Politics

Mayor Johnson Outlines Qualities for Chicago’s Next Top Cop, Says He Expects to Make That Choice

Mayor Brandon Johnson this week made clear that not only is he looking for someone who respects the work of rank-and-file officers and the importance of constitutional policing to be the city’s next police superintendent, but also that he intends to be the one who makes that selection.

In a phone interview with WTTW News on Tuesday, Johnson laid out the qualities he’s looking for in Chicago’s next top cop and stressed that there’s no need to delay that selection process until after the upcoming mayoral election in February.

“I think it’s important we adhere to the law,” Johnson said. “People fought hard for this type of process. To disrupt that process, I don’t see why that would be necessary.”

Johnson’s previous superintendent pick, Larry Snelling, retired last month after three years as the city’s top cop and more than three decades with the Chicago Police Department.

The mayor’s comments come days after Anthony Driver Jr. — the former president and a current member of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA), which will conduct the search for superintendent candidates — wrote a letter urging the Chicago City Council to delay the search process.

The CCPSA currently has a deadline of Nov. 12 to complete its search and present a list of three candidates for Johnson to choose from.

Driver said he’s concerned with attracting “the strongest possible pool of candidates for one of the most important public safety positions in the country.”

“At a time when Chicago is experiencing historic reductions in homicides and violent crime, this process is simply too important to get wrong,” Driver wrote in the letter.

While the list of candidates running for mayor next year is constantly growing, Johnson has not yet stated whether he intends to seek a second term.

Johnson on Tuesday noted that between himself and the CCPSA, “the infrastructure is there” to move forward with the superintendent search now.

“It would be different if that infrastructure in any way had been compromised. But that’s not the case,” Johnson said. “The law is very clear. I think it’s important that as a city we demonstrate a willingness to abide by the law and not allow politics to get in the way of a process that, quite frankly, has been established and codified through the ordinance.”

Johnson said his ideal candidate for superintendent is someone who understands and respects the work of rank-and-file officers and can continue to build on the constitutional policing requirements outlined in the federal court order requiring the CPD to stop routinely violating Black and Latino Chicagoans’ constitutional rights, known as the consent decree.

He’s also looking for someone who will strengthen the department’s partnerships with Community Violence Intervention, or CVI, groups — one of a handful of strategies the mayor has credited with driving historic declines in shootings and homicides.

“I also believe it’s important the next superintendent that I will select understands the role of CVI — that CVI is an intricate partnership in how we drive down violence,” Johnson said.

Last year closed with the city’s fewest homicides in 60 years. Chicago is on a similar pace through the first seven months of 2026 after recording the fewest homicides for any July in more than 50 years.

Johnson said those violence reductions are the result of CVI partnerships, youth employment efforts, improved mental health care options and a revamped detectives division within the CPD.

Still, recent polling has shown many Chicagoans believe violent crime is increasing in the city. Johnson said the city must continue working to address “essential matters” like unemployment, a lack of public housing and affordability to restore residents’ confidence in their government.

“There’s more work to be done,” Johnson said, “but I believe that the gap between what’s happening and what people are experiencing will continue to close. As we continue to see these investments materialize, I’m confident that people will begin to see the full benefit of the investments we’re making.”

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WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.

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