Donald Trump

Chicago's Top Cop Won't Attend Trump's Speech at Police Chief Conference

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said he looks forward "to hosting America's police chiefs and collaborating on the best ways to keep our cities safe in the upcoming week," but he will not hear the president's speech

Chicago's top cop won't be in attendance when President Donald Trump addresses the International Association of Chiefs of Police at their annual conference in the city next week. 

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said he looks forward "to hosting America's police chiefs and collaborating on the best ways to keep our cities safe in the upcoming week," but he will not hear the president's speech. 

"I will not be attending the president’s speech because the values of the people of Chicago are more important than anything the he [sic] would have to say," Johnson said in a statement.  

Trump is scheduled to speak at the conference during his visit to Chicago Monday, a White House official confirmed. It is the same conference where Trump made headlines last year for calling for the use of "stop-and-frisk" to combat the city's violence. 

There, Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Chicago for its violence, spoke at the IACP's 2018 conference in Florida, announcing he directed the attorney general's office "help straighten out the terrible shooting wave."

"I’ve told them to work with local authorities to try to change the terrible deal the city of Chicago entered into with ACLU, which ties law enforcement’s hands," he said at the time. "And to strongly consider stop-and-frisk. It works, and it was meant for problems like Chicago." 

Trump is slated to visit the city Monday for a fundraiser, marking his first visit Chicago as president. 

He previously visited the city twice as a candidate, first in March 2016 for a rally he ultimately canceled over safety concerns, prompting clashes between the thousands of protesters and supporters who had gathered inside the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion for the event.

Trump returned to Chicago that September for a campaign event at the Polish National Alliance in the Edgebrook neighborhood, followed by a fundraiser in suburban Bolingbrook.

An invitation for the Monday fundraiser, obtained by NBC 5, indicates that the event will be hosted in part by Todd Ricketts, the Republican National Committee finance chair and part-owner of the Chicago Cubs.

Ricketts also serves as the chair of the Trump Victory Committee, a joint fundraising committee for the RNC and the president's campaign organization. In June, he hosted a reception at Wrigley Field as part of a three-day retreat in Chicago for major Trump donors.

Also listed among the hosts for Monday's event were RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, Co-Chairman Tommy Hicks Jr. and Trump's Campaign Manager Brad Parscale.

Tickets ranged widely in price, from $2,800 per person for a ticket to the lunch to $35,000 per couple for a photo opportunity, reaching $100,000 per person for access to a roundtable discussion with Trump.

Details on where the event was slated to be held weren't immediately known.

Former President Barack Obama will also be in Chicago on Monday, alongside his wife Michelle Obama for the third annual Obama Foundation summit at the future location of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. 

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