Aldermen want new top cop if violence doesn’t end - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Some aldermen say they will be asking for a new top cop if the gun violence in Chicago doesn't stop soon.

"We love Chicago and when we go someplace and they talk about and when they talk about how ruthless Chicago is,"

43 people were killed on the streets of Chicago in January. Now, going into the weekend, the city's homicide rate is at 54.

Alderman Willie Cochran of the 20th Ward says people and parents who live in his neighborhood are afraid and they want to know that their kids will be safe.

"This is not about the man; it is about crime," Cochran says. "The perception of crime and the measures that are being taken to decrease and avoid crime."

Cochran says members of Chicago's City Council started mumbling months ago about McCarthy's job. A new class of police officers graduated Friday putting more patrolmen and women out on the streets, but Cochran says this isn't enough.

"The fact that the crime is still escalating, the murder rate is still escalating, we as alderman across the city, not just the black caucus are hearing these kinds of statements from our constituents," Cochran says. "We cannot sit on this, and it has to be something that we discuss."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel didn't directly address reporters about calls for his top cop's job. He told the graduating class that solving crime out on the streets of Chicago isn't about what the police do. He says parents need to be involved and there must be tougher penalties for every gunman.

"I am a firm believer in putting more police on the street and getting kids, guns, and drugs off the street," Emanuel says. "And if we do each of those right, we will succeed in what we need to do for the residents and citizens of Chicago."

Police Superintendent Gary McCarthy reportedly told reporters this morning that he did not know some aldermen were not satisfied with the job that he's doing.