The pressure will stay on Johnson next month
There is no respite for the mayor on the horizon
Analysis
Mayor Brandon Johnson has been in office less than two months, and there is one irrefutable fact about his short tenure. The first-time mayor has not had anything that resembled a honeymoon. It has become almost customary for someone new to office not to be asked immediately to address or provide solutions to the most pressing problems -problems that existed prior to that individual taking office.
Thanks to a bevy of matters including an unprecenteded asylum-seeker issue, budget and pension concerns, the Chicago Bears looking for a new home, and others; Johnson’s plate was full on day one. The news media, alderpersons, and the general public all wanted immediate answers. Before the mayor has had the opportunity to fully address any those, a career-defining decision is staring him in the face. Like the other matters, there is no easy answer to this one.
In less than a month, Johnson will have to decide if he will accept or punt on the recommendations by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability for a new Chicago Police Department Superintendent.
If he gives a thumbs up to any of the three recommendations the commission initially offers, the mayor faces a firestorm with a large contingent of the Chicago City Council. Exactly 19 alderpersons, representing all sides of the city, signed a letter voicing their displeasure that a current CPD commander - Brian McDermott, was only granted a telephone interview.
That’s likely a clear signal that McDermott’s name won’t be on the list of recommended candidates. The mayor also has the option to ask for a second set of names. Although commission members know this is a possibility, to some it might seem insulting given the amount of work they have put in reviewing, vetting and interviewing the next potential CPD leader. Rejecting this first set of names also could appear to the general public that whoever is named will be part of the second string.
If the mayor has any hopes of lessening the level of violence Chicago continues to experience, he needs a top cop steering CPD as soon as possible. The department has been without an effective leader, and a consistent plan for addressing the near-countless shootings and kilings over the past two years.
By accepting any of the first three candidates the commission proposes, and if McDermott is not one of them; Johnson faces a backlash among a major cohort of alderpersons- a group that can derail many of his upcoming initiatives. There also may be pushback from CPD officers.
The ordinances under which the commission was established and operates won’t allow the mayor to do what former Mayor Rahm Emanuel pulled off and reached beyond the list and elevated commander Eddie Johnson to superintnedent. However, it is almost a guarantee that Johnson will have to make his choice from among existing CPD brass.
Chicagoans have seen at least four outsiders - Jody Weiss, Garry McCarthy, Charlie Beck, and David Brown all bomb when handed the reins of the department. Beck, was the only one hired on an interim basis.
Given his lack of dealing with law enforcement firsthand, Johnson likely will have to lean heavily on the current interim superintendent Fred Waller. Waller made it clear at the onset of the search process he was not interested in having the job permanently. That doesn’t preclude him from being the mayor’s chief sounding board. We can’t forget he has been absent from the department’s day-to-day decisions since his retirement two years ago.
In the back of his mind, Johnson also has to take into consideration how his choice will land with the Fraternal Order of Police. The 11,000-member rank-and-file contingent supported his opponent in the runoff election. When Johnson gave the OK for the employees of Chicago Public Schools to get a 12-week paternity leave like city employees; FOP demanded the same and the mayor had no easy way to say no.
Although it is widely assumed tht Johnson listens closely to the input of leaders of the two unions that placed him in the mayor’s chair -the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union-their advice, if any, shouldn’t hold much sway.
Johnson’s speechwriters are facing the daunting challenge of crafting the most compelling dialogue of his young mayoral career. They will be charged with developing a dialogue that will appeal to every faction - supporters, detractors and doubters while presenting an impenentrable plan for moving ahead.