CHICAGO – In the last month alone, three Chicago police officers devastatingly lost their lives to suicide – leading wellness professionals to call the department’s practice of canceling days off as “inhumane.”

State Senator Bill Cunningham and State Representative Fran Hurley are sponsoring measures to require the City of Chicago to give police officers a minimum of one day off each week – a move they hope will lead to a better work-life balance and, in turn, help officers prioritize their mental health.

“The overwhelming stress officers face combined with a lack of time off has become detrimental to their mental health,” said Cunningham, who represents portions of Chicago and the Southwest suburbs. “This practice of canceling days off isn’t just unfair, it’s harmful.”

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CHICAGO – State Senator Bill Cunningham and State Representative Fran Hurley introduced legislation to legally require the city of Chicago to give police officers a minimum of one day off each week. The proposal is designed to end the city’s practice of routinely canceling officer’s regularly-scheduled days off to make up for chronic staffing shortages. 

“The Chicago Police Department has approximately 1,500 fewer officer than it is budgeted for,” said Hurley. “The way to fix this problem is to hire more officers, not cancel scheduled days off for existing officers and force them to work 12 or 13 days in a row without relief.”

“Canceling days off might make sense on a temporary basis during an emergency situation, but it has become a routine staffing policy for CPD and part of misguided crime-fighting strategy,” said Cunningham. “It is not only grossly unfair to officers and their families, it produces a fatigued and burned out police force that is less effective at fighting crime.”

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