October 26, 2017 – The job pays $72,000 per year with full benefits and pension but the Chicago Police Department is having a hard time finding recruits, according to 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney.

“I know we’re aggressively seeking new officers, but when we had an open house...in Lake View not long ago, there were only a handful of interested people,” said Tunney (left) last week.

There is no waiting list for police entrance exams, now offered three times a year, and Tunney says the city is recruiting for Chicago police officers in other cities.

Reasons for the shortage of applicants, according to veteran police officers, include a strong job market, making people less motivated to enter dangerous professions.

Tunney notes the recent Department of Justice investigation of the Chicago Police Department and overall low morale as reasons why fewer people want to join the department.

Vacancies are mounting as many officers reach retirement age.

Still, more than 14,000 applications have been received since February, and applicants who will take the exam in December are the most diverse ever, according to CPD, with 35 percent of them female and 71 percent non-white.