Mayor Brandon Johnson’s strategy for defunding the police doesn’t save money and makes Chicago less safe. Overtime is up, violent crime is up, arrests are down.

The Johnson administration is playing a shell game on public safety. They’re likely hiring civilians for administrative positions to free up officers at local police districts, yet they’re eliminating more than double the amount of police positions currently vacant.

Mayor Brandon Johnson deserves much credit for approving a new Chicago Police Department contract that is generous and fair. Now comes the big question.

Larry Snelling, formerly the Chicago Police Department’s counterterrorism bureau chief, was selected Aug. 13 to become CPD’s next superintendent. Now, the city needs clarity on his plans to address Chicago’s crime problems.

While Illinois law explicitly states union contracts trump all other state laws, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled a police contract allowing the destruction of disciplinarily records defies public policy and cannot be enforced.

In what critics have decried as an inappropriate use of scarce public safety resources, Chicago police officials parked a “bait truck” reportedly filled with boxes of Nike sneakers in the city’s Englewood neighborhood.