The Chicago Police Board is an appointed body that rules on disciplinary recommendations brought by the Police Department or the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. The board is a quasi-judicial body, not an investigatory department. It is the second-smallest department in the City of Chicago, by both budget appropriation and staff headcount.
Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2023 Budget
| 2023 Budgeted | 2024 Proposed | Net Change | Percent Change | |
| Appropriations | $588,184 | $601,188 | $13,004 | 2.2% |
| Positions & FTEs | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
Departmental Highlights
- Police Board staffing once again remained consistent. The board has been assisted by two full-time employees for more than a decade.
- An increase in court reporting costs and a new $2000 appropriation for graphic design services were the only non-personnel appropriation increases in the 2024 budget proposal.
- Historically, Police Board budgets have been extremely consistent except for an outlier year in 2020, when the outside contracting appropriation leapt from roughly $100,000 to over $700,000. In the 2021 budget the increase was largely eliminated, and the departmental budget returned to typical levels.
Historical Context
Because the size of the police board has not changed, and staffing levels have remained consistent for many years, the department’s annual budget is usually very stable. 2020 was an outlier year, with the board’s outside contracting budget (“professional and technical services” appropriation) leaping from roughly $100,000 to over $700,000. In the 2021 budget the increase was largely eliminated, and the police board budget has seen modest and fairly consistent increases since.
From 2011-2023, the department budget grew at an average rate of 3.0% per year, largely driven by the outliner year of 2020. Departmental budgets overall increased an average of 5.9% per year over the same time period, while the total city budget including Finance General appropriations grew at an average rate of 8.2% annually.
The department’s budgeted workforce has not changed in over a decade, with two full-time employees assisting the board from 2011-2023. Overall budgeted positions for the city remained relatively flat across the same time period, with minor year-to-year fluctuations averaging out to an overall growth rate of -0.04%.
Staffing
Staffing levels have not changed. The Police Board continues to operate with two full-time positions, an Executive Director and an Executive Administrative Assistant II.
Appropriations
An increase in court reporting costs and a new $2000 appropriation for graphic design services were the only non-personnel appropriation increases in the 2024 budget proposal.
