Snelling Retires, Crime Falls
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling to Retire in 2026, Praised for Crime Decline
Key Points
In 2025, Chicago recorded 416 homicides, the lowest annual total since 1965, underscoring the scale of the crime decline during Snelling's tenure.
Fred Waller, named interim leader, previously served as acting top police chief when Mayor Johnson first took office in 2023.
Snelling's background includes work as an instructor at the CPD academy and, in 2020, leading the Englewood District as commander during protests following a shooting there.
The Chicago Tribune notes there was progress on compliance with the federal consent decree during Snelling's tenure, citing increased adherence as part of the department's trajectory.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling announced his retirement on July 1, 2026, effective July 15 — closing a tenure marked by the city's safest year in six decades. In 2025, Chicago recorded just 416 homicides, the lowest total since 1965, according to Block Club Chicago.
Snelling, 57, joined CPD in 1992 and served for more than 30 years. Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed him as the department's 64th superintendent in August 2023. Fred Waller, a 34-year department veteran, will step in as interim superintendent while a full national search for a permanent replacement gets underway, WTTW News reported.
Chicago's Safest Year in 60 Years Under Snelling
The numbers from 2025 are stark. Homicides fell 29% from 587 in 2024 to 416 — the lowest count since 1965. Shootings dropped 34.5% year over year. The homicide clearance rate hit 71%, up from below 20% in the previous decade, according to Greater Southwest News-Herald. CPD also seized 11,408 firearms, averaging 31 guns per day in December alone.
Snelling credited officers and community partners, not himself. "I am confident that we created a foundation for further progress," he said in his retirement letter, posted by CBS News Chicago. Mayor Johnson echoed that tone, saying "leadership may transition, but our commitment to building safe communities does not."
DNC Security and a Career Built in Chicago's Toughest Districts
Snelling's tenure included one of CPD's highest-profile assignments: securing the 2024 Democratic National Convention. He used a de-escalation-first approach that avoided the mass arrests seen at previous conventions, Axios reported. The city managed large protests without the kind of clashes that marked the 1968 DNC.
Before becoming superintendent, Snelling served as CPD's Chief of Counterterrorism. In 2020, he commanded the 7th District in Englewood during protests after a police shooting there. He also taught at the CPD academy, giving him deep roots across the department, according to WTTW News.
Consent Decree Progress Slow, Immigration Tensions High
Chicago has been under a federal court order — called a consent decree — since 2019 to fix training and use-of-force policies. Snelling made progress, but the department still fully meets only 25% of the decree's 877 requirements as of early 2026, WTTW News reported. Critics also noted that gun-pointing incidents by officers rose 44% between 2022 and 2024.
Immigration enforcement added another flashpoint. When federal agents ramped up operations in Chicago in late 2025, residents accused CPD of helping ICE. Snelling denied it, saying officers were there only for "crowd and traffic control." He later backed an independent probe by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, saying "no one would trust" an internal investigation, per WTTW News.
Fred Waller Steps In While Search for New Leader Begins
Waller is no stranger to the role. He served as acting top cop when Mayor Johnson first took office in early 2023, before Snelling was confirmed. Now he returns as interim superintendent while the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability runs a national search, NBC Chicago reported. The commission must deliver three finalists to Mayor Johnson.
The timing adds political weight to the search. Chicago's 2027 mayoral race is beginning to take shape, and Snelling's departure removes a stabilizing figure from the department. His three-year "Strategy for Organizational Excellence," launched in April 2025, remains the department's official roadmap — but whether Waller or a new permanent superintendent will carry it forward is now an open question, according to WTTW News.
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