‘Secretive’ or independent? Flap over Chicago police superintendent search reveals growing pains over new civilian oversight

A conflict over who will be the next Chicago police superintendent has revealed growing pains for the community-driven search process and is testing the independence of the new panel tasked with choosing the finalists.

The flap began last week when 19 aldermen released a letter declaring their “disappointment and dismay” over the apparent decision by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability to eliminate one of the Police Department’s highest-ranking officials from consideration. The leader of Chicago’s new independent police oversight panel, in turn, accused the City Council members of attempting improper influence over the proceedings.

In fact, several of the aldermen who signed the letter had voted in favor of the ordinance that created the community commission in 2021, but some of them now say the implementation has been botched as they feel iced out of the body’s deliberations. Anthony Driver Jr., the CCPSA’s president, retorted that the letter was misinformed and reeks of “the old ‘Chicago Way.’ ”

The candidate in question, police Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott, did not receive a follow-up interview for the position after an initial phone screening despite being “the most experienced chief in the department” with 28 years in law enforcement and overseeing more than 6,000 beat cops, according to the letter.

“We do not understand why Chief McDermott was not granted an interview, especially given his impressive qualifications and deep commitment to the Chicago Police Department,” the letter said, adding that Mayor Brandon Johnson, the City Council “and every Chicago resident deserves to know why someone as qualified as Chief McDermott was not even afforded an interview for one of the city’s most important leadership roles.”

Driver declined to comment on McDermott’s application process.

“The consequences are the old ‘Chicago Way,’ where we’ve seen time and time again where you have a very clout-heavy city, where people do favors for folks and people get positions through political influence, and it hasn’t worked,” Driver said. “Our city has done this, has operated in the same way for decades, and we have not had good results.”

Johnson addressed the controversy by affirming that the CCPSA is an independent body whose ultimate mission is to instill constitutional policing, but he refrained from criticizing the aldermen explicitly or commenting on McDermott’s candidacy.

“The city of Chicago worked hard to come up with an independent process that would ultimately provide the type of recommendations that are … free from political malfeasance,” Johnson said in an unrelated news conference Wednesday. “And so I’m grateful that there’s an ordinance in place, but also I do recognize that alderpersons, just like anyone else, should always have the ability to express their thoughts about any decision. … It’s a democracy.”

The legislation creating the independent body passed City Council two years ago in a 36-13 vote. It followed years of tense negotiations between then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot and community activists in support of police accountability, calls for which grew louder during the fallout of the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd in 2020. Lightfoot then filled the seven-member CCPSA panel with her appointees, who have now become tasked with picking three finalists for the next leader of the Police Department after her hand-picked superintendent, David Brown, resigned in the wake of her reelection loss this year.

Those who voted for the ordinance but are now dinging the community commission in the letter are Alds. Michelle Harris, 8th; Raymond Lopez, 15th; David Moore, 17th; Derrick Curtis, 18th; Felix Cardona, 31st; Scott Waguespack, 32nd; and Debra Silverstein, 50th.

The others who signed the letter were Alds. Brian Hopkins, 2nd; Anthony Beale, 9th; Peter Chico, 10th; Nicole Lee, 11th; Marty Quinn, 13th; Matt O’Shea, 19th; Silvana Tabares, 23rd; Gil Villegas, 36th; Nicholas Sposato, 38th; Anthony Napolitano, 41st; Brendan Reilly, 42nd; and Jim Gardiner, 45th. Of that list, those who were on City Council during the previous term all voted against the police oversight ordinance, except Villegas, who was absent.

Moore, whose South Side ward spans a police district that McDermott used to oversee, said the CCPSA’s decision not to grant McDermott a follow-up interview was “shocking,” arguing that someone of such a high rank in the department should be qualified to receive at least a formal interview.

To Moore, the letter pushing back at the CCPSA is “not a contradiction” of his 2021 support for community oversight of Chicago police.

“I’m not gonna say it was a mistake from the start,” Moore said about creating the body. “I would never say that because you want independent community input, but I think when you leave the aldermanic voices out … then I think that’s some concern.”

He added that he believes the reputation of political wheeling-and-dealing in Chicago City Council is “in the past in terms of the ’80s, ’90s and then one or two people even in the 2000s.”

“We’re past those days,” Moore said. “I think a lot of the aldermen are doing a lot of things for the right reasons. This is not about, ‘Hey, I wanted my guy here. I want my guy there.’”

Driver, however, noted the letter seemed more a political stunt than a good-faith effort to seek information, saying he learned of it through the media because it wasn’t first sent to the commission. Driver said he agrees that City Council members are free to express themselves but that touting a specific candidate to the commission “goes over the line to lobbying.”

“If we have to be worried about outside influences, we’re not making a pick based on who the best person is,” Driver said. “We’re making a pick based on fear. … In the past, I think you have a general sentiment that this did not work. The last superintendent search, people had the idea that it was an inside job, that it didn’t serve our communities very well.”

Lightfoot tapped Brown to be superintendent in 2020 less than two days after the Chicago Police Board announced him as a finalist, contributing to the impression he was her choice all along. Four years earlier — when Lightfoot herself was head of the Police Board — then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel disregarded that panel’s three finalists and selected someone who hadn’t applied, Eddie Johnson.

Lopez, from the Southwest Side, said he stands by his support for community input over policing. But he said the community commission is “intentionally excluding” officials like him who are familiar with the Police Department’s inner workings and the city’s crime issues. Moreover, the Lightfoot-appointed CCPSA was not elected, but aldermen like him were, so brushing aside their concerns would only “erode the faith” in the new process, Lopez said.

“The frustration that I and the rest of my colleagues have is that this isn’t meant to be a secretive club that’s making this decision,” Lopez said. “This is an official government public body that should be able to explain how this process is working. We don’t necessarily want to know what their deliberations are, but you should be able to share what your criteria is.”

Lopez noted that after the commission will present its three finalists to Johnson, due July 14, there still must be a final signoff from City Council on whomever the mayor picks.

“These questions will not go away,” Lopez said. “Clearly, there are already 19 members who have questions, who have doubts, who have concerns, that have publicly made those known. All it will take is seven more to jeopardize any future appointment that they might produce.”

Chicago Tribune’s Sam Charles contributed.

ayin@chicagotribune.com