If the Chicago City Council follows preliminary indications and approves Mayor Richard M. Daley's choice of J.D. (Jody) Weis as the new superintendent of police, it will be a good news/bad news situation for the FBI agent.
The good news for Weis is his $300,000-plus annual salary tops Vice President Dick Cheney's by more than $100,000.
Weis will be in charge of 17,000 cops and civilians and Cheney is a heartbeat away from being the leader of the free world. So much for salary being commensurate with responsibility.
The bad news is there is no "fresh start" which the mayor seems to be looking for by bringing in the first non-Chicago cop in 47 years to head the department. If, as planned on Jan. 16, Weis is sitting in the big chair at 3500 S. Michigan Ave., he will have the blood of Aaron Harrison, the late 19-year-old West Sider, on his hands, as well as that of slain 10-year-old Arthur Jones.
Young Jones died from a thug's bullet intended for another thug across the street. Harrison, a young brother who had more than his share of conversations with police officers, died after he was shot running from police officers.
Wels will not be able to absolve himself of those shootings or the nearly five dozen others that claimed the lives of young Black Chicagoans. There will be no "that was before my arrival excuses.
Weis has inherited a mess that none of his predecessors opted to clean up. The rogue cop behavior, the shootings of reportedly unarmed civilians, cops plotting to kill other cops and a mentally ill man dying after being buzzed with some cops' Tasers are all horrendous events that got sound-bite responses from police brass, but nothing of substance.
Even when the upper echelon of the department would wander into the community for some sort of scripted forum, they did a great job of listening; but the follow-up left a lot to be desired. The departmental leaders didn't publicly explain that cops were allowed to kill unarmed West Siders or South Siders. So, family and friends are still seeking answers - months after incidents.
Of course Weis won't come in with the answers, but the wisest thing he can do is immediately promise to get them, and share them in quick fashion.
Maybe the mayor recognized but didn't want to remind us that Weis' coming to Chicago is much like a player being traded from a Detroit team to one of ours. Whatever that player did there was fine, but he still must prove himself here.
The new superintendent will need to prove he's more than a suit by getting into the community, personally, and not relying on any secondhand accounts of how "things" are. Even if he's got a squad of cops in tow, Weis walking along 16th Street and Pulaski Avenue or 47th Street and King Drive, getting residents' perceptions about the cops will be a gargantuan step toward restoring some confidence in the department.
Neither Weis nor Daley should expect that restoration to happen anytime soon. It is just not feasible or even reasonable for cops to kill members of the community and expect that community to say, "oh it's cool. He's a new guy."
Much of Chicago's Black community is like a burn victim and the removal of the dead skin has to be done carefully, timely and on some sort of schedule.
Weis' presence and a genuine pledge to improve things before the families of Johnnie Goodwin and other youngsters who are no longer with us can be an unprecedented salve.
A tragic mistake for the 49-year-old uber cop will be to try to ignore the past, and come into the job as if there are no ill feelings and raw nerves out there.
In a year or so, we might be able to look back and say the new guy made a difference; but in the meantime, if Weis makes a dent in crime and improves the relationship between cops and the community, it will be shocking.
While he is dealing with the community, Weis' dealings inside the department could be testy at times. Interim Supt. Dana Starks' move to a civilian post leaves an opening for a second in command. The smart money says Weis will import another FBI-type to have his back.
It might be understandable, but certainly will be a slap in the face of the men and women who have labored through the departmental ranks and have earned a hard look and promotion into the second top spot.
Weis simply will be spinning his wheels toward building community trust if the community is looking at Chicago Police Department leadership that is neither homegrown nor of color.
He might not like it, and Daley might think it is a non-starter, but it is simply how things work here.
[Author Affiliation]
Glenn Reedus is the managing editor of the Chicago Defender.
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