Chicago City Wire

A Chicago police officer with a sterling record is in danger of being fired by the Chicago Police Board, a civilian oversight group, for his involvement in the 2021 shooting death of a 13-year-old in Little Village.

The case of officer Eric Stillman is an exemplar, says one attorney who has represented numerous police officers, of why the more serious discipline cases should go before an independent arbitrator — a question now before City Council — and not a civilian board. The police union, FOP Lodge #7, has long argued that the Board harbors an anti-police bias.

"This case needs to be decided upon the facts and the evidence,” said Timonthy M. Grace, of Grace & Thompson, in an email to Chicago City Wire. “Neither sympathy nor emotions should come into play when deciding if Officer Stillman's use of force was within policy. This can only be done through an entity agreed upon by all parties not a board chosen by the Mayor."

Stillman shot Adam Toledo on March 29, 2021 after a foot chase. A cornered Toledo had turned toward Stillman holding a gun.

Then Police Superintendent David Brown recommended that Stillman serve a five-day suspension for failing to turn on his body camera. The Cook County State's Attorney's office declined to press criminal charges.

Still, in October 2022, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability recommended Stillman’s firing. The Chicago Police Board hearing is scheduled for February, and a final decision is expected in May or June.

The FOP recently began a petition drive in support of Stillman.

“…he has been recognized by the Chicago Police Department no less than fifty-five times for his exceptional service which includes forty-three departmental Honorable Mentions, a Departmental Commendation, and the Chicago Police Superintendent’s Award for Tactical Excellence,” the drive says in part. “This is in addition to his service on behalf of the United States of America as a decorated United States Marine serving his country in combat.”

After City Council rejected arbitration in a mid-December vote, this week, it voted to send the question of police arbitration back to the Workforce Development Committee. 

But after Council’s rejection, independent arbitrator, Edwin Benn, who negotiated the police contract with the city, reaffirmed his earlier decision that the police have a clear legal right to arbitration.

“Adherence to the Rule of Law is not a request or a cafeteria selection process for the City to choose which State of Illinois laws should apply and which should not,” Benn wrote in a letter to City Council. “Compliance with the Rule of Law is an obligation."

Council attorneys, moreover, have advised members that the city will face an uphill battle in court if they finally reject arbitration.

In an effort to squash arbitration, Mayor Brandon Johnson separated arbitration from other provisions in the police contract when his office sent it to City Council for consideration. In mid-December, Council did approve the other provisions in the contract.