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Jul 9, 2007 9:36 pm US/Central
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Chicago Police Supt. Finalists Are Named
2 Local Candidates Vie Against a NYC Veteran
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
For the second time in four years, an outsider will vie against two police insiders to become Chicago's next police superintendent.
The Chicago Police Board identified the insiders as Deputy Supt. Hiram Grau and Chief of Patrol Charles Williams. Grau is Hispanic. Williams is black.
The third finalist is Thomas Belfiore, a 20-year veteran of the New York City Police Department.
Belfiore was a supervisor in the NYPD's internal affairs unit. While there, he led a corruption investigation at one precinct that led to 34 convictions.
Belfiore emerges as a top candidate at the same time the department is revamping how it investigates its own officers and also after several high-profile incidents of officers getting in trouble off-duty.
"He was really one of the better candidates. He really was,'' said Demetrius Carney, board president. "He was outstanding. He had tremendous police experience — corruption, internal affairs. He has tremendous experience dealing with misconduct on- and off-duty. That is a very significant issue.''
Belfiore also worked as director of security operations for Major League Baseball and is currently Commissioner-Sheriff of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety.
Four years ago, New York police official Garry McCarthy was a surprise finalist for the Chicago job, touching off a political furor because the top three did not include an African-American.
McCarthy, now police chief in Newark, N.J., did not apply for the $185,652-a-year job this time around because he considered the last competition "an inside job" and came away feeling used.
Today, Mayor Daley acknowledged the Police Board has given him the names of three finalists, but he refused to name them or reveal when he would choose a replacement for retiring Supt. Phil Cline.
Asked to identify the qualities he's looking for to replace Cline, the mayor said, "Well, first of all, I have to interview the people. Would ya' give me at least a couple of days to do that? I have to be able to interview them."
Pressed further, the mayor said, "Any other questions?"
The mayor can either pick one of the three, or reject them all and demand that the Police Board start the process all over again and come up with three new names.
The mayoral interviews are viewed as critical, since Daley has no established rapport with any of the three finalists.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)