Harvey’s mayor and its police chief are disappointed with the Cook County State’s Attorneys Office’s decision to drop charges against the south suburban city’s 2nd Ward Alderwoman, Colby Chapman.
On April 28, Chapman was removed from Harvey’s City Council meeting after Mayor Christopher Clark accused her of being disruptive. As she was being escorted out of the room, Chapman allegedly pushed an officer. She was handcuffed and charged with disorderly conduct.
On July 2 at her first court appearance, charges were dropped against Chapman.
In a statement, the State’s Attorney’s Office said, “Illinois Supreme Court Rules limit the CCSAO’s ability to comment on a pending case, but as prosecutors we have a legal and ethical responsibility to continuously evaluate the evidence in each case at each stage of the proceeding, and to evaluate whether the law, evidence, and resources warrant proceeding. That process has played out here.”
Harvey Police Chief Cameron Biddings said in a statement in part, “I am disappointed and concerned by the State’s Attorney’s decision to drop felony charges against Alderwoman Chapman without so much as a Grand Jury hearing, despite the clear evidence that she struck a Harvey police officer while resisting lawful orders.”
The Chicago Crusader emailed Chapman for comment but has not heard back from her.
According to her social media LinkedIn page, Chapman is a graduate of Thornridge High School in Harvey. She studied at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. Chapman has served as Harvey’s 2nd Ward alderwoman since May 2023. She works as career service manager for GRO Community, a mental health clinic.
Clark accused Chapman of being repeatedly disruptive at the meeting as she kept asking about an issue that had already been addressed. That led Clark to ask the Council members to vote on censoring Chapman before she was removed from the meeting.
Chapman said the city had sold a senior’s home for $2,000, and she wanted to know why.
A frequent critic of the mayor shared a video on Chapman’s aldermanic Facebook page. The video shows Chapman refusing to be removed. As an officer comes to gather her belongings, Chapman says, “Don’t touch my stuff!”
The recording shows Chapman pushing the officer before a police officer escorted her out of the room. She tried to stay in the meeting by holding on to the door.
Police Chief Biddings said she was later placed in handcuffs off camera.
Clark has accused Chapman of repeatedly grandstanding at council meetings. He said Chapman was censored and asked to leave council meetings twice before.