U.S. District Judge Robert Dow Jr. announced, on March 1, that former Illinois Inspector General Maggie Hickey has been chosen to oversee court-mandated reforms to the Chicago Police Department, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Also, Dow said he plans to designate retired federal judge David Coar to be "special master," who works on the judge's behalf.

Hickey is slated to have an annual budget of $2.85 million to monitor the implementation of the hundreds of changes in a court order. Monitoring personnel are to have largely unfettered access to department officials, buildings and data as they oversee changes to training, supervision, discipline and other elements of policing.

In a statement, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said, "On a day when we marked a 44-percent decrease in homicides and a 24-percent reduction in shootings, today's data and today's agreement capture the new direction of the Chicago Police Department. This agreement, which is the result of the changes we sought and agreed to, will ensure a better city, a better CPD, and safer streets."

The Tribune article is at Website Link Here .