During a recent debate he said it’s “nonsense” that he opposes reproductive rights. On a conservative talk show in 2009, Vallas said he is opposed to abortion, a comment his campaign says was taken out of context. where abortion is legal, which has made the state, and Chicago, a destination for people seeking the procedure. Illinois is one of the few places in the central U.S. Vallas’ support for abortion rights also has been called into question. Ron DeSantis, considered a top GOP candidate for president in 2024, though Vallas issued a statement rebuking the Republican. Johnson has attacked Vallas as a Republican in disguise, noting that Vallas has made comments about being more of a Republican than a Democrat and accepted the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police. In a 2020 interview, Johnson said defunding was not just a slogan but an “actual political goal.”Īsked about the comment during a debate this month, Johnson distanced himself, saying, “I said it was a political goal, I never said it was mine.” But as a county commissioner, he sponsored a symbolic resolution to redirect money from law enforcement to social services, such as mental health care.

Johnson says he would not cut the number of police officers in the department.

He has criticized Johnson as supporting a movement to “defund” the police, which activists across the United States called for after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020.

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