Chicago police superintendent announces changes

Only two weeks after he was sworn in, Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis announced Friday a major shake-up in his command staff.

Weis jumped over several ranks to promote an African-American to be his first deputy and a Hispanic woman to be head of patrol. And as promised, he also created a new bureau to improve officer accountability.

"It is time for change," said Weis, a career FBI agent who was the first outsider picked to head the department since the late criminologist Orlando Wilson was brought in the wake of a major police scandal more than 40 years ago. "I wanted to bring in some fresh faces, some fresh ideas, and I wanted to show that, yes, you do a good job, you're going to move up in this organization."

Weis named James Jackson, a 23-year veteran and a former commander of the Harrison District as his first deputy superintendent. Jackson, 50, will run day-to-day operations, and Weis said he was impressed by Jackson's experience in narcotics and gang investigations in tough districts.

Weis also named Ogden District Commander Beatrice Cuello, 51, as head of the Bureau of Patrol, making her the first female deputy superintendent.

"I have six brothers, so I've had very good training. I'm the only female in the family. So, I think I'm up to the challenge," Cuello said.

Weis' decision to promote lower-ranking officers to staff the department's top positions led three deputy superintendents to resign rather than be demoted. Two of them, Charles Williams and Hiram Grau, had been in the running for the post Weis eventually won. The third deputy superintendent to resign was John Risley.

Weis also created a new Bureau of Professional Standards and chose former FBI colleague Peter Brust, 51, to run it. He said the idea is to put one person in charge of all things that impact police "culture" -- from general orders, training and Internal Affairs to field monitoring and audits.

Rounding out Weis' management team are Deputy Chief Michael Shields, 44, who will serve as deputy superintendent of the Bureau of Strategic Deployment, and Area 4 Detective Commander Steve Peterson, 58, who will run the Bureau of Investigative Services. Shields is black. Peterson is white.