Vallas Pledges to Restore Trust Between City Hall and CPD
Mayoral frontrunner Paul Vallas is reacting to the explosive Sun-Times story today that details how Mayor Lori Lightfoot failed to stand with members of the Chicago Police Department by refusing to grant a duty disability pension to officers who contracted COVID-19 on the job and have faced serious medical problems. Vallas is releasing the following statement:
“Just like doctors, nurses, EMTs and other first responders, Chicago police officers were on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic putting their lives at risk to do their jobs, and refusing to grant health benefits and a fair pension to officers who face serious health complications from the virus is absolutely heartless. Mayor Lightfoot has consistently failed to provide the support that police officers need in order to make our city safer, from not maintaining the proper amount of manpower to promoting incompetent leadership to imposing oppressive schedules, and now this latest insult. I’m running for Mayor as a lifelong Democrat who will put crime reduction and public safety first, and while I will not hesitate to hold officers accountable when necessary I will also restore the baseline level of trust and support from City Hall to CPD that is necessary to create a safer environment for all of us.”