Chicago’s massive DNC cop city included over 135 outside police departments

The Chicago Police Department brought in more than 1200 police officers from over 135 police departments across the state this summer to police the Democratic National Convention. 

Chicago police overtime also topped 379,000 hours during the week of the convention—30% more than their monthly average, according to our analysis. By the end of June, CPD had already logged nearly 30% more overtime than budgeted for the entire year.

Legal agreements between CPD and the other agencies show the department was supplemented by nearly 700 police officers from the Illinois State Police, as well as 200 officers from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, nearly 300 from 134 departments throughout the state, and 76 from the Milwaukee Police Department in Wisconsin. Attendance and assignment records also reveal CPD relied heavily on tactical officers pulled from police districts across the city to form their protest arrest teams. 

Little information has been released confirming the federal agencies who assisted CPD that week, but an assortment were seen around town, including Secret Service officers, U.S. Marshals, and U.S. Capitol Police. 

In July, Chicago sent 75 officers to Milwaukee to support the Republican National Convention as part of an agreement between the two cities.

On the second day of that convention, police officers from Columbus, Ohio shot and killed 43-year-old Samuel Sharpe, Jr., also known as Jehovah. The police killing immediately sparked protests, and raised alarm over how the DNC would play out one month later in Chicago—as well as questions about which departments would work alongside CPD during the convention.

The statewide officers assigned to the DNC were contracted as part of the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS), a network of police departments that describes itself as a “mutual aid” system formed in response to the September 11 attacks. 

Funded primarily by Department of Homeland Security grants, ILEAS operates a multimillion dollar training center in Urbana. The agency also works closely with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) to coordinate policing between departments during emergency response operations.

Officers sent to Chicago as part of the ILEAS agreement were allegedly highly vetted and evaluated. Each was required to have been a licensed officer for at least two years and “in good standing” with their department. 

The contract also stipulates that no police officer sent to assist with the DNC can have “been sued in an individual capacity in the last three (3) years” or have “any sustained complaints for the use of excessive, unreasonable or unnecessary force within the last five (5) years.”

Preliminary research reveals at least several have indeed been named in significant police misconduct cases falling outside that time period, such as Rockford police officer Jonathan Hedges, who had been fired by the department over multiple misconduct allegations, only to be later reinstated. Special Agent David Juergensen appears on the list submitted by the Illinois State Police. He made headlines last week after a judge tossed a criminal case against the Waukegan City Clerk, ruling that the indictment was based solely on false testimony provided by Juergensen.

The top five departments represented include Springfield Police Department, Joliet Police Department, Wheaton Police Department, Rockford Police Department, and Naperville Police Department. Most other departments, including several county sheriff’s offices and even a few forest preserve districts, only sent 1-2 officers each.

While the majority of DNC demonstrations were nonviolent, CPD’s response to a protest outside the Israeli consulate on August 20 was not.

Several journalists were arrested alongside dozens of protesters that evening. New York City based photojournalist Josh Pacheco, who was charged with disorderly conduct after being repeatedly kettled by CPD, has already had their charges dropped in court. 

Protesters reported injuries and long wait times outside the court building at Belmont and Western operating as a temporary mass arrest processing center. A 2021 OIG report on CPD’s response to the 2020 George Floyd protests noted concerns about arrestees left unattended in transport wagons, including one incident where someone was denied medication and experienced a seizure. 

One activist, speaking anonymously, said others arrested alongside them had to kick at the wagon’s doors demanding water after a very long wait in an increasingly hot vehicle. 

At one point, they said they could hear the song “Police Truck” by the punk band Dead Kennedys playing. It’s a first person POV track from the perspective of a roving gang of violent cops. Police officers then refused to remove protesters’ handcuffs and poured water into their mouths, with some declining because it “looked too much like waterboarding.”

Once inside, evidence collection chaos ensued. Protesters told us they were fingerprinted multiple times, and had to return to chase down belongings. Several photographers arrested also reported damaged equipment. 

CPD also relied heavily on their tactical units for crowd control, visibly operating as arrest teams dressed in all black the evening of the Israeli consulate protest.

Officers on these often violent tactical teams have frequently made headlines and faced firing for misconduct. A large number are also responsible for the department’s pattern of unlawful or undocumented investigatory stops.

An analysis of police duty assignment records showed that tactical units were not pulled evenly from police districts. Each day, approximately 400 tactical officers were assigned to the DNC. Most districts had 15 to 30 tactical officers detailed to the DNC each day. 

Districts 1, 4, 8, and 9 had the most tactical officers covering the DNC, with 20 to 32 reassigned each day. Districts 2 and 16 contributed the fewest, with only one tactical officer each at the DNC. District 2’s contribution was Jerald Williams, an officer with a notorious history of violence.

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READ THE DOCUMENTS:

Agreement with Illinois State Police

Agreement with ILEAS

Agreement with Milwaukee PD

Agreement with CCSO

Department\Officer Extract from PDFs (Google Sheet)