One,
two, test, test. One, two, test, test.
Three,
four.
Good
afternoon, everyone. The Committee on Police and Fire will come to order.
We will have a roll call to establish quorum.
Vice Chair Robinson.
Alderman Hall.
Alderman Mitchell.
Alderwoman Lee.
Alderman Curtis. Alderwoman Taylor.
Alderman Mosley. Alderwoman Tabaras.
Alderman Irving.
Alderman Cardona. Alderman Sposato.
Alderwoman Nugent.
Alderman Napolitano. Alderman
Knitzan. Alderman
Gardner. Alderwoman Clay.
Alderwoman Silverstein.
We have nine members present. We do have a quorum
pursuant to Rule
fifty-nine.
Pursuant to Rule fifty-nine, Alderman Kni-um, Knitzan has requested
to appear by remote means. Could I get a motion to- So moved
by Alderwoman Lee.
All those in favor? All those opposed?
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Um, Alderwoman, I mean, Alderman Knitzan will be appearing
soon by-- pursuant to Rule fifty-nine.
Uh, Chairman, Alderman Gardner is on Rule fifty-nine as well.
Alderman Gardner as well. So moved.
We will have public speaking at this time.
Each public speaker is given three minutes to speak.
Our first public speaker is Mr. George Blakemore. Mr.
Blakemore.
Thank you.
Alderwoman Clay is present as well.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Blakemore. Good afternoon.
We have these two items, item one and
two, and, I'm
appalled to see how you all don't get these meetings
together. It's supposed to be in two oh one A,
and, and there's another meeting going on in two oh one A.
As a citizen, we should be entitled to go to each one of
these meetings, so you got to do something, sir, with your
schedule. Anyway, the first item, as administrator,
how much money would this person get paid?
It's, it's a political hack. These are political
jobs. It's not what you know, it's who you know.
W-what is the criteria for her being a
over administrator of, of, of the, that
office? It, it, it's a, a political
appointment. The second item also, I asked a young
man, I said, "Chicago nine one one system board."
And he was trying to explain to me that any time you
call nine one one, you would have to pay in the city of
Chicago to call the police. You would have
to pay on your, on your telephone bill.
I don't know what, what the-- whose idea was
that? Paying to call the
police. It's very important
for, for citizen participation. Now, after the
time runs out on me, I want to see how many more citizens
are coming up here speaking in this mic.
W-you deserve the government you get, and you get the government you deserve.
You see how empty these seats. That creates fraud,
corruption, political hacks, because the
people are not overseeing, doing their job
of government. So I, I,
I ask you, what is her expertise? How much money
will she receive? And is she, considered a political
hack? And the same one that's being appointed to the, on
item two. And they're all Democrats too.
But say these, this lady decided she wanna be a
Republican, or she want to be, not a part of any
political system. Do you think she would get this job?
Do you think that she would get this jo-job?
She's a part of both of them, of a machine.
And they just recycle them from one hog pen to the
other. That's why it's very-- it's disgraceful.
Now, I'm gonna be seatedAnd see how many more people gonna
come up here and spit in this mic. When you know better, you do
better, and that makes me a target.
A target because I'm different. I'm
unique, and we all unique, and we must use our differences.
When you know better, you do better.
Big-
Thank you, Mr. Blakemore. Um, each of you should have received on
December 11th, Rule 50-- Rule 45 report,
for a meeting that was held on December 11th as well.
Uh, are there any questions or comments regarding the Rule 45 report?
There being no questions, can I get a motion for the approval of the Rule
45? So moved by Alderman Curtis. All of
those in favor say aye. All of those opposed, nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
There are two items on the agenda. Um, item number one is the appointment of La
Kenya White as Chief Administrator of the Civilian Office of
Police Accountability, COPA, and item number two is the
appointment of Chris
Papai-Papayannou, I'll get it right before
we leave today, as member of the Chicago Emergency Telephone System
Board. We will hear those items in order.
Um, our first item, we do have, joining us today as
witnesses,
we have the director of CCPSA, Mr.
Adam Gross, Director Adam Gross, who's in the box.
And we also have the president, of CCPSA,
President Romel Terry. And also joining us is Joseph
Sachs, from the Office of Budget Management.
