Chicago City Wire

Paul Vallas, Chicago Mayoral candidate, revealed that he earned the endorsement of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police on Jan 8th.

“All you’re doing is creating more obstacles for a police officer to move and tack decisively," Vallas said. "Why would you even get out of a police car if you see a criminal running down the street? Why would you even want to chase them, if you don’t have that checklist?”

Vallas is one of nine candidates for Chicago Mayor. Ballotpedia noted Candidates Johnny Logalbo, Montelle Gaji, Ray Lopez and Fredrick Collins dropped from the race.

Announcing FOP's backing of Vallas was union president John Catanzara, a former CPD officer who ended his career as one of the department’s most disciplined officers and since then has come out as a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump.

The 45th President endorsed GOP Senator Darren Bailey and Bailey lost to Governor J.B. Pritzker after making several controversies.

“I wanted to say hello because I’m hearing Darren’s really doing a job,” Trump began during a June 25 rally, WBEZ reported. “And we’re standing up, and I’m shaking his hand. He said, ‘Sir, you have a hair coming down right in the middle.’ It was coming down. He said, ‘Let me get it, sir.’ And he grabbed it and pulled it out. I said, ‘Oh, that’s terrible. That’s terrible.’ I’m still looking for that hair. He just ripped it out.”

In recent years, Vallas has made crime a top subject of his public profile, including frequently posting to social media about violence across Chicago, insisting that the outbreaks are yet another example of why it is so critical to support officers and loosen restrictions on their work.

FOP endorsed a mix of Democrats and Republicans.

Vallas has also publicly called for more of what he calls “proactive policing,” which includes ramping up low-level arrests. Despite a shortage of police officers, Vallas also argues that it’s important to chip away at the “environment of constant disorder.”