2-Feb-20 – Downtown Chicago has two new police commanders.

Captain Jacob Alderden was promoted to commander of the police department’s 1st District, which covers the entire Loop plus an area south of the Loop to a few blocks past the Stevenson Expressway. He has been with Chicago Police Department for 18 years. He was also a Tactical and Field Lieutenant in the 1st District and Watch Operations Lieutenant in the 2nd District.

Alderden (left), a lieutenant at the time, was among officers who responded to the shooting at Mercy Hospital on November 19, 2018. He raced into the hospital with police officer Samuel Jimenez, who was shot and killed by the gunman. Along with two other officers, Alderden received an award for bravery last March from Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.

In the 18th District, covering an area from the Chicago River north to Fullerton Avenue, Jill Stevens has been promoted to commander. She has been with CPD for 17 years. She was previously the Executive Officer of the 18th District. She has been a lieutenant in the 24th and 10th Districts and Commanding Officer in the department’s Special Events Section.

The promotions were announced on Friday and take effect on February 16.

Chicago Police Superintendent Charlie Beck says the leadership changes are part of a “transformational overhaul to streamline police department functions and give neighborhood-facing police districts the full complement of patrol and investigative resources.”

Bail bonds often too accessible, said outgoing Near North commander

Former 18th District Commander Daniel O’Shea has been promoted to Deputy Chief of Area 3, based in the Brighton Park neighborhood southwest of the Loop. The 22-year member of CPD has a master’s degree in police psychology and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

On January 17, 2019, O’Shea personally nabbed a bank robber who had struck three Chase branches in River North. Within minutes of the last robbery, O’Shea spotted the suspected robber in the back of a taxi four blocks from the bank. He and police officers pulled over the taxi and the suspect was arrested after bank employees identified him as the robber.

At a Safety Forum for Streeterville residents on May 6, 2019, O’Shea expressed frustration over bail bonds. He said Circuit Court judges give defendants, both juveniles and adults, personal recognizance bonds, or I-Bonds, requiring them to pay nothing to be released but allowing the sheriff to collect a bail amount if defendants do not show up in court.

“They’re giving a lot of people I-bonds that should be sitting in jail,” said O’Shea (right). “We’re arresting people over and over again.” Photo by Sean Kennedy

He said police officers are frustrated with the criminal justice system.

“There is a formula for keeping the city safe and it’s not just the police department. It requires our partners in the [Cook County] State’s Attorney’s office, the Cook County Sheriff, who runs the jail, and the Illinois Department of Corrections. And when we’re on the same page, all four of us, the crime goes down. But unfortunately, that’s not where we’re at right now.”