By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has signed an executive order directing members of the city’s police department to investigate federal law enforcement and refer evidence of felony violations for prosecution.

The mayor signed the “Ice on Notice” order on Saturday and said it was a step toward justice.

“This executive order will make Chicago the first city in the country to set the groundwork to prosecute ICE and border patrol agents for criminal misconduct,” Johnson said.

The mayor said Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s office is in complete support of the executive order.

“What she has said and her office has said repeatedly, the reason why she has not moved forward with prosecution is because no evidence has been provided to her,” Johnson said.

The mayor said the order is part of a nationwide effort to hold President Donald Trump’s “authoritarian regime” accountable.

Chicago Republican Party Chairman Chuck Hernandez, a former Chicago Police Department detective, said the executive order smacks of desperation from a mayor grasping for relevance.

“All it does is create more hostility and chaos,” Hernandez told The Center Square.

Hernandez said the mayor is delusional to think police would support the order.

“He wants to foment hate for law enforcement and our federal law enforcement partners, and the police don’t want any part of this,” Hernandez said.

Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara Jr. provided a statement about Johnson’s order to The Center Square.

“The only good thing in that piece of toilet paper is ‘no CPD member will be required to arrest any federal agents,’” Catanzara said.

The John Dineen Lodge #7 leader said the order is just more political bluster from city hall.

“To demonstrate the level of incompetence in the mayor’s office, corporation council and law department, I simply point out the line about most immigration matters being civil and not criminal,” Catanzara said.

Catanzara asked if the people running the city could be any dumber.

“Entering illegally is a misdemeanor that is punishable up to six months in jail. A second offense is a felony with up to two years in jail,” Catanzara said.

Catanzara said the concerning thing about the order is the requirement for police to make a report if wrongdoing is alleged against a federal officer.

“That needs to be a two-way street and I will advise our members of such. Citizens can also be named offenders,” Catanzara said.

The mayor suggested that his order could be applied retroactively to alleged misconduct during Operation Midway Blitz last year.

Hernandez said the mayor should understand that federal agents are enforcing longstanding federal immigration law.

“If he has a problem with it or if any other Democrat in Illinois has a problem with it, they need to go to Congress and overturn federal law. This is federal law, and these federal officers are doing their job,” Hernandez said.