Jody Weis and the Magic Mirror

Chicago’s new police superintendent, Jody Weis, was called to appear before the city council and explain all the gun violence this summer.

He took a large imaginary mirror and turned it around so the aldermen could see themselves. Then he explained that they were looking at the problem with the Chicago Police Department.

He explained that THEY were running things now and the cops on the street were doing EXACTLY what the city council had asked them to do. It was the city council that shut down the Special Operations Section. It was the city council who wanted to publish the names of every cop who ever had a complaint filed against them, whether proven legitimate or not. It was the city council who always came to the rescue of the criminals whenever a brutality charge was filed, making statements to the press implying that the police officers were always guilty.

Officers have always felt they were alone on the street but now they are afraid of lawsuits. What did you think the reaction would be? The cops are not going to take any risks for this liberal city council.

Well, actually Weis was more diplomatic than that. He’s new. He’s not from the ranks. And the papers are calling it a whipping of Weis at the hands of the city council.

They got to make all their speeches saying things like:
Alderman Isaac Carothers: "Are you aware that arrests are down and police appear to be doing less?"
Alderman Ray Suarez: "I'm from Missouri, the Show Me State. In six months, we're going to come back."
Alderman Sandi Jackson: "Areas of my ward are called terror town. We need help. Where are we in the queue for that help?"
Alderman Eugene Schulter: "It's beyond me why police officers are being taken out of our community on a regular basis."
Alderman Sharon Dixon: "What happened at the Taste (of Chicago) happens everyday where I live. I need more police patrols."

So they took shots at the new guy and he took the punches with dignity. But he also reminded them of the culture they (the Aldermen) created with all their criticism of brutality when he said, “I tell the rank and file officers, Never compromise your integrity and never do anything that can be viewed as brutalization or corruption. But don't be timid. Be aggressive.”

We’ll see if the cops on the street are willing to work for a new desk cop for a boss along with the city council breathing down their necks. Law and order in a town governed by liberals is hard to maintain.