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11 Questions for Jody Weis

by Tracy Siska — last modified Jan 14, 2008 02:03 AM
Recently I have spent time consuming as much of the media coverage surrounding the appointment of Joey Weis as possible. From the little I was able to glean from the coverage in the Chicago media...
Recently I have spent time consuming as much of the media coverage surrounding the appointment of Joey Weis as possible.  From the little I was able to glean from the coverage in the Chicago media Weis talked much more about philosophy rather than specifics.  A dangerous development because Weis is being charged with halting abuse occurring at the hands of the Chicago Police Department, a Department built on covering-up abuse and corruption.  His results must be tangible and not philosophical.  The Chicago City Council, the Chicago Police Department, and the citizens of Chicago are left without answers to how Weis will possibly accomplish all that he seeks to. As a result I began thinking about questions I would ask if given the opportunity.
  1. The contract between the City and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the union that represents the officers, is currently being negotiated in secret without any input from you, the City Council, or the public?  What are your thoughts on the secret negotiations?
  2. Your ability to discipline or fire an officer within the Chicago Police Department are bound by the terms of the contract you are having no input on.  Do you believe that the issues of disciplining wayward officers should be negotiated behind closed doors or should their be more public and legislative input?  Why or why not?
  3. There are rumors that your appointment here in Chicago comes as a result of a negotiated agreement between the Justice Department and the City to stave off a consent decree being forced upon the City of Chicago with the Olympics looming.  What role did the Department of Justice play in your appointment in Chicago?
  4. Since you know little to nothing about being a police officer or managing any metropolitan police department, whom in the Chicago Police Department are you going to be depending on for information?
  5. If you are going to be as dependent as you are for insiders for your information, is an outsider really running the department or are you just a figure head for those insiders you will be relying on?
  6. What efforts will you take to insure that any wrongful convictions that have resulted from the scandal plagued Special Operations Section are reinvestigated and innocent individuals are freed from prison?
  7. Part of the scandal involving the Special Operations Section resulted from the hierarchy of the Chicago Police Department looking the other way when allegations of abuse occurred.  In the Jefferson Tap off duty fight 9 uniformed offices responded to a 911 call but then left the scene once one of those in the fight flashed his Sergeant badge.  What specifically do you plan on doing to address this culture of accepting abuse and corruption within the Chicago Police Department?
  8. Repeated scandals have plagued the Chicago Police Department over the last 5 years; many have resulted from the inaction of the hierarchy within the department.  Given this fact, are you going to be making wholesale changes at the management level within the department?  If not, why is today a new day for those at the wrong end of the abuse from the Chicago Police Department?
  9. Much of the abuse coming from the Chicago Police Department stems from patterns and practices that are authorized under the general orders of the Chicago Police Department.  What efforts will you undertake to review the current list of active general orders to see how they can be improved?
  10. Access to data and information regarding the activities of the Chicago Police Department is almost non-existent.  How do you plan on changing this to improve access for community members and researchers alike?
  11. The rank and file within the Department has always resisted external oversight over their actions; yet scandals continue to occur with little or no efforts from the Department to allow community members a level of insight in to the daily activities within the Department.  Many in crime plagued communities within this City now say they fear predators in their community less than they fear the Chicago Police.  How are you going to impact the culture within the Department that has for decades worked exclusively to cover-up abuse and corruption and how do you intend to make this process more transparent to members of every community throughout this City?
Chicago being a city of three million residents needs more than a philosophic Police Superintendent.  We are need of a person who can bring tangible results in short order.  Phil Cline's tenure as Superintendent could be summed up with just three words, Special Operations Section.  Phil Cline established this unit and unleashed them on minority communities with no oversight.  The responsibility for their crimes should at the very least be laid partially at Cline's feet.   That said, Weis is charged with cleaning up the mess left behind by Cline's thugs.  Weis has yet to provide detail one about how he plans on accomplishing his goals.  One would think that being the highest paid official in town would require the ability to answer the simple questions brought to him by the City Council.  He failed to answer their questions, which leads me to believe he either does not know the answers or Daley forgot to tell him his answers.
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Re: 11 Questions for Jody Weis

Posted by Geoff at Jan 14, 2008 05:21 PM
Good questions. He certainly has some work to do to restore trust.

