SOURCES: CPDWATCHDOG TORESIGN, RUNFOR ATTORNEYGENERAL
Departure from COPA postwould be big blow for new police accountability agency
Ten days after a ballyhooed kickoff, the chief administrator of Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability has told Mayor Rahm Emanuel she is planning to resign to run for Illinois attorney general, City Hall sources said Monday.
Sharon Fairley’s departure would be a stunning blow for a newly created agency struggling to regain public trust shattered by the police shooting of Laquan McDonald and prove that it is more than just a name change from the widely discredited and now- abolished Independent Police Review Authority.
With a bigger budget and broader powers certain to create an expanded caseload, COPA opened for business on Sept. 15 with 25 vacancies out of 141 authorized full- time employees, 90 of them investigators.
One of the vacancies is the first deputy and chief of investigations. Thomas Kim, former chief of investigations for New York City’s police oversight agency, abruptly resigned after just a few months on the job.
If Fairley follows Kim out the door, COPA would have two vacancies at the top. A former federal prosecutor, Fairley could not be reached for comment.
“She is seriously considering” resigning to run for attorney general, COPA spokesperson Mia Sissac disclosed Monday immediately after a brief phone conversation with Fairley precipitated by a Chicago Sun- Times inquiry.
If Fairley announces a run, she would be the fourth person on the race, joining two Democrats — state Rep. Scott Drury and state Sen. Kwame Raoul — and Republican Erika Harold.
Sissac insisted Fairley’s departure would do nothing to stop the momentum of an agency that the Fraternal Order of Police has refused to recognize.
“The agency has been built and designed so that it can be successful, no matter who is the chief administrator,” Sissac said.
“Sharon is a phenomenal leader, and her vision has been realized. Her goal was to get it up and [ running.] She’s done that. The staff is of highquality. . . . The agency now has the resources to do what it needs to do.”
Sources said Fairley has already discussed her plans to resign with Emanuel. City Hall sources described her departure as imminent. She had been expected to compete for the permanent job.
“This is about an agency and the procedures that they have in place and the work that’s being done at the agency— not necessarily about individuals,” said Karen Sheley, director of police practices for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.