Out of Town Cop Has Inside Track to Replace Weis

By Soyoung Kwak in News on Apr 30, 2011 4:00PM

The Chicago Police Board has recommended Garry McCarthy among two other possible candidates to replace current police superintendent Jody Weis. Although the two other candidates the CPB recommended are Chicago Police Department "insiders," McCarthy is not part of the Chicago police system and also was the only one on Emanuel's "separate" list of top replacements.

Emanuel's and the CPB's reasons for putting McCarthy on the top of the list to replace Weis in May are pretty clear: McCarthy has a ton of experience on the job, even if he is an "outsider." But maybe that's exactly what the Chicago Police Department needs:

Contacted Friday, McCarthy said, "I am really pleased to be considered. It is a great honor." Asked why he believes he was chosen, he said, "It's not any one idea. I've had a 30-year police career. I've shown I could run the Newark Police Department in some pretty tough circumstances. My experience speaks for itself."

McCarthy was on the shortlist for the police superintendent position in 2003, when Mayor Daley had appointed Phil Cline instead. McCarthy also promised that "he would go through the Chicago Police Academy and get certified as an Illinois law-enforcement officer before ever putting on the uniform."

The two other candidates that the CPB announced as contenders are Chicago Police chief of patrol Eugene Williams and CPD's Bureau of Professional Standards' deputy superintendent Debra Kirby.