A minor point, but worth mentioning as it relates to "Cline's Thugs." Phil Cline did not create the SOS unit. It has been in place for several years. He created other units and initiatives, which have not fallen under scrutiny, but, in fact have been praised for impacting the drug trade and violent crime in chicago.

Also, Phil Cline's tenure, while certainly marred and scarred by scandal, will also be remembered by many as the time when the Department actually stood up and took on this city's horrible homicide problem. For years, Chicago was tagged at the nation's homicide capital. So, it's a real mixed bag for him. He gets crappy grades for internal management, but and A for crimefighting.
 
Now does the remarkable drop in homicides earn Cline a hall pass for the embarrassing and troubling incidents? Of course not. Let's awknowlege the serious problems at CPD, but let's also recognize that the good work done by hard working cops is making a difference.

Does the new boss need to demonstrate to taxpayers that he is going to take corruption and abuse seriously? Of course he does. It's in his interest, his boss's interest and in the interest of the people who live in this city.

As superintendent, his job is to set the tone and to ensure that the officers on his watch are playing by the rules. He also needs to make sure the public has confidence in the job the police are doing. So he has his work cut out for him. But I noticed that your impressive list of questions did not include anything about actual crimefighting. His job is to fight crime. What is Weis going to do to make sure the murders keep declining, as they have for several years? What's he going to do to make life difficult for the gangbangers who are still responsible for about a murder and a shooting a day in this city?

Just add a 12th question to demonstrate in a minimal and symbolic level that you care about crimefighting and safe neighborhoods, too. And, I'd give the new guy a fair shot before the critics decide to bury him before his first day on the job.

Re: 11 Questions for Jody Weis

Posted by Tracy Siska at Jan 14, 2008 09:36 PM
Your concern about crime fighting is valid. I am less than convinced that the efforts for the historic drop in crime has more to do with the Chicago Police Department then it has to do with other factors. The police were not responsible for the high murder rates, so they are more or less not responsible for low ones either. Do the police have an impact, yes, but not to the level the media or police officials would like. My view is that socioeconomic and race issues are responsible for crime rates and not types of policing. Society has made decisions to stop addressing socioeconomic issues and instead turned to the criminal justice system to solve the problem. The system and the people working within it are incapable of solving this problem. They do not create jobs, better schools, or even for the most part provide drug treatment. Whether or not Weis is for community policing or hot spots policing means not all that much to the people constantly abused by officers. How Weis plans on stopping this abuse is what really matters.

Re: 11 Questions for Jody Weis

Posted by Geoff at Jan 15, 2008 01:05 AM
Agreed. The impact police have is always an inexact science. But fairly or not, they wear the jacket when murders are up, so they should earn a little credit when its down -- but you're right. How much credit is deserved cannot be measured. But something is behind the dramatic decline in the last four years and my money says it's not a marked improvement by the City in delivering the kinds of services that eliminate the symptoms of violent crime -- poverty, joblessness, etc. The golden ring in law enforcement is being able to be tough as hell on crime and on criminals without alienating the people who need police services the most. Not sure a single big city department has solved that riddle. Things would be far better if bad officers simply quit being bad officers. If he can do anything to expedite the process of firing officers, that will help. You'd be surprised, but there are people within the department who want to kick every rulebreaker to the curb. But there's no will to do a better job of firing bad cops by the City's lawyers, who face legal challenges from the Union at every turn. Take away some of the bureaucratic hurdles and that would help get the department back on the right track.

