Chicago’s Ex-Top Cop Appointed Interim Chief of Willow Springs Police

WILLOW SPRINGS, IL — Former Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy is set to be introduced as the interim chief of the Willow Springs Police Department, according to a news release.

McCarthy was appointed to fill the vacancy after the former police chief resigned. The ex-top cop was fired in 2015, a week after video was released showing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times by CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke, who was eventually convicted of McDonald’s murder.

While McCarthy was the CPD superintendent, the city saw between 400 and 500 murders annually, compared to 2021, which had nearly 800 killings. Willow Springs has recorded just one homicide since 2014, reports said.

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Since leaving the Chicago Police Department, McCarthy ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Chicago in 2019. McCarthy proposed solving Chicago’s financial woes by annexing inter tier suburbs, including Evergreen Park, Oak Lawn, Oak Park and Norridge.

Willow Springs is a village of 5,600 in Cook County, with a small section in DuPage County.

McCarthy is set to be sworn in as the Chief of Police at a Village Board meeting later this month.

“The residents of Willow Springs support our Police Department, and we value living in a safe community,” Willow Springs Mayor Melissa Neddermeyer said. “We welcome Garry McCarthy as the chief of police … We are confident in his leadership to oversee our police operations because he is an experienced and well-trained professional.”