TOP COP SUMMIT
Sneed hears hot rumbles Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson and 14 other top cops from major cities are scheduled to meet Thursday or Friday with U. S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in Washington, D. C.
A Sneed source claims Johnson has carved out some one- on- one time with Sessions, who has signaled that he’s not on board with Chicago Police reforms recommended by former President Barack Obama’s administration.
Translation: Sessions signaled last month there likely will be no consent decree or court oversight in implementing the sweeping reforms that Obama’s attorney general, Loretta Lynch, had recommended as part of her office’s civil rights investigation of CPD practices.
Backshot: Johnson is a member of the Major Cities Chiefs Association scheduled to meet in Washington this week. On Tuesday, he released a five- pronged police- reform road map that was intended to shut down fears that President Donald Trump’s administration would slow things down. He laid out plans for further reforms in the embattled Police Department, which included revising the CPD’s use- of- force policy.”
Buckshot: So what’s there to talk about?
Plenty.
No go . . .
Sneed’s tip Chicago’s Police Board President Lori Lightfoot could be a long shot as a potential candidate for Chicago’s new U. S. attorney prompted this Lightfoot response:
“Dear Mike: I have no interest in being a part of the Trump administration in any capacity. I believe in bipartisanship. . . . But I also believe in the rule of law, justice, empathy and the truth. These are not just quaint notions, but to me concepts that must be at the core of our justice system and what actually makes America great.”
St. Pat’s chat . . .
Begorrah! The official St. Patrick’s Day may be this Friday, but you’d never know if you’d been among the city’s 200 movers and shakers at former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s annual shamrock party at Ocean Cut last Saturday.
So here’s some blab and gab gleaned from the paddy power party attended by Gov. Bruce Rauner, Chris Kennedy, J. B. Pritzker ( all eyeing the gubernatorial mantle; all chatting in separate corners); Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Ald. Ed Burke ( 14th); Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle; Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and legendary Bears linebacker Otis Wilson.
Richie blab: Richie Daley was accompanied by his latest squeeze, Dana Buffone, widow of the late Chicago Bears linebacker Doug Buffone, who died in 2015.
Dana and Richie, who is also a widower, were last spotted at the funeral of legendary Little Italy advocate/ mayoral confidant Oscar D’Angelo. “They’ve been dating ever since,” said a Daley source.
“Richie isn’t traveling much these days and has hugely recovered from the results of his stroke in 2014, which was pretty serious and affected his ability to talk,” the source added. “I think he’s glad to be away from all the madness.”
Paddy blab: A tale of two Patricks. Sneed is told Patrick Daley, the son of Richie and his late wife, Maggie, may be moving back to the hood where his first cousin, Patrick Thompson, is now the alderman of the old Daley bastion of Bridgeport.
Is Patrick Daley hoping to establish a political base for a future run for office?
“No. He bought a fixer- upper,” said a Daley source. “Word is he is moving in, but it could be with the intent to flip it,” he said.
Judy, Judy, Judy . . .
Sneed hears a plaque dedicating the Riverside Township Hall Auditorium to the late state Treasurer/ Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka will be publicly unveiled at a special ceremony at 1 p. m. on April 8. Be there. Load up the place. This woman was much loved and gave it her all. So much more should be done.
O, Canada . . .
Former Sun- Times publisher John Cruickshank, the former Toronto Star publisher who has landed a diplomatic post in Chicago as Canada’s consul- general, has an extra special reason for heading back to the city he loves.
“My son, Noah, who works in Chicago, has made me a grandfather,” he said. “How wonderful is that?”
Obamarama . . .
Former President Obama and wife Michelle are vacationing in Hawaii on the island of Oahu, where the former POTUS is playing golf, golf and golf.
Their arrival was a surprise. They both looked great. Obama arrived wearing leather.
Sneedlings . . .
I spy: Actor Terrence Howard spotted at Gibsons on Rush on Saturday afternoon. . . . Cellist Yo- Yo Ma dining at Hugo’s Frog Bar on Saturday. . . . “Empire” actress Grace Gealey having lunch Wednesday at Lyfe Kitchen in Streeterville. . . . Houston Rockets players Sam Dekker and Kyle Wiltjer spotted recently dining at Chicago Cut. . . . Today’s birthdays: Lauren Graham, 50; Curtis Granderson, 36; Jorge Ramos, 59; and a happy belated birthday to WVON Radio’s Cliff Kelley, ageless and priceless.