Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, who is seeking to become Chicago’s next mayor, struggled this week to defend previous comments he had made signaling his support for efforts being prioritized by the Defund the Police movement.
During a mayoral forum Tuesday night hosted by anti-violence groups at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Johnson, who advanced to last month’s April runoff against former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, was criticized for earlier comments , which he had made, pushed the issue from local ABC7 political analyst Laura Washington.
“In a December 2020 appearance on WCPT, you said that defunding the police was a citation, ‘an actual, real political goal,’ unquoted. They have made other statements that appear to support this goal. Now you say you did it never said to disappoint the police,” Washington told Johnson. “So I’d like a clear answer. What did you mean when you said those things in the past and how has your thinking changed since then?”
“My thinking hasn’t changed,” replied Johnson, who has repeatedly denied support to the movement.
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Chicago mayoral candidate and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson speaks during a news conference January 24, 2023 in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“Listen, there are people who want the police budget cut,” he added, just before Washington interjected and asked, “Are you one of them?”
“I said it was a political goal. I never said it was mine,” Johnson claimed.
While Johnson said in December 2020 radio appearance that the movement is a “political objective,” he also referred to “our efforts and move to redirect and devalue the amount of money being spent on policing” during a July 2020 radio broadcast.
Johnson has also been investigated for other comments he has made about efforts to eliminate or reallocate funding for police departments, including during his tenure as Cook County Commissioner.
The mayor’s hope, as reported ChicagoTribunetargeted opposition from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, insisting that the Defund policing movement was “not only admirable, but necessary.”
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Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, left, and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, right, will face off April 4 in a runoff for Chicago mayor. (Kamil Krzaczynski, Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu Agency)
“We know the mayor of Chicago here has rejected this call for funds to be diverted to defund this failed system of incarceration and policing,” Johnson said during the December 2020 radio appearance. “So, whether it’s the President of the United States , who calls it a catchy hashtag or phrase, (or) Lori Lightfoot, which I think is pretty disparaging of the young people who are literally putting their lives on the line for a cause I think, frankly, isn’t just admirable but necessary.”
The outlet also highlighted Johnson’s move as district commissioner for diversion money from law enforcementincluding the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
Speaking at a 2020 panel titled “We Don’t Call Police: A Town Hall on a Police-Free Future,” Johnson praised the movement’s organizers for “pushing forward an agenda that can actually transform people’s lives “.
“And part of that is getting us away from this state-sponsored policing,” Johnson said at the time, according to the Tribune.
Johnson again denied Wednesday that he was trying to disappoint the police and said during a performance on Block Club Chicago’s The Ballot podcast that he is committed to “actually investing smartly.”
Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson, left, and Paul Vallas shake hands before the start of a debate at the ABC7 studios in downtown Chicago March 16, 2023. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)
“The fact is we are asking too much of law enforcement, and we also have a disconnect between law enforcement and the communities to which they have been assigned. And that’s why we need to fix that,” he said.
The issue also surfaced between the two runoff candidates at Thursday night’s debate, where Vallas took aim at Johnson’s earlier comments.
“I will not disappoint the police and you know it. You know that. I’ve consistently exceeded multi-billion dollar budgets,” Johnson told Vallas from the stage.
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During Lightfoot’s tenure, homicides in Chicago increased highest number in 25 years in 2021, According to police department records, it overtook New York City and Los Angeles.
The campaigns for Johnson and Vallas did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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