Um, the first item being called item number one, the appointment of La Kenya White
as Chief Administrator of COPA. Uh, we will start with
having, remarks from Director Adam Gross
and/or, President Romel Terry, followed by,
introductory remarks by, the interim,
Chief Administrator, La Kenya White. Mr. Gross or Mr.
Terry, if you could go ahead and proceed.
Thank you. Good afternoon, Chairman Taliaferro, Vice Chairman
Robinson, and members of the committee.
Uh, for the record, I'm Adam Gross, the Executive Director of the Community
Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, and I'm here today with Commission
President Romel Terry. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with
you today. As you know, by ordinance, when there's a
vacancy in the office of COPA Chief Administrator,
the, Community Commission for Public Safety and
Accountability leads the search, for a new chief
administrator. At a public meeting on January 29th,
2026, the Community Commission voted to nominate COPA Interim Chief
Administrator La Kenya White as the next Chief Administrator of
COPA. The commission made this decision after a national search that
included collecting extensive input from community members and subject matter
experts. The commission launched the search in February of
2025 following the resignation of COPA's previous chief
administrator. The commission is required to work with a nationally
recognized organization to help with the search, and following an
RFP process, the commission selected the buyers group to help with the
search. The commission also engaged in a robust community engagement
process to help inform its efforts.
While the minimum qualifications for COPA Chief Administrator are established by
ordinance, the commission worked extensively to understand in more
detail what kind of leadership COPA needed to succeed, and what
community members, COPA staff, CPD members, and subject matter
experts felt was most important. The commission received
input from hundreds of people. The commission held four public listening
sessions, including one on the North Side, one on the South Side, and one on the
West Side. All were streamed virtually to increase access.
Commissioners held two listening sessions that were open to all COPA
staff. The commission met with Superintendent Larry
Snelling and reached out to all the police unions and met with those that were
interested. The commission created several targeted online feedback
forms for community members, COPA employees, and CPD
members. The commission worked with CPD so that the feedback form was
circulated to all sworn members. Commissioners got input from
more than twenty local and national subject matter experts.
And we organized targeted focus groups, including meetings with young
people and justice-impacted individuals.
Throughout the process, there were a few clear themes.
The commission consistently heard that COPA's next leader must demonstrate
integrity, investigative excellence, commitment to
timely and impartial investigations, the ability to strengthen
internal culture, and the capacity to work collaboratively within
Chicago's broader police accountability system.
The commission used that information, together with the qualifications established
by ordinance, to develop the application, interview questions, and
scoring rubrics for evaluating candidates.
The commission's goal was to select a COPA chief who meets all the qualifications
established in the ordinance and embodies the skills, qualifications,
and values highlighted by community members and subject matter experts.
The commission received twenty-seven applications from candidates across the
country, interviewed five candidates in the first round, and four of them a
second time. Commissioners then met in closed sessions to discuss the
candidates, and at the commission's public meeting on January 29th, voted
to select Interim Chief La Kenya White to serve as the next chief
administrator of COPA. Interim Chief White has all the qualities
that the commission identified as being the most important.
She has served with integrity, has a long history of investigative excellence,
prioritizes timely, impartial, and thorough investigations, has
strengthened internal culture and operations, and has worked collaboratively with
other accountability agencies. Ms.
White has worked in civilian police oversight for almost twenty-five years.
She began in an entry-level job as an intake aide, worked at every level
within the agency, and worked her way up to her current position as interim chief
administrator. She has extensive institutional knowledge of COPA
and practical expertise in investigating police misconduct.She now has
experience leading the organization and its one hundred and forty professionals
conducting high-stakes investigations in one of the country's most complex
oversight environments. Her colleagues describe her as a
quote, "Phenomenal investigator." She has extensive personal knowledge of what it
takes to run a thorough and fair investigation, and she knows the systems and
structures you need to help ensure that all investigations are thorough
and fair. In her time as interim chief administrator, many
of her colleagues credit her with making COPA run more effectively and
efficiently, improving consent decree compliance, and transforming
morale. Ms. White has also worked to ensure that COPA
investigators better understand the realities of policing.
