Chicago's top cop consolidates power by scaling back No. 2's role

Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling has taken more direct control of the department after diminishing the role of his top deputy this week.

Snelling will now directly oversee the patrol, detective and counterterrorism bureaus, instead of First Deputy Supt. Yolanda Talley, who Snelling installed in March after leaving the position vacant for the first 17 months of his tenure as top cop.

It wasn’t clear why those duties were shifted from Talley to Snelling, although the superintendent has taken a more hands-on approach to the job than some of his predecessors.

In a statement, a police spokesperson said the department “has been reorganized to streamline operations and communications internally.”

“The role of the First Deputy Superintendent remains a vital part of CPD’s leadership, focusing on the department’s administrative needs and our continued efforts to build trust in every community throughout the city,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

An updated organizational chart, shared with department members Wednesday, shows that Talley will continue to supervise the records division; alternate response section, which fields 311 calls; and the detached services unit, which works with the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications and other agencies. She will also oversee the department’s office of community policing.

But her office has lost control over the department’s street deputies, special events section, prosecutorial strategies unit and administrative support division.

Talley, the first Black woman to hold her position, was previously embroiled in a bizarre incident involving a drug bust revolving around her personal vehicle.

Talley wasn’t there, but her niece was driving her Lexus when a man was caught tossing heroin from the car in February 2022. An investigation by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s office didn’t find that Talley had broken any rules.

Body camera footage showed Talley’s niece telling officers that her “auntie’s probably your boss” when they took the car. The officers who arrested the man, Kenneth Miles, were placed on desk duty without explanation. Talley’s Lexus was taken to the Homan Square police facility after the arrest, but was never impounded.

Before being named Snelling’s first deputy, Talley held two important positions simultaneously, running the department’s internal affairs bureau and leading recruitment efforts. She has also served as Area 1 deputy chief and commander of the Austin District, among other roles.

Talley didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Chicago Tribune first reported on the department’s reorganization.

Over the years, some superintendents have been closely involved in daily operations and others have delegated more duties to their first deputies while focusing on the the media and City Hall.

Former Supt. Garry McCarthy said he scoffed when he was told “the first deputy runs everything” after he was hired in 2011. Instead, McCarthy said he treated his two first deputies as “partners” and even patrolled the streets with them.

“If you’re the superintendent and you’re not involved in day-to-day operations, you shouldn’t be there,” said McCarthy, who was fired amid the fallout over the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald.

McCarthy, now the Willow Springs police chief, said superintendents pawning off their core responsibilities is “typical of what’s wrong with some administrations.” A veteran of the New York and Newark police departments, McCarthy said he came to Chicago with the goal of shaking things up.

“There’s two things people don’t like: the way things are, and change,” he said. “And we brought a lot of change to the department.”

He noted that Snelling’s legacy is still being written.

“You could be wildly successful, you could crash it,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know, and I’m not gonna interfere with that.”

Former interim Supt. Charlie Beck declined to comment on the recent organizational changes but expressed strong support for Snelling, noting that the top cop has “an entire career to base his decisions on.”

“Before anybody passes final judgment on what he’s done, they should wait and see where this all goes,” said Beck, the former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department who was hired in 2019 to stabilize the department after Eddie Johnson retired under a cloud.

“Knowing Larry … he has a solid plan for the future and he’s doing what he thinks is best.”