Editorial: Larry Snelling, Chicago's best police superintendent in decades, suddenly retires. Now what?

Larry Snelling, the most effective Chicago Police Department superintendent in many years, is retiring with two weeks' notice in the middle of summer. That suggests there's more to the story than simply a veteran of the force deciding it's time.

We don't pretend to know all the frustrations Snelling felt while having to work with the administration of Mayor Brandon Johnson. Snelling is far too classy to have aired dirty laundry on his way out the door.

But we also are quite certain that his decision to retire, which takes effect July 15, came amid significant tension with the fifth floor from what we gleaned in discussions with those in the know. A 34-year veteran of CPD, Snelling's relationship was cool at best with a mayor who as an activist had called for defunding the police before backtracking during his mayoral run. Johnson's habit of rejecting tools that could have helped Chicago police officers address persistent problems such as teen takeovers, as well as his tendency to credit policies other than effective law enforcement for positive violent-crime trends, surely were irritants.

Last September, we met with Snelling and asked him if he'd thought about what he would do once his time as top cop was done. In light of his surprisingly timed retirement announcement, some of what he said then seems revealing. Describing in a light-hearted way how taxing his job was, he said he hadn't given thought to his next life chapter beyond wanting to go fishing.

But, more seriously, he added, "One thing I can say about policing is it's the only job and only profession I can think of where people who have never done it, have no training around it, have no education around it, can come in and tell you how it should be done. Just being completely honest."

Like all Chicago police bosses, Snelling endured plenty of second-guessing. But the faith that the clear majority of Chicagoans placed in his leadership, integrity and ability served him, the department and the city well in a period of political tumult. This city hadn't felt that sort of confidence in police leadership in decades.

Snelling was instrumental in boosting morale, and he consistently was a calming, reassuring presence during the times of intense stress that come with the job. The success of the Democratic National Convention during an era of great political turbulence owed much to Snelling's leadership.

And, of course, he oversaw a dramatic decline in homicides and shootings from the alarming levels that prevailed in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.

Snelling's appointment has been far and away Johnson's best decision during his ill-starred mayoralty. Now, should Johnson choose to run for reelection (just seven months before he would face voters, he still hasn't said one way or the other), he won't have the popular Snelling as part of his sales pitch to voters. The mayor should have done everything possible to keep Snelling from walking out the door. We're not privy to any efforts he made, but from the outside they didn't appear to be extensive, if indeed there were any at all.

Between now and the election, there's the matter of identifying Snelling's successor. By law, that selection must be made in a matter of months, but the City Council should extend that timetable.

A search now is highly unlikely to produce the best possible applicants given the fact that Chicago will elect a new mayor in less than a year. Johnson remains unpopular, with about a third of those questioned in recent polls expressing some measure of approval of his performance and a little over half expressing strong disapproval. Assuming he finally does announce his reelection bid, his chances of winning aren't great.

A mayor nearing the end of his term and facing a City Council that has blocked him repeatedly on priority initiatives is hardly well-positioned to attract top-notch candidates, who if successful would face the prospect of being replaced by a new mayor just a few months into their tenure.

It doesn't make sense to go through this extensive process until after the election.

Under Chicago's convoluted system of hiring a top cop, a seven-member civilian board called the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability is responsible for vetting and interviewing candidates. The commission then forwards three finalists to the mayor who can choose among the three or reject all of them and ask the CCPSA to give him more options. Once the mayor selects someone, they're subject to City Council approval.

Got all that?

This byzantine system was instituted in 2021 to give residents more say in how they are policed beyond electing a mayor and to build more trust between police and the community. Those are laudable goals, but the complexity of the process is a deterrent to attracting the best candidates for this all-important job.

That system resulted in Snelling's appointment, which is a mark in its favor, but we believe the city would be better served by again allowing the mayor’s office to handle the search and interview process, a change the City Council should eventually make. That's not likely to occur before the search for Snelling's successor begins, however.

In the meantime, Fred Waller, who ran the department on an interim basis before Snelling got the job, will be in that interim role again. He can manage the department for the year or so it would take to hire a new permanent superintendent.

The council ought to act soon to temporarily forestall the search process which by law the CCPSA must launch once Snelling's retirement is official. And the mayor should resist the urge to try to put his stamp on the department given his precarious political standing.

Superintendent Snelling has done more than ably run the Chicago Police Department in his three years in the seat. He's given the city consistency and strong leadership at a time when those qualities have been sorely lacking on the fifth floor.

With violent crime ticking up again after the lowest per-capita homicide totals in decades in 2025, CPD needs stability as we near municipal election season. Waiting for the outcome of that contest to choose a new CPD leader offers the best chance of providing stability to our men and women in blue.

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This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 5:14 AM.