Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling announced Wednesday that he’s retiring, just a day after he announced broad changes to his command staff and installed a new second-in-command.
“After more than 30 years of service within the Chicago Police Department, I have made the difficult decision to retire on July 15, 2026,” he wrote in a letter addressed to “my fellow Chicagoans.”
“Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to give back to the city I love through different assignments across the department. I must also thank Mayor Brandon Johnson for choosing me to serve the residents of Chicago and to lead the heroic men and women of the Chicago Police Department.”
Police veteran Fred Waller will again serve as acting superintendent while a search is conducted for Snelling’s permanent replacement, Mayor Johnson said Wednesday.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling comforts an emotional protester as thousands march through the Loop as part of the “No Kings” nationwide protest movement against the Trump administration, Saturday, March 28, 2026.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling addresses the media outside of Illinois Masonic Hospital Advance Care, Saturday, April 25, 2026. One officer was shot and killed and other left in critical condition after the officers had taken a suspected gunman to the hospital “for an observation” and the suspect opened fire.
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Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling arrives to Rev. Jesse Jackson’s funeral service at the House of Hope on the Far South Side, Friday, March 6, 2026.
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Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling chats with other department officials as officers keep watch while protesters rally on Michigan Avenue near East Ida B. Wells Drive to decry threats from the Trump administration to increase ICE raids and send the federalized National Guard to the city of Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling speaks as family and supporters of Chicago Police Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso gather for a press conference after hearing the verdict in the trial of Steven Montano at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, Monday, July 21, 2025. Steven Montano was convicted of murdering Chicago Police Officer Andres Vasquez-Lasso in March 2023.
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Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling discusses an overnight mass shooting during a news conference at City Hall in the Loop, Thursday, July 3, 2025. Four people were fatally shot and 14 more injured Wednesday night after an album release party at the Artis Restaurant and Lounge at 311 W. Chicago Ave. in River North.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling presents a flag to Yolanda Rivera, the mother of CPD Officer Krystal Rivera, at her daughter’s funeral services at Living Word Christian Center in Forest Park, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Officer Krystal Rivera was accidentally shot and killed by her partner while responding to a call.
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Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling congratulates a graduate at the Chicago Police Department Recruit Graduation Ceremony at the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025.
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Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling hugs Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez’s mother, Rosa Mayen, after her son’s funeral at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. Martinez, 26, who was on the force for nearly three years, was fatally shot Nov. 4 during a traffic stop in the Chatham neighborhood.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chicago p=Police Supt. Larry Snelling sits in his office after an interview at the Chicago Police Department headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling gives a pep talk to his officers after a protest that saw dozens detained on the second day of the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024.
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Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Dept. Supt. Larry Snelling greets spectators during the 95th annual Bud Billiken Parade along South Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Bronzeville, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024.
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Dept. Supt. Larry Snelling salutes in respect to Edith Huesca, mother of Officer Luis Huesca, as she holds onto a Chicago flag during the funeral for her son at St. Rita Cascia Shrine Chapel, Monday, April 29, 2024. Officer Luis Heusca was shot and killed during a carjacking outside his home in Gage Park.
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Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling hugs Carlos Yanez, the former partner of slain officer Ella French, at West Marquette Road and South Lawndale Avenue in West Lawn, where officials and family members unveiled a street sign named in honor of Chicago police officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lasso, Saturday, March 2, 2024. Vásquez Lasso was killed in the line of duty on March 1, 2023 allegedly by Steven Montano, who pleaded not guilty, in the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue while Vasquez-Lasso responded to a domestic violence call.
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and Bureau of Detectives Chief Antoinette Ursitti prepare to speak during a news conference at CPD headquarters on the South Side, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling salutes during the 2023 Carter H. Harrison and Lambert Tree Award Ceremony, the city’s top awards for police and fire department bravery, at City Hall, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling sits inside his office at the Chicago Police Department headquarters on the South Side, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023.
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
New Chicago Police Dept. Supt. Larry Snelling is sworn in by City Clerk Anna Valencia during a special City Council meeting at City Hall in the Loop, where Snelling was confirmed as the new police superintendent, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023.
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Larry Snelling, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pick for superintendent, speaks during a Committee on Police and Fire meeting at City Hall in the Loop, where he answered questions from alderpersons, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
(From left) Chief Larry Snelling, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s nominee for superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, interim Supt. Fred Waller, and Johnson attend the funeral for Chicago Fire Department Lt. Kevin Ward at Fourth Presbyterian Church on the Magnificent Mile, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. Ward, 58, died at Loyola Medical Center, where he was taken from a fire on Aug. 11 in the 8300 block of West Balmoral Avenue on the Northwest Side.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Mayor Brandon Johnson looks on as Chief Larry Snelling speaks during a news conference at City Hall to announce Johnson chose Snelling as the next superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Department District 7 Cmdr. Larry Snelling hands a flyer to a resident in the 5600 block of South Wood Street, offering a reward for any information that leads the arrest of the individuals that murdered Marquees Hampton, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
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Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Members of the community listen as Chicago Police 7th District Cmdr. Larry Snelling speaks during Operation Wake-Up, intended to show “that gun violence will not be tolerated,” at West 61st Street and South Halsted Street in Englewood on the South Side, Monday evening, June 29, 2020. Chicago saw three children among 18 killed and another 47 people were wounded in shootings across the city over the weekend.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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