Changes due for Chicago police; mayor keeps review authority

CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced changes in the way police-involved shootings and police misconduct cases are handled on Thursday, but drew immediate criticism for stopping short of abolishing the agency that handles those investigations as a task force has urged him to do.

A new position of Public Safety Auditor will be created, the mayor’s office said in a news release, and there would be a role for citizen oversight in police misconduct cases.

Speeding up the process of investigating police misconduct is among some of the immediate changes coming for the department, addressing concerns expressed by the public as well as members of the City Council that investigations can take several months.