City ‘will suffer’ if disciplinary hearings are secret: Police Board …

The president of the Chicago Police Board on Thursday cautioned that the city “will suffer” if the City Council approves a new contract for Chicago police officers that allows them to choose to have serious misconduct cases tried behind closed doors.

Addressing a recent effort by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 to remove 22 misconduct cases from the board’s docket, Ghian Foreman, the board’s president, said: “Police accountability and, ultimately, the people of Chicago will suffer if the most serious police disciplinary cases are removed from the police board’s jurisdiction, which is what will happen if this decision is allowed to stand.”

Foreman added that he and other members of the board were prepared to appear before the City Council to further explain the board’s role in the city’s police accountability apparatus. Foreman’s comments came during the board’s monthly meeting at CPD headquarters.

The board also took up its normal responsibilities during…