Under her leadership, investigators have attended law enforcement training,
including a focus on split-second decision making and use of force
policies. COPA plays a critical role in the
police accountability system. It's important that its next leader has the
vision to make the changes needed to increase trust in the
institution. The commission believes that Interim Chief White's institutional
knowledge, strong investigative background, and leadership style are
what COPA and the city need at this moment.
We hope you agree. Thank you again. We're happy to answer any questions.
Thank you, Director Gross. Um, before we go to, Interim Chief
White,
pursuant to Rule fifty-nine, Alderman Irvin has requested,
to, proceed... Well, I'm sorry, to appear remotely.
Can I get a motion for the approval of Rule fifty-nine as it, as it relates to
Alderman Irvin? So moved by Alderman Cardona.
All those in favor, aye. Aye. All those opposed,
nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have
it. Nick, Nick is a, a nay on it, and but in the
opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
And Alderman Irvin, are you present with us?
Thank you-
Alderman
... Chairman Telleferro. I am here.
All right. Thanks, Alderman Irvin.
Um,
next we will have, Chief and, Interim Chief Administrator, LaKenya
White, to make, comments and remarks, and then
that will be followed by comments or remarks from, committee
members.
Yes, Alderman Irvin.
Before we start, can I ask the director a question?
Um, as soon as Ms. White, and then we're gonna, then we're gonna go into question
and answer, not only for Ms. White, but for, the director as well as
the president.
Okay.
Good afternoon, everybody, Chairman Telleferro,
Vice Chair Robinson, and members of this committee.
My name is LaKenya White, and I am
honored to be nominated as chief administrator of
COPA. I am a lifelong
Chicagoan, born and raised on the South Side
of this great city. As a teenage
mother, I promised myself that I would never be a
statistic. So, at the age of
seventeen, I started working at the Chicago Public
Library while raising my child
and continuing my education.
Over the past twenty-seven years, serving a city that I
love
and call home
has shaped me to be the public servant that I am
today.
I began my career in police oversight twenty-five years
ago, and that was starting with the Office of Professional Standards,
OPS.
I was inspired and young to learn that there was a
agency
dedicated to reviewing officers' actions
to determine if they were lawful.
That mission
inspired me to become an investigator.
In my investigative work, I have conducted
investigations into officer-involved shootings, excessive force
cases, and other serious incidents.
And in that work,
I have seen the tears of a mother who has lost her
child in an officer-involved shooting.
And at the same time, I have seen the tears of a
officer who had to make split-second
decisions in order to save his own
life. The work that COPA does is not
easy at all, but it's absolutely
necessary. Accountability does not have to be
adversarial. At its
core, COPA's mission is to strengthen the
Chicago Police Department, and that is by improving
trainings and policies, correcting bad
behavior and misconduct, and ensuring that
those who undermine the integrity of the Chicago Police
Department be held accountable.
Members of the public, including police
officers, rely on COPA to
be transparent
and, above all, a agency of
integrity.
One of my goals
is to ensure to foster a better working relationship with the
community and the police while also
educating the community about COPA and the broader
system of police accountability.
But above all, one of my main objectives
as chief administrator is to lead with
fairness, honesty, and
integrity. I thank you all for your time, and I
welcome any questions.
Thank you, Chief White. Um, I-- we recognize
Alderman, Mitchell on just being present today as well.
Um, are there any questions and comments, beginning with Alderman
Sposato?
Thank you, Chairman. I do have a question for Director Gross.
Uh, Adam, I have a, a, a, a couple questions,
and I, I know you said we did a nationwide search.
I know the last time, we were looking for somebody, I believe two people
applied for the job. So two questions.
One, how, how many applications did we get?
27. Oh, that's, that's awesome. That, that's good.
And
so what does something like this cost us?
I mean, is, is, is it a big expense?
Is it as simple as bl- putting an email blast out there?
What, what involves a nationwide search?
The commission is required by ordinance to work with a national
firm to assist in the search. Uh, we went through an RFP
process to select the firm. I, I don't remember off the top of
my, my head the cost of that
firm. Be happy to get you that information-
Yeah
... or, or through the chair.
