CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago has a new layer of oversight over its police department. The City Council on Wednesday approved a panel giving citizens more input over how police perform their duties. The action follows years of protests over law enforcement misconduct. The panel is a compromise between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and activists. Both had pushed competing proposals that failed to get much support from aldermen. The panel will have some say over police policies and the hiring of a police superintendent. But it has no power to fire the superintendent and the mayor can veto policies the panel seeks to impose on the department. Opponents of the measure said adding more scrutiny to police officers’ jobs will make it harder for them to do their jobs.
