Photo: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, left, on Thursday appointed Michael Masters, center, to direct the county's department of homeland secuirty and emergency management. Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer stands at right. The right-hand man to former Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis will lead Cook County's troubled homeland security and emergency management agency, Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced Thursday.
Michael Masters, who was Weis' chief of staff, said he will bring accountability, financial responsibility and efficiency to the department, which is the subject of a federal investigation into allegations of mismanagement of federal homeland security grants.
Masters is the latest City Hall veteran to join county government since Preckwinkle took office in December. Earlier this week, Preckwinkle appointed Andrea Gibson — who worked at City Hall for 16 years — as the new budget director. In January, she hired Tariq Malhance as the county's new chief financial officer. Malhance has served as the city's comptroller.
The hirings come as Mayor Richard Daley prepares to depart the job he's held for 22 years, leaving some longtime City Hall employees in search of employment elsewhere. Just as Preckwinkle dismissed a number of employees who worked under former Board President Todd Stroger, it is expected that Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel will do some housecleaning in his administration.
Preckwinkle, a former alderman who ran for the county president's office championing reform, swatted away suggestions that the county is becoming a haven for former Daley employees. She defended her appointments at a taping of WBBM-AM 780's "At Issue" program to air at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
"So I'm 64 years old and I'm prepared to make the case that experience is a good thing," she said. "I'm not going to argue the fact that people who have had significant experience in state and local government shouldn't be in county government. Actually, I think it's a blessing to us that we've been able to attract some really fine, talented people who've had government experience elsewhere to come and work in the county."
Masters worked for Weis — a controversial leader among the Police Department's rank and file — beginning in April 2008. He was part of Weis' team in July 2008 when gun violence broke out near the Taste of Chicago. Masters, who will make $160,000 a year, said the lessons he learned from that experience could be applied to leading the county's homeland security team.
