Crusader staff report
World Business Chicago CEO Andrea Zopp on Thursday, November 16 was appointed to the Chicago Police Board, promising to be an independent voice at a time when City Hall is struggling to implement police reforms within the Chicago Police Department.
The move came after mayor Rahm Emanuel last month promoted his former $185,000 deputy mayor to a $375,000 position as CEO of World Business Chicago, a private-public agency that aims to attract corporate headquarters to Chicago.
Zopp lost to Tammy Duckworth in the race for U.S. Senator in 2016. Since then, her ties to Emanuel have raised doubts about her political purpose, while cementing her ties to the mayor, who has drawn heavy criticism for backpedaling on his promise to implement reforms under court oversight.
In 2013 while on the Chicago Board of Education, Zopp voted to close 50 Chicago Public Schools, many of which were in Black neighborhoods. Now, there are questions of whether Zopp will remain an independent voice on the Chicago Police Board.
Pointing to her past work as a state and federal prosecutor, Zopp said to the press, “My history of work on the topic of police accountability long preceded even my knowing who Rahm Emanuel was, much less working for him.”
