Police deserve what they are asking for

Mayor's refusal to grant 12-week paternity leave portends big trouble

At a time of heightened violence throughout Chicago, one thing a mayor does not want to do is appear to be unsupportive of the police department. Like it or not, that is how Mayor Brandon Johnson is coming across in denying a Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) request to have the same 12-week paternity leave policy he recently bestowed on the Chicago Teachers Union, of which he is a former member.

Shortly after a news conference with CTU President Stacy Davis-Gates and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez where Johnson announced the new policy; John Cantazano, FOP president, demanded the mayor extend the same non-negotiated benefit to the 12,000 union members. Johnson’s refusal prompted the FOP head to threaten a lawsuit against the city.

Does Johnson want the most visible representative of city government to present their case to the general public unfettered, day-after-day as they patrol the city streets and interact with every level of resident? One would think the answer is a resounding no.

The upshot is surely to be men and women from all parts of the city reinforcing the manufactured message that the mayor doesn’t care about cops and their families. Even the best crisis communications plan will find that tough to overcome. With thousands of cops sticking to that theme perception becomes reality.

If the denial makes it to the litigation stage, city hall can almost be assured that is how cops will be spending part of their days and nights. Cantazano has already promised that if the mayor doesn’t reverse himself the union will take it to court. Conceivably, a lawsuit could cause the city to spend as much on outside lawyers as one year of the 12-week leave would cost.

CTU members canvassed during the campaign for Johnson and contributed millions of dollars to his war chest. The police union was rooted in Johnson’s opponent’s camp. For the mayor to reciprocate is expected; however, it is not expected for him to give teachers roses and other employees thorns. His reluctance to grant the FOP request is more puzzling when the policy would affect just about a handful of the 11,000 Chicago Police Department (CPD) personnel-about one-third the number of CTU employees who are covered.

One of Johnson’s underlings described the comparison to what CTU and FOP wanting the same isn’t balanced because the overwhelming majority of CPS employees are female. It must have slipped his mind that the paternity policy covers adoptions too. That errant thinking suggests two male gay cops can’t adopt a child and be covered, while a heterosexual CPS couple would be covered. That screams inequality quite loudly.

When the mayor said no to the FOP request, he demonstrated as he has been since day one that his political antenna is broken or non-existent. A savvy political mind would not have implemented such a heavy-handed policy without understanding that others would get in line demanding “me too.”

Somebody in Camp Johnson should have explained to the mayor that the average age of a Chicago cop is 42 years old, which says it is not likely most FOP members will be adding to their families through childbirth of adoptions. The number of both is negligible. That would reveal the request is about parity. To view it solely from a monetary perspective is wrong-minded, and politically backward. The average age of CTU teachers is in the mid-20s-a time when people are likely to begin or add to families. That is an indication the 12 weeks would be far more expensive and frequent for CTU members.

Conventional political wisdom tells office holders to make mistakes early so voters are likely to have forgotten about them, or see them as less horrific, come election time. Unless Johnson walks back his decision, this is a mistake that will haunt him right up to the end of this term.

At the very least, Johnson could have commissioned a quick survey. If the results didn’t favor what FOP wants, then that is his basis for a decision, and he would have a better “out” than just saying no.

If the results didn’t align with the mayor’s position, he would have a platform to stand on and attempt to negotiate the benefit, and possibly arrive at a compromise.

The FOP head called out Johnson for claiming to be a staunch union supporter and then denying the police personnel the same perquisite another union received .