the extent permissible by law, I will release public records if it is in the public interest to do so.”

“FOIA is widely abused and in need of an overhaul. The fact that something falls into an exemption category does not mean the exemption should be invoked; particularly when there is no reason to do so in the context of a specific request – and politics is not an applicable reason in that calculus…”

Mayor Lightfoot declined to respond to this civil rights questionnaire.

“Yes, I support transparency and will require this in my Administration. I support FOIA and openness.”

“The City’s current police accountability mechanisms are ineffective. For one, the city under the current Mayor is not transparent. And for another, under the current Superintendent officers are not held accountable. My Safety Plan Calls For: Training – Deescalation, Trauma Informed Responses, Anti Bias Training…”

“It is essential that we both uplift our police, and hold them accountable. I do not think that the way the department has been run under this administration has led to good outcomes for safety or for accountability. First off, we need to fire Superintendent Brown and promote new leadership from within the Department…”

“The City’s police accountability mechanisms are a mixed bag that in the aggregate are in need of a restructure to work as we might hope. I believe the Office of Inspector General in general and its Public Safety Section and Data Transparency Portal are excellent. COPA has yet to…”

“Police accountability mechanisms in this city do not work. I am prepared to take on the rampant misconduct within CPD by instituting zero-tolerance policies for racism and discrimination, and by requiring CPD officers to carry their own liability insurance for their own misconduct.”

Mayor Lightfoot declined to respond to this civil rights questionnaire.

“We all can do better. I will hold police leadership accountable for dealing with misconduct.”

“In 2015, I endorsed an Ordinance calling for reparations for victims of police torture and for Burge victims. The package provided: A full and public mayoral apology; $100,000 payments to each of the approximately 60 living police torture survivors who had not received compensation from lawsuits; A center where…”

“Officers who commit these crimes – and that is what they are – need to be held accountable, with firing, loss of pension, and civil liability payments on the table. We also know that we can’t act after the fact. We need to proactive in shaping the recruitment, examination and training processes to ensure…”

“Individual cases obviously must always be met with commensurate individual redress. However, the Burge, Watts, and Guevara scandals – and those are just the ones most recently known – have many victims and are the product not merely of bad apples, but failed systems…”

“Legacies of monsters…are far from over, with people alive today still living in the shadow of the torture they went through. From beatings to electric shock devices, these heinous acts need to be fully accounted for. That means further reparations for all victims of terror once hidden behind the badge.”

Mayor Lightfoot declined to respond to this civil rights questionnaire.

“We will be fully transparent and hold everyone accountable for their actions.”

“My commitment is to rebuild the police department and creating a police force dedicated to community support and safety. Implementing the consent decree means holding officers accountable for their actions and in following the rules and procedures. I will ensure that the new Police Superintendent is…”

“We need to ensure our officers leverage the technology of body cameras and dash cameras fully and completely for each shift. We need regular audits to ensure compliance and create a culture focused on serving the people instead of a code of silence.”

“Honesty, integrity and veracity is fundamental to credibility. An officer who lies whether orally or on paper, whether by statement or material omission, forever relinquishes his credibility, Credibility is a fundamental qualification for being a sworn law enforcement officer…”

“…It is crucial to enforce strict consequences for lying, limit opportunities to lie in the first place, and heavily push a shift in culture and transparency within the CPD. Whistleblowers are an important resource to these changes, and we will make changes to ensure there are no retaliatory consequences…”

Mayor Lightfoot declined to respond to this civil rights questionnaire.

“This requires leadership. I will make sure that we have a CPD that is responsive to the community. I will bring back CAPS and beat meetings with the community and all police leaders. We will do whatever it takes to have opens within the Department.”