Weis' Contract Reaches Expiration Date
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The contract for Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis ends Tuesday, and city officials are expected to make an announcement soon on what they plan to do next.
Meanwhile, Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel said during the campaign that he would replace Weis, but now, he is treading carefully on the issue.
"I'll have more to say about that later," Emanuel said when asked about Weis on Tuesday. "I think it's very important, though, that we focus on what's very important, and that's reducing crime. And I have a strategy for that, and the mayor and I had a good discussion on a host of issues today."
Emanuel met with Daley for breakfast Monday morning to discuss the handoff of city government.
A mayor's office representative said an announcement about Weis could come sometime Tuesday morning.
Over the weekend, Weis said he had not yet spoken with Emanuel.
"My contract runs (out) on March the first, so we probably could just leave it at that," Weis told reporters at a Sunday news conference on another topic.
"When this positions ends, then I'll probably look into doing something else," he continued. "Hopefully I can do something here in Chicago -- if not, I'll go where a career would lead me."
Weis, a former FBI official, took his post in 2008 under Daley, at a time when the Police Department was plagued by scandals.
Most infamously at the time, Officer Anthony Abbate had been caught on videotape beating a female bartender half his size in a Northwest Side tavern. The surveillance tape was shown around the world, and lent to a perception that Chicago Police officers were out of control.
In September, hundreds of rank-and-file officers marched outside of Police Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave., demanding that he be let go.
Rank-and-file officers have said morale dropped after Weis took office, particularly after he subjected Officer Bill Cozzi to a new federal prosecution and prison time after the officer had already been convicted and sentenced to probation for beating a man in a wheelchair.
In a scathing criticism of Weis in a blog posting last year, Lt. John Andrews said officers feared similar reprisals for doing their jobs, and thus "have reduced their proactive performance and now only contribute at minimum levels."
But Weis told reporters on Sunday that he believes Chicago streets are safer since he took over.
