Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced the City has taken a major step towards the development of a new, state-of-the-art Joint Public Safety Training Academy as part of the city’s continued efforts to provide the best tools, technology and training for its first responders. The City will be entering into exclusive negotiations with a joint venture led by AECOM for the design and construction of a 30-acre campus located at 4301 W. Chicago Avenue in West Garfield Park. City Council approval will be required for the contract to be finalized.

“Community advocates, block clubs, faith leaders and Aldermen join us today to celebrate this new economic engine coming to the West Side,” said Mayor Emanuel. “This new police and fire training facility will not only serve our bravest and finest, but also the residents who will be hired, the small businesses that will grow and the children and families who will be kept safe.”

Over the past year, the City has been working with the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT) to select a developer ideally suited to design, build and finance the project. The multi-stage procurement began with a Request for Qualifications issued in October 2017 followed by a Request for Proposals (RFP) in May 2018 to identify highly qualified Design-Build teams with the requisite experience, capacity, and capabilities to work with the City to ultimately deliver the comprehensive training academy campus. The RFP evaluation process determined that the AECOM team was the most qualified to advance to the final stage of the procurement. AECOM will be responsible for leading a collaborative design process with City stakeholders, neighborhood residents and first responders in the development of the Joint Public Safety Training Academy.

“We are happy to have made another step that will get us closer to the creation of a world-class facility that will allow our first responders to train under conditions that approach realities that we may face at any time,” said Chicago Fire Department (CFD) Commissioner Richard Ford. “This facility will enhance not only the safety of our fire and police crews but the public as well.”

AECOM is required to meet the City’s strict Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE) participation and Workforce Development goals. For this project, the goal is to include at least 28% MBEs and at least 8% WBEs. For all construction work, a minimum of 50% of total work hours must be performed by City residents with 15% performed by local West Side community residents.

Additionally, the AECOM team includes 14 sub-consultants, including nine registered as MBEs and three registered as a WBEs. The team also includes police and fire subject matter experts to advise in the tactical design and interior architecture. Community outreach, workforce development and diversity will be key pillars throughout the design and construction process.

“Today's announcement is a major step towards building a world-class education and training center for the police officers and firefighters who work every day to safeguard our families,” said Chicago Police Department (CPD) Superintendent Eddie Johnson. “This new public safety academy will serve as a hub for community partnership and incorporate a best-in-class design to foster the strongest learning environment for our first responders.”

The new Joint Public Safety Training Academy will deepen and strengthen the training capabilities of both new and current police officers, firefighters and paramedics, allowing for comprehensive cross-training among departments. This new capacity will support first responders in receiving specialized scenario-based training that emphasizes hands-on tactical practice in real-world situations and improve interagency collaboration in emergency response.

"As we’ve seen in the various public safety drills and other joint initiatives with our Public Safety partners, opportunities to train and work closely together promote greater understanding and hands-on coordination among all of the first responder agencies," said OEMC Executive Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau. "This facility enables Chicago's emergency response team to work collectively to ensure the safety of our residents and city."

The recent consent decree agreement lays out a series of comprehensive and required reforms to CPD training, including recruit, in-service, and pre-service promotion training. The Chicago Police Department is required to incorporate active-learning, problem-solving, scenario-based training, and other adult learning techniques into their training curriculum. The City has committed to providing appropriate training facilities that offer adequate access to safe and effective training.

“2FM is proud to be a partner in the City’s efforts to develop the new Public Safety Training Academy,” said Fleet and Facility Management (2FM) Commissioner David Reynolds said. “Not only will the new Academy provide the men and women of Chicago’s public safety departments the training they deserve, it will represent a significant investment by the City in the West Garfield Park neighborhood.”
The CPD Police Academy at 1300 W. Jackson was built in 1976, the Fire Prevention training facility 1010 S. Clinton was constructed in 1950. The Fire Academy South, located at 1338 S. Clinton, was developed in 1965.

“As this project continues to move forward, I continue to be excited for this much needed, long-lasting investment in West Garfield Park,” said Alderman Emma Mitts (37th Ward). “As Alderman, this project reflects my neighborhood priorities, which focus on strengthening the local 37th Ward economy by creating hundreds of jobs, supporting our infrastructure, and fostering new opportunities to expand skilled workforce opportunities for residents.”

"As Chairman of the public safety committee, I see day-in and day-out the dedication and passion that our first responders have to ensure the safety of the residents of Chicago,” said Alderman Reboyras (30th Ward). “It is critical that we support them back with this new Academy that will replace the over 40-year-old training facilities currently used, and allow police officers, firefighters and paramedics to receive training based on the nation’s best practices.”

“If we want police reform, it starts at the beginning. If we want first responders to de-escalate, we need to train them,” said Alderman Michael Scott (24th Ward). “This is an investment in the west side. Not only will it bring more public safety personnel through our streets, but it is an investment in the future of our community and in better community police relations.”

“This is the next step toward ensuring Chicago has the appropriate facilities to provide the specialized training every police officer, firefighter and paramedic needs to protect and serve all Chicagoans equally for decades to come,” said Alderman Jason Ervin (28th Ward). “Not only that, but this is a significant investment in West Garfield Park, and proof that we can leverage city services to spur economic development in all communities.”

These plans build on the Mayor’s commitment to providing first responders with the best-in-class tools, tactics and training needed successfully carry out their challenging work. CPD has already moved forward with revamping its training curriculum and is developing a broader set of training courses that address all aspects of duties performed by officers and their supervisors – much of this new training will be taught and practiced at these new facilities. Last year, CPD began the phased roll-out of new in-service training for the first time in the Department’s history, which will include a required 40-hours of mandatory training for every police officer by 2021.

Construction is planned to begin in 2019, estimated to continue for 24 to 36 months and bring nearly 100 construction jobs to the area.

This is the latest effort as part of the Mayor Emanuel’s public service modernization initiative to invest in local neighborhoods. In February, the Mayor announced 2FM headquarters would be relocated to from North and Throop to Englewood, along with 200 jobs. AECOM was also the selected vendor for the design and construction of the new 2FM facility and is exceeding the participation goals set for that project. In January, the City Colleges of Chicago authorized the sale of its downtown headquarters and plans to relocate the majority of its administrative office staff to its colleges. In September, the Chicago Park District announced plans to relocate its headquarters from its current Streeterville location to Brighton Park.

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