It was, uh-
I'm just curious
... it was reasonable and it was a competitive bid. I'm sorry?
I, I'm just curious 'cause unrelated to this issue, we have an issue in this
council right now with a nationwide search, and I'm just curious, 'cause I'm
guessing it would be similar for any nationwide search for anything, would be
quite similar, so I'm just trying to get an idea what a nationwide search for a
position, in the city costs us, so.
Uh, I wanna be sure to get you good information-
Yeah
... and can get that to you later today or Monday.
It's nothing urgent. At your leisure, offline you could tell me, whatever it is,
so.
Mm-hmm.
All right. Thank you. Uh,
Kenya, appreciate you stepping up for this job.
I mean, alls I ask is that you're fair, as everybody does, and I'm certainly sure
y- you're a fair person. You, and you can be fair.
Uh, just be open-minded. Um, I know there's a, an attack on
police nowadays, you know, es- especially from this council, so I just ask that
you're fair. You know, that's it. Fair and thorough.
That's all I'm asking of you, and I'm confident that you'll be that person, so.
And I appreciate you stepping up and appreciate the, director and his,
committee and all coming up with you, so thank you Chairman.
Thank you, Alder.
Thank you Alderman Spizzano. Are there any questions or comments?
Alderwoman Clay.
Um, thank you so much to my colleague.
But hey LaKenya, just wanted to say thank you.
I think that you're gonna be amazing for this role.
One out of 27 is still number one out of
27. Um, and so I appreciate you coming with a background from
the city of Chicago, and understanding all of the dynamics that make our
city, amazing, but also our challenges, right?
And so I just always encourage you to use us as
alderpeople to come and share some of that knowledge with us.
I think your job is still very much,
avail, right? And so a lot of our colleagues still wanna know how
we can help you, and what are the patterns or what are the things that you're
seeing that we can be change-makers for in our seats too.
So just wanted to say kudos, and I appreciate you stepping up for this
role.
Thank you Alderw- Alderwoman Clay.
And again, I am available by phone for each and every one of you.
I am open to doing meetings, community outreach, outreach.
Please just feel free to reach out to me. Thank you.
Thank you Alderwoman Clay. Are there any other questions and comments?
Alderman Mitchell.
Hello there. Uh, show me a little attitude, because I haven't done my
research a little bit. Um,
why do you want this job?
So can I be honest with you?
Absolutely. That's why we're here.
Yes, we did not want this job. Um, and you know why?
Um, because I love the work. I, I love the boots on the
ground. I love knocking on doors and talking to people.
And I realize I can still do that. Um,
another reason why is because nobody from past agencies have,
has ever got this job working inside.
Um, so I will be the first if confirmed.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I want this job because I love what I do. I love my agency.
My agency practically raised me. I've been in police accountability,
OPS, independent police review, and COPA-
Mm
... for the last 25 years. So it raised me, and so me,
you know, as you're protective of your parents as you get older, I'm protective of
COPA.
Mm.
So I want this job to continue to work, to make sure that people know the great
work that my, my, staff does, the reports that we
do, in order to show, you know, our legacy.
We are one agency. Nobody operates the way that COPA does.
Yeah.
So we are one of many, you know. Or one of few rather, I'm
sorry. So I love what I do, and I wanna showcase that to you
all, to the community, and to officers as well too.
Mm.
'Cause we do care about officers' perception of COPA, and I wanna
change that narrative, and that is one of my main goals as well too.
Mm. Very passionate answer, and you didn't blink- ...
once.
So, so that's interesting. You, you, pretty much raised
you. Based on all that experience, what would you do
differently?
Wow. What would I do differently? First, change the perception,
of COPA. Um, I think that
some... We got a bad rep just from different
cases, right?
Mm-hmm.
Um, and it's unfortunate cur- you know, in, in that particular,
area. But what I'll do differently is ensure that my
staff, you know, has the training that they need to conduct these
investigations.
Mm-hmm.
Making sure that my staff is compassionate to officers in the job that
they do. Um, ensuring that cases are closed timely, and make
sure that they're thorough as well too.
Mm-hmm.
Also communicat- communicating to the public.
