Is Jody Weis staying put?
Michael Sneed sneed@suntimes.com January 13, 2011 12:34AM
Jody Weis
Article Extras
Updated: May 5, 2011 2:52PM
The police blotter . . .
Sneed hears Police Supt. Jody Weis, whose tour in office has been pockmarked by brickbats and patches of praise, has been asked to stay on past his contract date.
† Translation: Weis, whose contract is up March 1, is expected to stay until May 16, Mayor Daley’s last day in office.
† The kicker: Is there some reluctance to put it in writing?
Pssst!
Obama drama: The hottest rumor floating around the police department: Former deputy police Supt. Michael Shields, a cousin of first lady Michelle Obama — whom Weis promoted and then demoted — would be named interim police superintendent by Mayor Daley until his successor names a replacement. (Shields is now head of security for the Chicago Public Schools.)
In & out . . .
Meanwhile, Peter Brust, an FBI veteran hired by Weis as deputy superintendent of professional standards, is leaving for the private sector — and is being replaced by former IAD chief Debra Kirby, who created the department’s domestic violence response — ascending to the second-highest-ranking female in the police department.
The death penalty . . .
Sneed’s bet: Gov. Quinn will move to abolish the death penalty.
† Sneed’s tip: If Quinn does, watch for Sen. Kirk Dillard , Republican leader of the Judiciary Committee, to push to reinstate the death penalty for the worst of the worst crimes: mass murder and the murder of children and law enforcement officers.
The Tucson tragedy . . .
Target talk: Some reporters are questioning whether the Tucson massacre had anything to do with the Jewish faith of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — shooter Jared Loughner’s most famous victim. They point out:
† Loughner, described as a mentally disturbed loner living in an estranged environment with his parents . . . listed Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as high on his reading list.
† Giffords, his prime target, was raised in the household of a Christian Scientist mother and Jewish father — and embraced Judaism exclusively after visiting Israel in 2001. Her grandfather, the son of a Lithuanian rabbi, ran a successful automotive chain — and changed his name from Hornstein to Giffords, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
Ring ring . . .
Peter Rhee, the neurosurgeon treating Giffords, has his cell phone ring set to “Stayin’ Alive.”
Coyote lucky . . .
The female coyote rescued from a block of ice in Lake Michigan last month is recovering nicely from a bad case of frostbitten paws.
† Update: “We think she is going to be releaseable; hopefully this spring,” said Dawn Keller, who is caring for her at the Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation center.
† Diet data: The wily one is dining on an occasional quail in addition to frozen rats.
Cash tips . . .
† Lady Gaga’s earnings for the coming year are likely to broach the $100 million mark, according to Forbes.
Sneedlings . . .
Today’s birthdays: Orlando Bloom, 34; Patrick Dempsey, 45, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 50.
