Does Chicago really need more police officers?

Chicago Tribune piece by Wesley Epplin, Health & Medicine Policy Director, and Tiffany Ford, former Health & Medicine Policy Analyst.

As Chicago grapples with its $259 million budget shortfall, we must ask: How did we get here? Adding 1,000 police officers and paying for Chicago Public Schools security officers contributes a great deal to this budget gap and the City Council is considering ways to close it. Our suggestion is simple: Stop pouring tax dollars into policing. The city’s over-reliance on policing is not only breaking the bank, but also deepening the inequities that exist across racial, gender and class lines. Read the full piece here.