The deadline for a Chicago commission to select three candidates for police superintendent is swiftly approaching, as the pool of over 50 candidates has been whittled down to six.
From there, the six candidates will need to be narrowed down to three before July 14, the deadline for the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability to present the finalists to Mayor Brandon Johnson. From there, Johnson will present his pick to the Chicago City Council or ask the oversight body for a new crop of candidates.
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The search to find a permanent police superintendent has been a rollercoaster for the city. Currently serving as interim superintendent is Fred Waller, a 34-year veteran chief of the Chicago Police Department. He is the city's third police chief in less than six months.
The commission reviewed 53 applications and selected four men and two women to advance to the background check phase of the nationwide search.
The oversight committee selected counterterrorism chief Larry Snelling; Snelling's predecessor, Ernest Cato III; street operations deputy Migdalia Bulnes; constitutional policing and reform chief Angel Novalez; labor relations Cmdr. Donna Rowling; and Shon Barnes, the police chief of Madison, Wisconsin.
Barnes, Cato, and Barnes are black. Novalez and Bulnes are Hispanic. Rowling is white, and both Rowling and Bulnes are women.
Here's what to know about the six candidates and the appointment process once finalists are chosen.
Ernest Cato III
Cato served as chief of counterterrorism until he abruptly resigned in September 2022, effective in October of that year. The bureau primarily conducts gang and narcotics investigations.
He began his 32-year career as a patrolman in the now-defunct Prairie District on Chicago's South Side. He became a lieutenant and a commander in the West Side's volatile Austin District, home to Johnson and his family. He served as deputy chief of Area 4 before heading the counterterrorism unit.
Cato made headlines as a finalist for police superintendent in 2020, but he eventually lost to former Superintendent David Brown. Brown resigned after former Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her reelection bid in February.
The former counterterrorism chief recently came under scrutiny after the ACLU of Illinois filed a lawsuit last week accusing Cato of pushing his subordinates to make more traffic stops as a method to fight crime. The union argued the traffic stops disproportionately affected black drivers in Chicago and cited emails Cato sent to commanders in some of the city's most violent districts, the lawsuit stated via the Chicago Sun-Times.
Larry Snelling
Snelling took over Cato's position as counterterrorism chief, previously serving as deputy chief of Area 2.
He has worked with the CPD for more than three decades and has expertise in constitutional policing. Snelling also worked as a sergeant for recruit training at the police academy.
He most notably designed the city's use-of-force training model, which was praised at the 2012 NATO summit for its largely nonconfrontational approaches.
However, Snelling was suspended at least twice over his career, both relating to the use of force. One occurred in 1994, which resulted in a three-day suspension. In 1995, Snelling served a five-year suspension for another complaint that alleged conduct unbecoming of an officer.
Migdalia Bulnes
Bulnes joined the Chicago Police Department in 1998, holding a variety of positions throughout her tenure. She currently works as a street operations unit deputy, responding to high-profile events such as police shootings and SWAT incidents.
Before that, she worked as an undercover narcotics officer and previously served as a commander for the South Chicago District and deputy chief of the Bureau of Detectives.
Last year, Bulnes was one of three finalists to become Evanston's next police chief. In her bid for chief, she expressed concern over the police officer shortage affecting several cities and towns in Illinois and across the country. The police shortage deepened in Chicago, in particular, after more than 1,7000 officers departed the force under Lightfoot's administration.
Bulnes vowed to make recruitment her "No. 1 priority" in Evanston, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“If you staff your department and you train them, that is the actual source you’re going to need to bridge the community with the police," she said during a forum.
She said her detectives were being trained to "become more trauma-informed" following a 2020 audit of the CPD's handling of juvenile criminals. If Bulnes's approach remains the same, it could boost her appeal to Johnson. During his campaign, the mayor pledged to promote detectives and create a comprehensive approach to criminal justice that would empower youth and divert them from crime.
Angel Novalez
Novalez currently serves as chief for the Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform. He is tasked with enforcing a federal consent decree, a plan that addresses civil rights violations and use-of-force tactics.
Eyes are on Novalez and his office, as police data shows the CPD is only in "full compliance" with less than 5% of its 552 consent decree requirement paragraphs. Over the last 4 1/2 years since Chicago entered the decree, its Bureau of Internal Affairs has launched more than 11,000 investigations into allegations of misconduct.
Novalez also held a critical role as deputy chief of the office in 2020, as he was tasked with leading community policing two weeks after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers.
Four years ago, he helped oversee the city's Neighborhood Policing Initiative which has expanded to 10 districts. He also testified before Congress on the effects of gun violence on Chicago police officers in July 2022.
Donna Rowling
Rowling, a licensed attorney, began serving as commander of the department's Labor Relations Division in 2020. She joined CPD in 1993 and has worked as a sergeant for Management and Labor Affairs and CompStat, as well as a lieutenant in the Gresham District.
Her work in CompStat involved using data on arrests, crime, and other police activity to hold officers and the department accountable for their actions.
If she becomes superintendent, she would begin her tenure with an already-icy relationship with Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara. Catanzara is a controversial CPD figure, as he compared Lightfoot's vaccine mandate to the Nazi Germany dictatorship and frequently railed against Johnson during the 2023 mayoral race. The police union had backed Paul Vallas and donated significant funds to his campaign.
Catanzara recently filed a complaint with Rowling's office over the city's decision to house newly arrived immigrants in police station lobbies.
Shon Barnes
Barnes is the only non-Chicago Police Department candidate among the six prospects. He has served as police chief of Madison, Wisconsin, since 2021.
He does have a tie to Chicago, however. He previously worked as the director of training and development at the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which was charged with investigating serious misconduct allegations.
Before coming to the Midwest, Barnes serves as deputy chief in Salisbury, North Carolina, after 17 years on the police force near Greensboro, where he reached captain status.
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Once three of the six candidates are presented to Johnson, the mayor has 30 days to appoint one or ask for another group to review. Once he selects a candidate, the City Council then has 60 days to confirm his choice.
If the civilian oversight commission cannot deliver the names to Johnson by July 14, Waller may remain in place throughout the summer.