Chicago’s police watchdog is set to stay in familiar hands. On Thursday, the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability voted to nominate interim boss LaKenya White as the permanent chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability after a nationwide search that drew more than 30 applicants. White, who has worked inside the city’s oversight system since 2000 and has served as COPA’s interim chief since March 2025, now heads to a City Council committee hearing before a full council vote decides her fate.
Commission hails insider who steadied agency
Commission leaders credited White with calming a turbulent watchdog office and boosting morale among investigators. CCPSA President Remel Terry said White’s experience is “exactly what COPA needs,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times. At the same meeting, Commissioner Angel Navarijo said her tenure has improved consent-decree compliance and helped transform the agency’s culture.
Record of reversed recommendations raises concern
White’s rise is coming with baggage. A joint investigation found that after she took over as interim chief administrator she repeatedly scaled back or wiped out COPA disciplinary recommendations in six high-profile cases, often adopting the discipline suggested by Police Supt. Larry Snelling, WBEZ reported. Critics argue those reversals undercut accountability, while defenders point to settlements, arbitration realities and a backlog of older cases that complicate discipline decisions.
White’s long oversight résumé
A Chicago native, White has spent more than two decades inside the city’s police-oversight machinery. She started at the Office of Professional Standards in 2000, later worked at IPRA and then COPA, and, according to COPA, rose to Director of Investigations for Intake before being named interim chief administrator in March 2025. In that role, she has led efforts to expand investigator training and improve case management.
Search, staff support and next steps
The commission says it held listening sessions with more than 100 COPA employees during the nationwide search, and many staffers urged commissioners to make White the permanent choice, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Records obtained by the paper show the commission paid a search firm more than $45,000 to run the process. Mayor Brandon Johnson now has 30 days to weigh in on the nomination, and the City Council’s Committee on Police and Fire will hold a public hearing before any full-council vote.
Advocates worry about accountability
Legal and policing experts say White will be tested quickly on how COPA handles controversial cases and whether the office can hold its ground against pressure from the police department. “It is a trend that should terrify people,” University of Chicago law professor Craig Futterman told reporters when describing recent reversals, and former COPA chief Sharon Fairley has emphasized the need for strong, high-quality investigations, WBEZ reported. Supporters counter that White has rebuilt staff morale and prioritized training that helps investigators better understand police policy and decision-making.
What she inherits
White takes over COPA at a pivotal moment. Investigators now face an 18-month window to complete probes under recent rules, and last year the agency handled thousands of complaints and hundreds of use-of-force allegations. WTTW noted those procedural deadlines and the pressure they place on staff to finish complex cases while preserving due process. How White balances speed, staff morale and accountability will shape public confidence in COPA going forward.
The nomination now moves into City Hall’s formal process, and the upcoming hearing will be the first public test of whether White can satisfy both reform advocates and police leaders. Watch the Committee on Police and Fire hearing and any response from the mayor over the next 30 days as Chicago decides who will lead one of its most closely watched accountability agencies.