So, a lot of public, members of the public do not know
about COPA.
Mm-hmm.
Um, they don't know about police oversight.
They don't know about CCPSA.
Mm.
They don't know about the Bureau of Internal Affairs.
They don't know about the Inspector General's office.
So I wanna ensure that they know about all those different systems, how they work,
and how they can be educated, you know-
Mm
... in processes.
Mm. Through your experience, is there, is there one particular
case that has stood out that's kinda, that kinda hit you, kinda, kinda
hit you to the heart?
There is. Uh, I don't know if you all remember Rekia Boyd.
Mm-hmm. We do. I do.
I was the investigator on that case.
So, that case will forever resonate with me.
Mm. Mm.
In this, in, in today's day and age, it's a lot of,
uh... I've only... I've been on the council 12 years.
From my first term to this one, there's been a, a huge rise
in activism. And with, purpose
of some of activism is to kinda sway opinion.
It's one of the, one of the things they try to do. Um, how does that affect you?
How would that affect you? How would activism affect you in doing and making
decisions in your job?
I'm not affected by activism. Everybody has a job.
Mm.
Um, that's to say, am I affected by officers and their perception of
COPA? I will tell you that some days I'm gonna be considered
pro-police, and other days I'm gonna be anti-police.
Mm.
But this the nature of the beast. This is what I signed up for.
I'm not here to, to make friends, quote, unquote, but I am here to
educate. I'm here to foster better working relationships.
But I'm also here to be fair-
Yeah
... and to be truthful.
Mm.
And if that gets me not liked, then so be it.
Mm.
But as long as I do my job, that's the most important aspect of this
role.
Yeah. That was something very key what you said earlier.
You said, somebody get in this position that's from in- inside, because
that's... D- since I've been here, that's been one of the, one of the problems.
They say somebody's internal, so you're, you up to, to change
that perception that if you from the internal, you're, you're gonna...
They almost can gauge how you're gonna respond to certain cases.
Yeah. I'm, I'm, I'm still gonna do boots on the ground.
So if I need to be out there to, you know, calm
storms, I will be out there.
Mm-hmm.
Um, if I need to, you know, go out there and educate, I will do that.
You know, one of the biggest things I'm trying to do now is to go to police
academy. I talk to recruits.
Okay.
I talk to promotional classes. I wanna do in-service training to get
the people in between who I'm missing-
Mm
... to get their feedback, but also to educate, and to kinda dial
back some of the myths that they've heard about COPA.
Mm.
So I have my hands full-
Uh-huh
... but I, I'm, I'm ready.
Okay. Woman with a mission. Okay. Thank you, Chairman. That's all I have.
Thank you. Are there any que- Alderwoman Lee, followed by
Alderman Curtis.
Thank you, Chair, and good afternoon, acting chief,
soon to be just Chief-
Alderwoman Lee
... White. Um, I, as, uh... I had to check
my, check the Googles. I, I was also one of 27 applicants
for a job once. This one, in fact. Um, and, you know, so
much of, your, your background and your, your passion for
this job really, you know, resonates with me.
Uh, I've appreciated all of the work that you've done in, in your acting role,
and clearly you, you've, you've had a very,
great long career in this field and it's clear your
passion, for it. And I really love hearing that you wanna change the
perception, of, of the
organization. Um, and really just w- wanted to thank you
for stepping up, and, making it known
that you wanna lead this organization, 'cause I know, this is no small
task.
Mm.
Uh, and, you know, there will be many times where you're gonna feel very
unpopular. Um, but I, I get you. You
understand what the job is.
Yeah.
Um, and, thank you for wanting to take that on, and you will have my absolute
support today. Thank you.
Thank you, Alderwoman Lee. Alderman Curtis, followed by Alderman Cardona.
Thank you, Chairman. I, I think this the worst seat in the house right over here,
because I've been trying to get your attention for the
longest, to speak.
You, you can blame your chief.
Well, you know-
I'm not gonna blame the chief. I b- because I want, you
know, I, I stand with the chief on this, on
this great, great,
promotion that she's gonna get.
Um,
I, I think she's ready. Uh, she have
many, many years of experience. I wish one of her
major... One reason I feel that,
we have, COPA have this bad stigma about them
is, is because they changed the name to COPA.
