Facing firing, Catanzara leaves police
Controversial union president eyeing campaign for Lightfoot’s job in 2023
John Catanzara officially retired from the Chicago Police Department on Tuesday, one day after the embattled head of the city’s largest police union dramatically revealed his plans to leave the department in the midst of a disciplinary case and perhaps run for mayor.
Within 24 hours, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 President went from the brink of an unceremonious firing to announcing he would likely seek the top political office in Chicago, a move that, if it happens, means the bombastic Catanzara’s opinions on policing and sometimes controversial views on city affairs will likely grow even louder.
His lawyer, Tim Grace, confirmed Catanzara’s departure at a status hearing of the Chicago Police Board on Tuesday, where the union figure faced a hearing for allegations of making numerous inflammatory social media statements as well as naming high-ranking command staff in arrest reports. It effectively ended termination proceedings that were months in the planning, which had started Monday with an unapologetic Catanzara on the stand.
In a Facebook post Tuesday morning, Catanzara, an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, shared a photo of his police retirement form that included the words, “Finally!!! Let’s go Brandon,” in the remarks section, a phrase that has become code in right-wing circles as a profane insult to President Joe Biden.
When the first day of an expected three-day hearing ended Monday, Catanzara abruptly announced he was resigning, calling the proceedings a “farce” and disparaging Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other officials. He has pledged to not only remain as head of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, but seek Lightfoot’s job in 2023.
“There was never a possibility under God’s green earth that I was ever going to give this mayor the ability to utter the words, ‘I fired him,’ ”Catanzara told reporters Monday evening.
He added that he has no qualms about leading a police union after stepping down as an officer, saying that “the city has to deal with me” as Chicago’s FOP president.
As union president, Catanzara has dedicated more resources toward flexing the FOP’s political muscles than most who have had his seat. In 2020, he boasted about the union giving the maximum donation to Kim Foxx’s opponent in the Cook County state’s attorney’s race, vowing that the FOP would be just as major a player in city elections as the Chicago Teachers Union.
The FOP ended up backing the loser, however, with their endorsed Republican candidate Pat O’Brien conceding hours after polls closed. Foxx was heavily buoyed by a wave of support in Chicago, where her stances on criminal justice reform outweighed O’Brien’s law-and-order message.
Still, after the election ended, Catanzara told the Tribune that Chicago hadn’t heard the last of the FOP. With his Monday announcement that he could seek the mayor’s office, it appears the police union will be in the political spotlight more than ever.