The Chicago Police Department has reshuffled and reassigned top officials’ jobs in an effort intended to trim “the fat on executive staff” and save $1 million, Supt. Garry McCarthy announced Monday.
The restructuring, including the elimination of two assistant superintendent and four deputy superintendent positions, is also designed to streamline operations and bolster communications between high-ranking personnel, McCarthy said.
“We’re leaner and we’re meaner — that’s what it boils down to. We’ll be reacting faster because there’s less clutter in between,” the superintendent said at a news conference at police headquarters.
“We’re breaking down silos within the agency. When those structures exist in pyramids within the agency, it’s a lot easier to get a little more parochial.”
The new structure will consist of six bureaus, each headed by a bureau chief — Patrol, Detectives, Organized Crime, Internal Affairs, Administrative Services and Organizational Development.
McCarthy said the shake-up in the agency’s top echelon makes for a more “dynamic and diverse” executive command staff.
“As we move forward, we can expect that there will be, in fact, more changes as we get down the road,” he said.
The reassignments include:
◆ Former Assistant Supt. Beatrice Cuello will serve as the chief of the Administration Bureau.
◆ Former Deputy Supt. Ernest Brown will serve as the chief of the Patrol Bureau.
◆ Chief Gene Williams will serve as the executive officer in the Patrol Bureau.
◆ Former Deputy Supt. Brian Murphy will serve as the chief of the Organizational Development Bureau.
◆ Former Deputy Supt. Debra Kirby will be in charge of national and international events here, such as the NATO and G8 Summit.
◆ Chief Tina Skahill, formerly in the Office of Compliance, will be serving as the commanding officer of Special Functions.
Chiefs Tom Byrne, Nicholas Roti and Juan Rivera will remain heads of the detective, organized crime and internal affairs bureaus, respectively, McCarthy said.
Other changes include:
◆ Gresham District Cmdr. Eddie Johnson will be promoted to deputy chief of Area Four Patrol.
◆ South Chicago Cmdr. Eric Carter will be the commander of the Gresham District.
◆ Deputy Chief Wayne Gulliford will be reassigned from deputy chief of Area Four Patrol to Area One Patrol.
◆ Deputy Chief Eddie Welch, who last served as the deputy chief of Area One Patrol, will be second in charge at Internal Affairs.