You know, OPS was always better,
always. Officer Professional Standards.
And we talked about that before. Uh, she has the institutional
knowledge, and I think she's gonna do a great job.
Uh, the passion is there, and, and I really, really honest
believe, that she is fair,
overall. Uh, I, I believe that
she, she's even gonna get a lot of police officers to like her
also
because of her fairness. So
I do stand with you, Chief, and, looking forward to
working with you. Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman Curtis. Um, Alderman Cardona.
Thank you, Chairman. Um, I wanna commend you for,
taking this job. Um, two things I heard that came out of your mouth
is boots on the ground, which that's what I love to
hear.
The- Halfway.
And also institutional knowledge, that is very, it's
very, it's... How can I say? It's, it's very good to hear that,
because we do need people who been through different spaces
within, within the department to understand how to do the job.
I also wanna commend your team. You know, you got an awesome team,
especially Carlos, who does the community, community affairs.
Um, you know, every time I have an event or I know probably
others, your team are always out there informing the community what you guys
do. So, I wanna say thank you for that, and
I wish you the best. I know you're gonna do a good job.
And, I'm done, Chairman.
Thank you, Alderman Cardona. We're getting closer to Saturday.
Yep.
Uh, are there any other questions or comments?
Yes, Vice Chair.
I just want to also, give my sentiments, as
my colleagues mentioned. Uh, thank you also for taking, this
role. Um, I do have a questionHow can we
engage our young people, about
your office? Um, we know that there's a
disconnect, with the Chicago Police
Department and our young people. Um, and I'm just curious on how do
you, see that as a bridge to, again,
engaging our young people? Thank you very much.
Oh, I have so many ideas and so many plans for that, Vice Chair
Robinson. Um, one idea is that we're gonna start our
community advisory group, and we're also gonna have a youth addition to
that. So again, getting them, you know, to, you
know, sign up for that. They'll be coming to you soon.
I'll make sure that everybody, you know, gets that information so you can get that
out there. Um, another thing is also I wanna go into
CPS, and every school that just, you know, educate.
Every school. If I can get every CPS school and talk to our youth and
tell them about, you know, COPA and the broader system of police
accountability. I would also like to get a partnership with City of
Chicago colleges, so maybe we can offer college credits.
And, you know, having a collaboration with them, with other departments, bringing
in CCPSA, OIG, and also BIA. And
I think that if we can do that, we can educate our youth and, you
know, get the information out there.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you, Vice Chair Robinson. Are there any other questions and
comments? All right. Um, let
me, let me just say I wanna thank, Director Rose and
President Terry, and the rest of the board, well, and the
rest of the commission, for your dedication and your hard work
in bringing, Interim Chief LaKenya White before the committee
today. So we certainly appreciate it, and I, I believe, I think we'll be looking
forward to seeing you guys soon with the, with the appointment of
another commission member if I'm not mistaken.
Uh, but thank you so much for your hard work.
And Chief, Chief White, thank you for your commitment to
the City of Chicago, and its residents.
Um, you have a lot of great folks that work, under
you at,
at your organization, I almost forgot the name of it, but at COPA.
And, I think your years of experience and your
leadership is already paying its dividends.
Um, you have a very professional organization, and I, I just,
would ask of one thing, and, and just keep them
motivated. Um, and, and also really
challenge them to, continue and continue in
education. Um, I think that builds a better
investigator in- at all levels. And so I, I really look
forward to working with you a- as you continue to serve the city, and thank you
so much for stepping up to the plate.
Um, with that, Alderman Condor-- or Alderman Cardona, moves for
the passage of this item, and that's the appointment of,
Interim Chief LaKenya White as chief administrator of the Civilian
Office of Police Accountability. All those in favor say aye.
All those opposed? In
in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Um, Chief White, congratulations.
And this item built-- will be reported out at the next city council meeting, which
I believe is March 18th, 2026.
Thank you all.
Thank you.
Now time to butcher this name again.
Um, item number two is the appointment of Chris Papayiannou
as member of the Chicago Emergency Telephone Systems
Board. If I could get Chris to come up as well.
