It's official: Garry McCarthy is taking over the Chicago Police Department as its next superintendent.
The former Newark cop won unanimous approval from the City Council, and earned appreciation from new boss Rahm Emanuel.
"We know the challenges facing us," Emanuel said about McCarthy, who's been acting head of the department for weeks. "Thank you for taking this on."
Aldermen were equally congratulatory.
Ed Burke said he was encouraged by McCarthy's rank-and-file past.
"He's not going to have to ask them to do what he hasn't already done himself," Burke said, in a reference to former top cop Jody Weis, who came from FBI stock. "He's the real police."
Alderman Brendan Reilly mirrored those sentiments.
Local
"The beat cops are encouraged," he said. "You're taking on a fantastic team."
But the approval process wasn't devoid of controversy. McCarthy endured a flurry of questions about a recent spate of mob attacks in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood.
Alderman Robert Fioretti said McCarthy needed a strategy to deal with the attacks, which have just recently affected downtown, but have been a problem in his 2nd ward for some time.
"We have a lot of issues facing us," he said in reference to the mob attacks."We need to find a way to be ahead of the curve."
During a media Q&A, McCarthy shied away from lumping together recent crimes and said police are aware of the robberies.
"There is a plan in place," he said. "There is an undercover component to that."
