Attaining additional public input on the Chicago police superintendent search is the focus of Thursday's police board meeting, according to police board president Lori Lightfoot.

"A large number of people asked questions and offered comments on a wide range of important issues at our January 12 community input session," said Lightfoot said. "We welcome additional public comment and will give it our full consideration as we move forward in interviewing candidates and selecting three nominees for the Superintendent's position."

Anyone seeking to comment at the Thursday meeting, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Chicago Public Safety Headquarters at 3510 S. Michigan Avenue, can sign up in advance by calling the Board's office at 312-742-4194 by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. Those who sign up in advance will be called first, while those who sign up at the door will only be called to speak if time permits. Members of the public will be given two minutes to give their comments. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

As mandated by a city law, the police board is required to present the mayor with three candidates to consider for any vacancy of the CPD superintendent position. On Friday, Lightfoot released a statement saying the application period for the position had lapsed:

The application period for the superintendent job is now closed. We have received applications from individuals inside the department, with prior department experience, military experience, and from law enforcement outside of Chicago. We truly appreciate the amount of interest in one of the most important positions in local law enforcement in our country.

We also want to thank the hundreds of voices from across Chicago and beyond who have passionately communicated with us about the attributes for the next superintendent, the priorities that the superintendent should embrace, as well as the need for respectful engagement with the community. We have heard you. Your voices have already informed our work and will continue to influence the interview process itself. The process has helped define our focus. Simply put, we are looking for the person who can best be an agent of change and make integrity the highest value held by the men and women of the Chicago Police Department.

Next steps will be review of the materials from all applicants and then the selection of individuals for interviews. Because this is a formal employment process, we are limited in the amount of details we can disclose at this time. As with any job application, disclosure of interest in another position can impact an individual's existing relationship with his or her employer and in this case, potentially an entire city. And until we get to the finalists, we will not have any further substantive comment. We welcome, however, continued input from our community and we look forward to our upcoming public meeting on January 21, where we will again formally solicit comments from the public about the superintendent search.

This great city and great department need and deserve a great leader and that's what we expect to deliver.