Nothing happens, and people, like, can't even tell when the thing
passes 'cause it's all-- it's like it's in the committee reports.
Um, we've never been asked to
Yeah.
Glad I could help you guys-
Yeah
...get it confirmed.
For the police board.
All right. Item number two on the agenda is the appointment of Pap-- Chris
Papayiannou as member of the Chicago Emergency Telephone Systems
Board. Chris has joined us today, and if we could, start with a,
brief presentation from, Chris
Papayiannou. How do you pron-
Perfect.
I-- Help me out with that. How do you-
It, it was perfect. Papayiannou.
Perfect.
Okay. Thank you.
You got it. You got it. Uh, good morning distinguished members of the Committee of
Police and Fire. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you for your
consideration for my appointment to serve on the Emergency Telephone Systems
Board. If approved, it would be a great honor to join a board whose work
is so critical to the safety and well-being of the residents and visitors of
Chicago. Throughout my career with the Chicago Police Department, I've had the
privilege of serving in a variety of operational and leadership roles, currently as
the deputy chief of the Bureau of Counterterrorism.
In these assignments, I have worked closely with our public safety partners to
ensure that the systems supporting emergency response are
reliable, coordinated, and ready when communities need them the
most. A major component of my experience has
involved commanding and coordinating large scale events that bring hundreds of
thousands of people into our city.
I have served as the incident commander for events such as Lollapalooza,
the Pride Parade, the NASCAR Chicago Street Race, and the Chicago
Marathon. I was also a deputy incident commander for the
2024 Democratic National Convention.
These events require extensive inter-agency coordination and
deepen-- I'm sorry. Excuse me.
Um, these events require extensive inter-agency
coordination and depend heavily on the effectiveness of our emergency communication
system. In those moments, the strength, the reliability,
and m-modernization of our 911 system is not theoretical, it is
an operationally critical task. The Emergency
Telephone Systems Board plays a vital role in ensuring that
Chicago's 911 system remains effective, accountable, and
forward-looking.From planning and overseeing system
upgrades to managing surcharge funds responsibly, to supporting
the infrastructure and personnel that make emergency communications
possible, the work of this board directly supports the safety of every person
in our city. I look forward to contributing my operational experience
and perspective to the board's mission.
I'm committed to working collaboratively leave
with my fellow members and with our partners at OEMC, CFD, and
across the city to ensure our emergency communication systems
con-continue to evolve, remain resilient, and support the first
responders who rely on us every day.
Thank you, and I look forward to serving with all of you.
Thank you, Deputy Chief. And, I do wanna recognize, thirty-second
Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack, who was very generous enough, to
take the committee to lunch after this.
So we appreciate you, Scott. Um, are there
any questions for, the Deputy
Chief?
All right.
Do we have one?
Just, just to commend the, the appointment.
No one's better for, the task,
that's suited for, suited for the position.
So at any given time, but like no one else wants to speak,
I move to pass.
Okay. Um,
Deputy Chief, once again, I, I wanna...
Uh, well, first, are there any other questions or comments?
Deputy Chief, thank you so much for continuing to serve the City of Chicago.
Um, your experience that you bring with the Chicago Police Department into
this new experience, I think will benefit, will
benefit the city tremendously. So thank you so much, and we certainly appreciate
it. And with that, Alderman Curtis, move do pass on item number
two, the appointment of Deputy Chief Chris,
Chris P, as a member of the Chicago Emergency Telephone
Systems Board. Now, I, I recognize
that, that, there are quite a few people that will
probably look at the video archive and, and this is live throughout the city, so
I don't wanna book t-too many times.
Um, so, with that, can all those in favor say aye.
Aye.
All those opposed, nay. An opinion of the chair, the ayes have
it. Um, congratulations, Deputy Chief, and we look forward to
reporting this out at the next city council meeting on
Dec-- March, March 18th,
2026. Thank you.
Thank you so much. Thank you, everyone.
With that, there are no further items before the committee.
Alderman Cardenas move, adj-- move to adjourn.
All those in favor, aye.
Aye.
All those opposed, nay. And opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The meeting is adjourned, and guys, enjoy your
weekend.