Despite continuing concerns about a backlog at the agency that handles allegations of police misconduct, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s recommendation to reappoint its top official won a unanimous endorsement today from a City Council committee.If the full council follows suit Wednesday, Ilana Rosenzweig will get a second four years as chief administrative officer of the Independent Police Review Authority. She was the first head of that agency, which replaced the much-criticized Office of Professional Standards under former Mayor Richard Daley.
Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, expressed concern about the agency’s continuing backlog. Cases more than six months old number about 1,200 — about the same number it inherited when the agency took over four years ago.
Rosenzweig said she has focused on improving the quality of investigations, particularly of officers involved in shootings, through better investigator training, the audio recording of interviews and access to evidence and police databases. With that done, she’s now focusing more on the backlog, she said.
“My first focus when this was created was really the quality of the investigations,” Rosenzweig said. “When we got here, there were very, very strong concerns about the quality of what was being done by the Office of Professional Standards, that the investigations weren’t thorough enough.”
“Now we’re focusing more on that timeliness,” she added. “I’m hoping to increase the timeliness without decreasing the quality.”
Harold Winston of the Chicago Coalition for Police Accountability recommended approval of Rosenzweig’s reappointment, saying she has “done a fine job of creating a new agency and reaching out to the public.”
