Police morale, pressure from aldermen key to Emanuel's top cop move
Source: Chicago Tribune
...dynamics helped lead Emanuel to the man sources said he'll name as interim superintendent Monday: Eddie Johnson, a well-liked and veteran African-American cop from within the Chicago Police Department's ranks with a reputation for building community consensus. <snip>
Emanuel's move came after the Black Caucus, comprised of the city's 17 African-American aldermen, held a news conference Thursday to turn up the pressure on the mayor to hire a black officer from inside the department. The group stopped short of endorsing Eugene Williams, a finalist for the job who serves as chief of the department's Bureau of Support Services — a public hint that some black aldermen preferred a different African-American candidate from CPD's ranks. <snip>
After the news broke that Emanuel had tapped Johnson as the department's interim leader, Alexander told NBC 5 and the Associated Press that the mayor had offered him the top cop job last week before changing his mind. Reached by the Tribune Sunday afternoon, Alexander said in a message, "I've moved on, brother. Thanks, kindly," and declined to comment further.
Emanuel's office insisted the mayor never offered Alexander the job.
Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rahm-emanuel-chicago-police-superintendent-met-0328-20160327-story.html
* For a week, Emanuel considered the slate of candidates his hand-picked Police Board culled for him, and sources close to the administration said the decision came down to either hiring Cedric Alexander, a public safety director in suburban Atlanta, or finding his own alternative.
#WhichRahm
Glad there was enough pressure to force Emanuel to do the right thing.