SOUTH SHORE — Interim Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson spent the night before his City Council hearings with the 7th Ward alderman and his constituents.
Johnson stopped into Ald. Greg Mitchell’s town hall meeting at Powell Elementary Paideia Community Academy, 7530 S. South Shore Drive, to say he had a plan for the violence that’s likely to come with the warmer weather.
“Summer is coming and we need to hit the ground running,” Johnson said. “We’ve got some things in store.”
He was short on details, but did touch briefly on the police department’s worsening reputation in minority communities.
“One bad cop makes us all look bad,” Johnson said. “Be a little patient, we’re going to get that fixed."
Johnson did not take any questions from the crowd of about 75 people and left after giving familiar advice about parents needing to do more rein in the young people who are instigating a lot of the violence.
“If anyone tells you we can arrest our way out of this crap, I’m here to tell you we cannot,” Johnson said.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has gone outside the normal channels for replacing the police superintendent and is asking the City Council to suspend the normal rules so confirmation hearings can be held on Wednesday.
Mitchell supported the mayor's choice Monday night, saying he would vote in the Council’s Committee on Public Safety and in the full Council to appoint Johnson as superintendent.
“We’ve got enough going on, this guy is more than qualified, we got what we asked for,” he said.
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