Resolution calls for second phase of work by Chicago-Cook County domestic violence task force

A local task force created to address the rising rates of domestic violence and strengthen support for survivors could be brought back for a second phase.

The proposal to revive the task force was set to be considered on Thursday by the Chicago City Council Public Safety Committee.

Back in July, the Chicago-Cook County Violence Against Women Task Force released a report that identified gaps in the justice system that often failed survivors.

The task force said survivors of abuse and domestic violence are often left to navigate a confusing system where agencies don't share information and, in many cases, don't even collect the same data.

While the task force couldn't access key data, CBS News Chicago did. In 2024, we obtained a decade of Cook County records. Our investigation found only about 25% of protection orders were being served, meaning many survivors never got the protections judges ordered.

Task force members said that investigation helped expose a critical weakness that has since seen improvement.

The development of the report was phase one of the work of the task force. Phase two would work to implement recommendations made in the report.

Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd), the chair and founder of the task force, will introduce a resolution to launch phase two during a City Council Public Safety Committee meeting at 10 a.m.