(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The head of the Chicago police union says a majority of the members "does not want to work for Brandon Johnson as mayor," and he's predicting as many as 1,000 officers could leave.
John Catanzara, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7, says the morale among the union members is "in the basement," and he says the mayoral election only made the membership even more concerned.
"There was a lot of the membership that was waiting to see what was going to happen last night, and there is a lot of somber reality facing members to decide, do they stay or do they go?” he said Wednesday.
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"And I will not be the least bit surprised if several hundred of them leave in the next 60 days."
The Fraternal Order of Police had endorsed Paul Vallas for mayor. Vallas, a former city budget director and schools chief, had run on a law-and-order platform and was seen as a more conservative candidate.
Mayor-Elect Johnson has tried to put some distance between himself and his past comments supporting a defund-the-police movement.
FOP President Catanzara says, "Where this goes we shall see. I'm willing to talk."
Catanzara said he hopes to have a better relationship with Johnson than the one he's had with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who has publicly clashed with union officials.
”I hope he’s got a little thicker skin,” Catanzara said. “If he can’t handle criticism, he probably shouldn’t have ran for this job. But to think we’re going to get along and be best chums is absolutely ridiculous.”
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