Police watcher warns of political backlash if civilian oversight is not imposed

Mayor Rahm Emanuel will face a furious political backlash if he refuses to empower a civilian oversight board to fire the police superintendent and establish police policy or attempts to stall a City Council vote until after the 2019 mayoral election, Police Board President Lori Lightfoot warned Tuesday.

Sounding more and more like a mayoral challenger, Lightfoot embraced the sweeping proposal drafted by the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA) and warned Emanuel to get on board a "ship that is sailing."

"The mayor endorsed this process two years ago….Any effort to stall it and not let it see the light of day, not engage in the City Council process….will be met with extreme, extreme hostility. And it will be taken out on them in February of 2019," Lightfoot said.

Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham was equally outspoken in opposition to civilian oversight, underscoring the political box Emanuel is in.

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