The salary dispute that doomed Charles Ramsey's chances of becoming Chicago's next police superintendent has created a political dilemma for Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel, says the Chicago Sun-Times. The new mayor can either try to bolster police morale by choosing one of three leading insiders: deputy chief of detectives Al Wysinger, chief of patrol Eugene Williams, or Assistant Deputy Supt. Debra Kirby. Or he can go with one of two outsiders under consideration — White House drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske or Newark police chief Garry McCarthy — and disappoint rank-and-file cops who long for one of their own after three long years under career FBI agent Jody Weis.
Some sources close to the interviews being conducted by Emanuel and the Chicago Police Board believe the mayor-elect will ultimately choose an insider, with Wysinger having a slight edge. Wysinger has broad experience and is known for the day in 2007 when he ran down a gunman who shot a woman in a gangway near his grandmother's 80th birthday party. “He would turn morale around,” said one former top-ranking cop. Williams, who also has wide experience, is known for his close ties to West Side ministers and his involvement in the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. “The ministers would have a big voice with Gene in charge,” a source said.