Chicago’s police union contract requires any layoffs to happen in order of officer seniority. Older, whiter officers stay on the force if the budget gets cut and the city can’t prioritize removing officers with the biggest records of misconduct first. chicagofop.org/s/Chicago-FOP-… 
The police budget, key drivers of its growth over time, and the process for defunding are structured by police union contracts - many of which are in effect for several years before re-negotiation. The contracts are mandatory reading if you’re strategizing how to defund police.
The only way around that is to either:
1) re-negotiate the contracts, but the union has the power to reject any changes
2) pass state legislation to invalidate those parts of the contract by law, or;
3) disband the police department, which would cancel the contract
1) re-negotiate the contracts, but the union has the power to reject any changes
2) pass state legislation to invalidate those parts of the contract by law, or;
3) disband the police department, which would cancel the contract
