FOP TAKES VOTE: ‘NO CONFIDENCE’ IN JOHNSON
The Board of Directors of the Fraternal Order of Police — the union representing rank-and-file Chicago police officers — issued a vote of no confidence in CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson Wednesday.
The vote came just a day after the union sharply criticized the superintendent’s decision to skip a speech that President Donald Trump is set to deliver at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Chicago on Monday. Johnson said Tuesday that he “will not be attending the president’s remarks because the values of the people of Chicago are more important to me than anything that could be said in the speech.”
In a brief statement issued Wednesday, the FOP said: “The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 Board of Directors today issued a vote of no confidence against Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.”
Martin Preib, the union’s spokesman and second vice president, declined to share vote totals or say why the union chose to hold the vote when it did.
On Tuesday, the FOP said Johnson’s decision to skip the speech “would be an insult to both President Trump and the office of the presidency itself and would be a mark of disgrace upon the city throughout the entire nation, including Mayor Lori Lightfoot.”
The CPD issued a statement on Johnson’s behalf Wednesday, saying that Trump’s history of racist comments were a primary factor in Johnson’s decision to skip the speech.
“While today’s decision is from the Board and not the active FOP membership, I understand and respect that the Lodge is upset about the decision to not stand with the president,” Johnson said. “As police officers, our job is to be the voice for the voiceless and ambassadors to the communities that we serve. I can’t in good conscience stand by while racial insults and hatred are cast from the Oval Office, or Chicago is held hostage because of our views on New Americans.”