Appearing e on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Amy Jacobson and Charles Thomas, retired Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel offered a pointed critique of recent public safety policies in Chicago and Illinois, warning that feel-good political messaging is masking serious problems in law enforcement and public safety.
Weitzel joined the show as Chicagoans brace for the summer months, a period historically associated with a spike in crime. Despite Mayor Brandon Johnson touting the city’s “investments” in safety and claiming violence is trending downward, Weitzel urged caution, citing weather as a key variable and saying the true test will come with warmer days. “Once the warm weather hits, crime will spike. It always has,” he said, reinforcing the notion that spring’s chilly temperatures may be the real reason for the recent calm.
One of the most controversial points of discussion was the state’s Safety Act. Weitzel and the hosts focused on the tragic case of Megan Boss, a 37-year-old woman reported missing in February and later found dead, her body concealed with bleach and wrapped in a tarp. The suspect, reportedly in the country illegally, was released under terms of the Safety Act. Weitzel explained that the charges — including concealment of a homicide — did not qualify as mandatory holds under the law. “That just shows you how absurd that is,” he said, voicing frustration that violent suspects are often released before even appearing in court.
Weitzel also expressed dismay that aggravated battery against police officers isn’t a detainable offense under the same law. “Most of the aggravated batteries against police officers are released from the police station,” he noted. “They don’t even make it to first appearance court.”
In addition to problems with the Safety Act, Weitzel criticized federally imposed consent decrees, such as the one placed on the Chicago Police Department following the Laquan McDonald shooting. Citing recent moves by the Trump administration to roll back similar decrees in cities like Louisville and Minneapolis, Weitzel said consent decrees strip local communities of their voice and hand control of law enforcement operations to the federal government. “There is no consent in a consent decree,” he said. “It’s like a vice grip.”
He argued that the burden of compliance on departments already struggling with recruitment and morale can be devastating. Only one city — Phoenix — has successfully resisted the imposition of a consent decree, he noted.
The conversation also turned to national headlines with the recent decision by President Trump to commute the sentence of former Gangster Disciples leader Larry Hoover. Weitzel criticized the move, saying it sends the wrong message to victims and their families. “Not one mention of victims or their families,” he said. “I hope Governor Pritzker doesn’t follow suit.”
While some defenders of Hoover suggest he could play a role in reducing gang violence, Weitzel rejected the idea, calling the commutation “a terrible move” and “a huge political mistake” if emulated in Illinois.
Throughout the conversation, a clear theme emerged: well-intentioned reforms, Weitzel argued, are often made at the expense of both victims and public safety. “There’s no consideration for victims written in that Safety Act,” he said.
As Chicago heads into summer, the city’s leaders will face mounting scrutiny over whether their “investments” in public safety are producing real results — or simply shifting the problem until the weather changes.