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Backing Obama gets top cop in hot water
Chicago Sun-Times ^ | October 31, 2008 | BY FRANK MAIN, FRAN SPIELMAN AND LISA DONOVAN Staff Reporters

Posted on 10/31/2008 5:03:58 AM PDT by KeyLargo

Backing Obama gets top cop in hot water

October 31, 2008

BY FRANK MAIN, FRAN SPIELMAN AND LISA DONOVAN Staff Reporters

A Chicago alderman wants police Supt. Jody Weis to be disciplined for making a statement in a TV interview earlier this month that seemed to support Barack Obama's candidacy.

Earlier this year, the department reprimanded a detective who campaigned for Ald. Tom Allen (38th) in his failed race for Cook County state's attorney. The department found the detective had violated a rule barring officers from engaging in partisan activity while wearing the uniform or identifying themselves as officers. » Click to enlarge image Police Supt. Jody Weis answers media questions Wednesday. (Keith Hale/Sun-Times)

"What's good for the goose is good for the gander," said Allen. "If they're going to play games with me politically and hurt good people I've known for 25 years, touche. He should face whatever the penalty is."

The reprimanded detective appeared in a paid TV advertisement in support of Allen's candidacy for state's attorney, according to the police department. Allen lost the Democratic primary to Anita Alvarez in February.

On Oct. 15, Weis was interviewed as part of a WLS-Channel 7 story on security at Obama's South Side home. "He's our senator and he's hopefully going to be our next president, so it's an honor to serve and protect his home," said Weis, who was wearing his dark blue police uniform.

After Weis was notified that he may have violated a police rule with his statement to Channel 7, he notified the Independent Police Review Authority -- the agency that handles complaints of police misconduct. 'Context of his job'

Weis' legal adviser, Debra Kirby, said there's a difference between Weis' statement and the reprimanded detective's appearance in Allen's ad. The superintendent's statement came within the context of his job, Kirby said.

In Allen's ad, which touted his endorsement by the FOP, a detective wearing a police star on a necklace said, "We had a convicted sex offender that lived right across the street from the grammar school and the parents didn't know. Tom Allen decided to do something about it."

The ad went on to say that Allen led an effort to require sex offenders to register their addresses with the city.


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: chicago; chicagopolitics; chief; donutwatch; doublestandard; fearlessleader; obama; police

Jody Weiss, Mayor Daley, IL Governor Rod Blagojevich,

The Chicago Boys

For the past seven years, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has time and again put the Chicago machine through the prosecutorial cleaners. Come next week, a product of the Windy City's political culture may be on his way to the White House. Now would be a good time to know if a President Obama would keep the pressure on his friends back home."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122541378179586551.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

1 posted on 10/31/2008 5:03:59 AM PDT by KeyLargo
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To: KeyLargo

Sure takes courage to make that complain in Chicago.

I thought the article wsa going to be about Bratton in CA.


2 posted on 10/31/2008 5:09:55 AM PDT by Carley (The media understands credentials but does NOT understand principles.)
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To: KeyLargo

On Hannity’s show last night, he played a clip of Khalidi, the PLO spokeman, saying how corrupt Daley’s Chicago political machine is. When a PLO guy says that, you know that’s a high standard of corruption...and that machine gave the Democrats Barry Hussein Obama.


3 posted on 10/31/2008 5:14:52 AM PDT by kittymyrib
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To: KeyLargo

So, let me get this straight, you talk about someone who is going to do something about sex offenders, you are disciplined...you gush about a state sentator who you hope will be our next president and you aren’t...and the difference is that Weiss was doing his in the context of his job? Protecting kids from sex offenders, not their job, protecting someones home, is...makes complete Chicago sense!


4 posted on 10/31/2008 6:04:53 AM PDT by old and cranky (You! Out Of The Gene Pool - Now!)
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To: KeyLargo

Jody is a gun grabbing girlie man.


5 posted on 10/31/2008 6:14:17 AM PDT by Condor51 (The only difference between Bill Ayers and Timothy McVeigh is the body count!)
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To: old and cranky
The repremanded detective was doing an ad, which isn't part of his job. Weis was a supervisor doing an interview, which is (presumably) part of his job, and he said "He's our senator and he's hopefully going to be our next president, so it's an honor to serve and protect his home". If he hadn't mentioned the president part, or even said "possibly" instead of "hopefully", he wouldn't be in trouble. However, I see a difference between doing an ad and saying a few extra words in an interview. I don't like it, but it will be a lot easier for Weis to get out of this by saying he misspoke that it would have been for the detective doing the ad.
6 posted on 10/31/2008 9:51:25 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (Obama: Spread the Wealth = Marx: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs)
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To: KarlInOhio

I see your point, but in a way the “interview” was a free ad and he should have known better. And there is no doubt in my mind he will get off, now if he had said the same about McCain, it would be a different story.


7 posted on 11/01/2008 8:16:21 AM PDT by old and cranky (You! Out Of The Gene Pool - Now!)
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