Our New Boss?

**Pedro56** · 04-24-07, 12:37 AM

He's got pull for top cop spot
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | But former D.C. chief hasn't decided if he wants to come home

April 22, 2007
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

Former Washington, D.C., police chief Charles Ramsey says he's intrigued by the prospect of coming home to run the Chicago Police Department at a time when the city is vying to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games -- but he has not yet decided whether to apply for the job.

Foremost on Ramsey's mind is what would happen to the Chicago police pension he is now collecting.

"How many superintendents have come back off of pensions? That's a legitimate question. If you go back to being a city employee, what happens to the pension I'm getting from Chicago?" said Ramsey, 59.

"I love the city. I love the department. I still have family in Chicago. I have a great deal of respect for Mayor Daley. It's an exciting time with planning for the Olympics, the challenges of crime and personnel. ... But I haven't made up my mind. At this point in my life, there are family and financial considerations."

Asked Saturday if he'd consider bringing Ramsey back, Daley said, "No one's a candidate yet. Don't include or exclude anyone."

The Chicago Police Department has more than a few retired high-ranking members who are collecting their police pensions and have returned to the department as full-time civilian employees. O.W. Wilson, the last outsider to serve as Chicago top cop, was a civilian superintendent.

Ramsey stressed he has not been contacted about the Chicago search. If he does apply, he has no doubt about his ability to lead the department where he began as a cadet and served for 27 years.

"I've been police chief in one of the most complicated commands in the country with the federal, state and local jurisdictions here. We went through the World Trade Organization protests, the Chandra Levy [murder] and D.C. sniper case. I have shown in 9½ years what I can do for a major department," he said.

Police Supt. Phil Cline resigned April 2 in the wake of the controversy surrounding police handling of three barroom brawls involving off-duty police officers. The videotape of off-duty officer Anthony Abbate brutally beating a diminutive female bartender was played and replayed around the world.

Ramsey is the former head of Chicago's community policing program who was the odds-on favorite to replace disgraced Police Supt. Matt Rodriguez in 1998.

'No hard feelings' over snub
When Daley pulled a last-minute switch and chose Terry Hillard, Ramsey was livid. He left to become police chief in Washington, D.C., and said some things he later regretted.

"There certainly are no hard feelings as far as I'm concerned. The man [Daley] made a damned good choice -- and I didn't do so bad for myself, either," Ramsey told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2003.

Four years ago, a search committee for the Chicago Police Board asked Ramsey to apply once again, only to have him take himself out of the running and sign a new contract in Washington.

Now, Ramsey is available. He's started his own consulting business after resigning as Washington, D.C., chief following the election of a new mayor there.

Puzzle pieces coming together
The mayor's chief of staff Ron Huberman, a former Chicago Police officer, had been considered a dark horse for the job. But Daley has recommended him to replace retiring CTA President Frank Kruesi.

Garry McCarthy, the New York cop who was a surprise finalist in 2003, has said he will not apply again because the last search was an inside job.

Ramsey's case appears to be strengthened by three factors: the top ranks are thinner than they've been in years; politically, the next superintendent is almost certain to be black or Hispanic; and Daley is open to an outsider after the videotape and Special Operations Section scandals, but could get the best of both worlds in Ramsey.

Contributing: Abdon M. Pallasch