Excerpts from the ChicagoSunTimes.com:
Chicago’s police and fire academies will be replaced by a new $95 million public safety training campus in West Garfield Park. The shared training academy will have two buildings and outdoor training space, and will be built on 30.4 acres of vacant, privately owned land at 4301 W. Chicago.
This will replace the 41-year-old police academy at 1300 W. Jackson, the 67-year-old fire academy at 1010 S. Clinton, and fire academy south at 1338 S. Clinton developed 52 years ago.
The main building will include classrooms, labs, simulators, conference rooms, an auditorium, and administrative offices. The second building will include a dive training pool, a shooting range, and space for active scenario training. The outdoor portion of the campus will feature a driving course, a skid pad, and space for hands-on practice in real-world situations.
Construction is expected to begin in 2018 and take 24 to 36 months. The cost, including land acquisition not yet completed, was pegged at $95 million. The mayor’s office refused to say how the project would be financed — only that the city would identify funding as the project progresses.
Emanuel’s $60 million, first-ever promise requires the Chicago Police Department to fill 471 vacancies, keep pace with rising retirements, and still hire enough police officers in 2017 to add 250 patrol officers, 37 sergeants, 50 lieutenants, 92 field-training officers, and 100 detectives. That ambitious hiring plan calls for classes of at least 100 recruits-apiece to enter the academy during eleven of the 12 months this year.
After a 13-month investigation, the Justice Department portrayed a biased Chicago Police Department that relies on 35-year-old training videos and uses outdated pursuit tactics that imperil suspects, officers, and innocent bystanders.
thanks Dennis