Re: 11 Questions for Jody Weis

Posted by Harriet at Jul 21, 2009 01:31 PM
I too have some questions. I was recently the victim of abuse. I called 911 twice for a police officer to response, they responsed but because my sister walked out to meet them and vehmenetly stated she had called the police they tended to believe her that I started the fight. This is another attempt to cover up abuse the victim being victimized twice. The officers out of the 6th district need to be reprimanded and if this is a continuation of how first responders respond to a victim, making the victim the villain than they need to be separated from the police force. This is ridiculous and will not be tolerated by the people of Chicago. Rogue cops with no morals and values.

Re: 11 Questions for Jody Weis

Posted by Anonymous User at Nov 20, 2009 07:09 AM
Your last comment caught my eye:" Rogue cops with no morals and values." Was this a general statement or were you referring to the officers who answered the call at your address? If you made the call to 911, did you give your name? If so, then the officers would know exactly who made the phone call. You state that you were a victim of abuse but did not state whether it was just a shouting, name calling match or if anyone involved suffered any physical contact. From what I understand after reading your post, the officers believed your sister rather than you. Either she gave a very convincing story to them or you have left out other pertinent facts.

I have no way of knowing who you are or what happened in this incident but I do know one thing: barring any type of physical evidence, the police officers involved only have both party's stories and each individuals answers to their questions to base any type of action on their part.

So until you are more specific, making statements of "rogue cops" is insulting and a bit childish. Just because this situation didn't turn out the way you hoped it would, (and because of your lack of specifics that is the only conclusion I could come to), you should stop, take a breathe and relax.

Re: 11 Questions for Jody Weis

Posted by HENRI at Jul 21, 2009 01:39 PM
THE 6TH DISTRICT NEEDS TO BE CLEANED UP AND CLEANED OUT. I would agree. The police are to serve and protect, yet they are even against their own, people who support and stand in alliance with what is suppose to be righteous. The 6th district station is full of rude, uninterested, egotistic officers who have no concept of what is right and how to serve the community. They fail to realize that the public paids their salaries and their jobs are to help iron out problems and not to take the position of dictator. Dictatorships throughout histor hae been known to fall every time. There is no one person that has all the answers to the problems we face collectively or individually but if we work together and honor the silent contract we have with each other in this scoiety we will have a better chance to live in a ccohesive manner. But when a victim calls the police and the victim becomes the victim all over again when calling for help, than something is wrong. The police tend to side with the wrongdoers either out of fear or ignorance. It must be stopped.

Re: 11 Questions for Jody Weis

Posted by Anonymous User at Nov 20, 2009 07:38 AM
WOW! How many times have YOU had dealings with 006 officers? The reason I ask this is in your statement: "The 6th district station is full of rude, uninterested, egotistic officers who have no concept of what is right and how to serve the community", you make it sound as if you have had multiple dealings.

 How should they serve the community? You make a blanket statement and yet give no suggestions as to how this should be done. Actually, from reading your post, on the subject of "serving the community", you almost make it sound as if the residence in 006 district should get some type of pass whenever they encounter the police.

And please, the argument that you pay a police officers salary is the best you can come up with? These are not delivery boys who show up at your door with the wrong order. These are people who have taken on a job that virtually puts a target on their backs so maybe you could cut them a little slack. The police department of any city cannot and should not be looked upon as a cure all, for all. It's up to the individual to "police" their own lives. In other words, start acting like an adult. You say that you pay their salaries? Then start spending your money wisely. The police should only be called when a crime has or is about to occur, NOT when 2 grown adults are arguing over a barking dog or a parking space.

You speak of a dictatorship? Really? If you think that the CPD is treating civilians like they lived in a dictatorship then you really have no concept of that word. A statement like that comes, and if I may be so bold to use your own words, out of fear or ignorance. It's only logical that when the police are called to a scene, they are going to BELIEVE someone. If it's not you, too bad. Just because YOU think you are right in the matter does not mean you are. A police officer has local and state laws, codes and ordinances to follow and unfortunately the person who shouts the loudest is not among any of those.