Emanuel to Name Newark Police Chief New Superintendent

By Chuck Sudo in News on May 2, 2011 1:30PM

Two days after Garry McCarthy was named one of three finalists for Police Superintendent, the Sun-Times is reporting that Mayor-elect Emanuel is set to name him Chicago's new top cop, so sold is he on the Newark Police chief's experience as a big city cop in New York and his use of innovative crime fighting strategies.

This is the second time in eight years that McCarthy has wowed the Police Board that's charged with finding recommendations for the Superintendent's job for the mayor. Even though McCarthy hasn't come through the Chicago Police Department ranks, Police Board President Demetrius Carney believes his pedigree in New York City and Newark should mitigate that, unlike Weis, who came to the department from the FBI.

“He is an outsider. But this time, that outsider is not from the FBI. This is an outsider who understands policing and understands the plight of beat patrol,” Carney said.

McCarthy has also vowed that he would not don a Chicago policeman's uniform until he goes through Chicago Police Academy training and becomes certified as an Illinois law enforcement officer, aware of the morale problems within the department's rank-and-file. The anonymous police blogger Second City Cop seems to be taking a cautiously optimistic approach to the news.

It will certainly be interesting to see how well he can run up against the entrenched political forces here who appoint gold stars without regard qualifications, educational experience or police ability. We sense another mass bloodletting similar to what happened when [Weis] arrived in town. We wonder if it will turn out any better this time, because it would be hard to see it turning out worse.