The Spin: Chicago police union endorses Trump | Lightfoot, Pritzker say city, state need money from Congress | Black lawmakers call on Pritzker to halt pot dispensary licensing lottery
The nation’s largest police union, along with its Chicago chapter, has endorsed Republican President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, potentially helping to boost his law-and-order message. While the endorsement might have been expected, it further illustrates a division between law enforcement and protesters who for months have railed against police brutality and called for racial justice after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The endorsement isn’t likely to hold much sway for Trump in heavily Democratic Chicago, but John Catanzara, president of the local FOP and an outspoken Trump backer, is happy to antagonize the likes of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who’s endorsed Democrat Joe Biden.
Lightfoot is still not willing to speculate on the kind of cuts Chicago’s city government might make to close a projected $1.25 billion budget gap. Instead, she called on Congress to get to work on a new bailout package. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said in Chicago this morning that there may be a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel: “I understand that the White House is now dangling the possibility of negotiation reopening.” Whether that will add up to a new round of funding for state and city governments remains to be seen. And Illinois Senate President Don Harmon’s office has been subpoenaed as part of a wide-ranging federal probe that has led to a series of political corruption charges and convictions, my Tribune colleagues Jamie Munks and Hal Dardick write. There’s no indication in the subpoena that Harmon is a target of a federal probe, but the paperwork does name some well-known figures in the investigation.
National, Chicago police unions endorse President Trump’s bid for second term The Chicago police union’s board of directors has voted unanimously to endorse President Trump’s bid for a second term. Because board leadership is supposed to be taking the pulse of its membership, Catanzara tells me the board’s endorsement last Wednesday largely reflects the views of its membership, “but there’s definitely people who are not going to be happy about it. There are more Democrats, locally speaking, but there’s even some Democrats who would agree that the current president has been very good for employment and law enforcement these days,” he said referring to the president’s support for police officers and how they carry out their duties. Like Trump, Catanzara said the problem with protests that turn violent has been the Democratic mayors of the major metropolitan cities where they’ve taken place. Lightfoot has pushed back against that notion, saying the protests have been largely peaceful, while others have underscored that the unrest has taken place with Trump in power. Catanzara was among those who attended Trump’s speech on the White House lawn where he accepted the GOP’s nomination for a second term and said that he’d gladly stump for him here. “I will do whatever I can for him — clearly,” Catanzara told The Spin. “I hope he makes a somewhat local appearance — that he doesn’t think Illinois is a lost cause and will just kind of mail it in."
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