So, I haven't posted for a week or so. Bad blogger!
The big news today is the aldermen looking to put three of their members on the Police Commission - or, at least, Charter and Ordinance looking to do so.
My first thought is that while the change would not, technically, bring the commission under the control of the board, the public is going to see it as doing so.
Three may be a majority on the commission, but it's still a minority on the board, and the commissioner/aldermen could wind up bucking the will of the majority of the board. Unless there is a deep and obvious division in the board, though, that's a distinction that likely won't matter, especially to public perception.
If the public is going to view the move as a power grab it seems like the board might be better off, politically speaking, doing just that.
My other thought has to do with a comment by the lawyer Charter and Ordinance brought in that the change would give the voters some measure of control over the commission. If that's the goal, it seems like making the commission an elected body would do the job much more efficiently.
I'll be collecting reactions from around the city, either for the Monday column or a piece before that.
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