(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago aldermen concerned about violent crime kept the city’s top cop busy for about six hours Friday — on the eve of a holiday weekend that traditionally has been volatile.
In the end, Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the marathon special City Council meeting — convened by some of her critics on the panel — “productive,” with some reservations.
“This is a very challenging weekend, historically, going back decades,” Lightfoot said. “Do I think that the time could have been used in a different way, that would have added to public safety? Yes, I do.”
Police Supt. David Brown likewise indicated he would have preferred to be with his top staff on Friday, planning for potential shootings that could erupt in high-crime areas. Instead, he and his team spent their day fielding questions.
Ald. Ray Lopez, 15th Ward, took umbrage.
“You are here because there’s a crisis in our neighborhoods,” the frequent critic of the Lightfoot Administration said.
The tenor of the meeting was often combative, though 12th Ward alderman George Cardenas, a Lightfoot ally, admonished his colleagues for their treatment of Brown.
At another point, 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea read a statement from a police officer who indicated some cops may be buckling under the pressure and long hours demanded of them. Brown said the wellness of officers is a priority.
He continued to blame the court system for not jailing the most dangerous offenders pending trial.
“There is an explosion of violent offenders being released back into our community,” he said.
Not all of the aldermen agreed with that assessment.
Lightfoot has suggested Friday's high-profile grilling of her police superintendent was political theater orchestrated by her critics on the City Council.
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