A former top aide to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is alleging that the mayor's office had a 'level of hostility' toward law enforcement.
Manny Whitfield has served in a Chicago city government role for seven years, and said he expected to be on track to one day become the next deputy mayor for public safety. But those plans came to a crashing halt last Thursday when Whitfield, serving under Mayor Brandon Johnson as director of violence prevention and community safety, was shown the door.
Whitfield was fired alongside then Deputy Mayor Garien Gatewood, with senior Johnson staff members claiming they wanted to go in a different direction. Whitfield said some of the discord stems from the fact that he and Gatewood placed an employee on probation for poor performance and failure to show up for work. Whitfield said that the employee is close with the mayor and senior leadership and was placed on a performance improvement plan with the Department of Human Resources. But instead of disciplining the employee, Whitfield said he and Gatewood were fired instead."Their quality of work was not there, the quantity of work was not there, and the time management was poor," Whitfield said of this employee. "It is the nature in the office that, when you hold folks accountable, you are a threat."Whitfield also said he and Gatewood had to prod the mayor to show up at the hospital for fallen law enforcement members, a part of the job he says is crucial for the mayor to do. Whitfield said he fears there is a culture of hostility toward law enforcement among the mayor and his senior leaders."Absolutely there is a level of hostility, and it was our job to balance that out," Whitfield said. "We understand there has been harm caused in the past, but it is our job to make sure the police department moves in the right direction."Whitfield's comments on Monday echo a similar refrain from Gatewood, who spoke out with Fox 32 last Thursday, hours after his firing. After the interview, a source in the mayor's office claimed that it was Gatewood who presided over a hostile work environment.But on Monday, Whitfield revealed that he and Gatewood filed a hostile work environment complaint against the mayor's senior leadership, including top political aide Jason Lee and Chief of Staff Christina Pacione Zayas, with the city's Inspector General.A spokesperson from the mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations made by Whitfield.
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