Obama Drug Czar in Running for City’s Top Cop - Chicago News Cooperative

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by DAN MIHALOPOULOS | Apr 19, 2011

Despite calls for the promotion of a new police superintendent from within the department’s ranks, Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel could yet do as he did in finding a new schools CEO and go far beyond the city limits for Chicago’s next top cop.

The Chicago News Cooperative reported Monday that President Barack Obama’s drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, is among the contenders to become Emanuel’s choice for police superintendent after taking office next month.

Kerlikowske, whose formal title is director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, met last week with Emanuel in Chicago. Kerlikowske served as Seattle’s police chief for nine years before joining the Obama administration in early 2009. He was in town again over the weekend for an interview with the police board, according to sources with knowledge of the selection process. At least three current Chicago police officials were among a small group interviewed by the board.

Jody Weis’ status as an outsider — from the FBI, to boot — was a major reason that “J-Fed” was never accepted among the rank-and-file officers he commanded as retiring Mayor Richard M. Daley’s last police superintendent.

While Kerlikowske’s knowledge of Chicago may be limited, Emanuel got to know him well when Emanuel was White House chief of staff.

Kerlikowske probably would not be scorned, as Weis was when he dared to wear a police uniform for the first time as superintendent. Kerlikowske spent decades in local law enforcement in other cities, including a stint as police commissioner of Buffalo, N.Y. before the Seattle job.

Another outsider candidate for the job is Garry McCarthy, director of the Newark, N.J., police. Before taking that post in 2006, McCarthy was deputy commissioner of operations for the New York Police Department.

The American Civil Liberties Union has pushed for federal oversight of the Newark police, alleging widespread misconduct during McCarthy’s tenure.

A spokesman for Kerlikowske declined comment Monday. McCarthy also did not respond to requests for an interview.

Internal candidates under consideration for the top spot include chief Gene Williams, deputy chief Al Wysinger and deputy superintendent Deb Kirby, the sources said. All three have been with the department since the 1980s, according to city payroll records.

Emanuel had sought to recruit Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who has Chicago roots, but Ramsey decided to stay in his current post.

The police board announced last week that it had received more than 40 applications for the job and would winnow the field to three finalists for Emanuel to choose from before his inauguration on May 16.

The board’s executive director, Max Caproni, declined comment Monday. He referred questions to board president Demetrius Carney, who did not return calls.

Weis recently stepped down after Emanuel made clear that he would usher in a change in leadership in the force. Terry Hillard, a former Chicago police superintendent, is the interim leader of the department.

Although Weis could point to a drop in the homicide rate among his accomplishments, rampant, high-profile crime continued to tarnish the city’s reputation, and budget cuts forced a decline in the number of officers.

The shortage in funding also caused cuts in community policing programs, which Emanuel has promised to rejuvenate.

Time magazine once described Kerlikowske as “an innovator and fierce defender of community policing.”

via chicagonewscoop.org

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