Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel might get Chicago's next police superintendent hired by Inauguration Day after all.
Three finalists remain in the competition for the Top Cop job, the Sun-Times reports: Newark Police Chief Garry McCarthy, national drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske and Chicago Deputy Chief of Detectives Al Wysinger.
A final decision could come later this week, City Hall sources told the paper.
Will Emanuel choose Wysinger to help boost department morale after former superintendent Jody Weis was criticized for weakening it? Or will he pick someone outside Chicago?
Emanuel said results are his No. 1 goal and he's first looking for someone to reduce violent crime in the city and support beat officers as the "backbone of the law enforcement community."
That could give McCarthy an advantage thanks to his street cop background and his experience with the CompStat program, which helped reduce homicide rates in New York City. McCarthy also was a finalist in Chicago's 2003 search that ended in the appointment of Phil Cline.
Kerlikowske, President Barack Obama's drug czar, might not be far behind. He met with Emanuel earlier this month in Chicago and was back in town recently for an interview with the Chicago Police Board.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey originally was a favorite for the job, but he dropped out after he and Emanuel apparently couldn't agree on compensation.
Emanuel gets sworn in as Chicago's next mayor at 10:30 a.m. May 16 at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. He has said he wants his law enforcement team in place before then.
Photos courtesy Getty Images, Chicago Sun-Times and The Newark Star-Ledger.
