Chicago’s rank-and-file officers issued a vote of “no confidence” in Police Superintendent Jody Weis’ leadership last night, the Chicago Tribune reports. Greg Bella, third vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, blamed Weis for low morale, poorly staffed districts, lack of cars, and a lack of support. The department is in “complete meltdown” and needs a superintendent who has the respect of officers and better knowledge of the department, he said. “The current superintendent has neither, and the citizens of Chicago are forced to suffer along with us,” Bella said at the union’s monthly meeting. Some 160 officers, of the 8,000 the union represents, unanimously supported the vote.
The vote has no legal impact on Weis’ tenure. The former FBI agent has a three-year contract for $310,000 a year, but he essentially serves at the pleasure of Mayor Richard Daley. Still, Weis is only the second superintendent to get the no-confidence vote in union members’ memories. The union is in negotiations with the city for a new police contract.