The union representing Chicago police officers on Tuesday endorsed Republican Christopher Pfannkuche for Cook County state’s attorney.
The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, which represents rank-and-file Chicago police officers, backed Pfannkuche, who faces Pat O’Brien, a former Democratic Cook County Judge, on the Republican ballot in the March primary.
Pfannkuche ran for the top county prosecutor’s spot in 2016.
”I am very honored by the confidence shown me by the many police organizations across the county,” Pfannkuche said in a statement. “I have built deep and solid relationships with police officers and departments throughout my 31 years in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office as well as my work as a police training instructor and university professor.”
Kevin Graham, who serves as president of the lodge, said he didn’t believe O’Brien requested the group’s endorsement.
Graham also said he doesn’t remember if the group plans to endorse a candidate on the Democratic ballot but could say for certain the group “will not be endorsing” incumbent State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
Foxx and the FOP have had a tense relationship.
The two traded letters last summer. The FOP letter cited a “deep mistrust” of Foxx’s office as a reason for a special prosecutor to replace Foxx’s office in any case where a cop is the victim of a crime or has been accused of misconduct.
Foxx penned her own letter, expressing concerns that the union’s “public antics” lead to racist and misogynistic threats.
“I am always available to address the concerns of your members. However, I am once again left with the impression that your aim is simply to make news, not progress,” Foxx wrote in her letter.
