Crime & Law

CPD Oversight Board President Looks Ahead to Next Superintendent Search

When Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling retires on Wednesday, it will mark the end of the first chapter in Chicago’s current era of community control over the department.

For decades, the Chicago Police Board picked finalists for the top cop position, a process that critics said happened away from public scrutiny and often ended with a rubber stamp of approval from City Council.

Now — as the city reflects on the tenure of the first superintendent chosen through the current process — the civilian oversight board is getting ready to start the selection process all over again.

A 2021 ordinance established the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, or CCPSA, and gave the commission power to set department policy, review the police budget and select superintendent finalists. The ordinance also paved the way to elect district councils in each police district, which nominate CCPSA members.

“Under Supt. Snelling, we’ve seen more consistent engagement between district commanders and district councilors … as well as the wider community,” said Remel Terry, CCPSA president.

“The next superintendent will be asked to do a lot at once,” Terry said. “You have to focus on reducing crime, you’ll have to continue police reform, you’ll have to build trust between communities, as well as lead a department of thousands.”

The CCPSA also sets goals for the department and its leadership. According to Terry, Snelling was willing to have public conversations about his progress toward performance goals established for him by the CCPSA.

But the commission acknowledged one goal — addressing the rise of use-of-force complaints since 2022 — still needs more explanation from the department. 

“We’re still waiting to hear back about a lot of that,” Terry said. “So we’re still allowing the department to do the work that they need to on their end, in terms of assessing the data, so that we can have the clear response.”

The commission has also made space in public meetings for residents to bring concerns that CPD may have violated the Welcoming City Ordinance, the city ordinance barring Chicago police from cooperating with civil immigration enforcement. 

According to Terry, understanding how candidates for the job will implement that ordinance will be an important part of the search process. 

Snelling’s retirement this week will kick off a 120-day timeline for the CCPSA to select three finalists to send to the mayor, who will then choose one of the three finalists to appoint as superintendent — or reject all three and re-start the process. After the mayor does select a new superintendent, that person must be approved by the City Council.

That timeline will have choices on the mayor’s desk by Nov. 12, just months ahead of the city’s municipal elections in February. 

Along the way, the CCPSA plans to hold listening sessions across the city, as well as engaging current officers, policing experts, elected officials and affinity groups. 

“We know how important public safety is to the city of Chicago,” Terry said. “And we want everyone to know that they have a space to be heard and influence this process.”

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

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