Oak Park’s police officers’ union made a vote of no confidence in Police Chief Shatonya Johnson last month, village officials confirmed to Wednesday Journal on Monday.
The Fraternal Order of Police Oak Park Lodge #8 forwarded the results of the vote to Oak Park’s village board in late March, but village officials said they are standing “firmly in support of Chief Johnson” in a statement provided to the Journal by Oak Park spokesperson Dan Yopchick. The village declined to make Johnson available for an interview.
“It remains my profound honor to lead the dedicated men and women of the Oak Park Police Department, whose commitment to this community is as strong as it has ever been,” Johnson said in the statement. “I am confident in our ability to address any concerns through constructive, good-faith dialogue. My focus remains on steady leadership, transparency and accountability as we move forward. In the meantime, I will continue to lead with purpose, ensuring that we serve the Village of Oak Park with integrity, compassion and respect, while upholding the high standards our community rightfully expects.”
Johnson, whose been with the department since 2000, stepped into the role of chief in 2022, becoming the first woman to hold the position in Oak Park.
“The village of Oak Park selected Chief Shatonya Johnson following a comprehensive national search because she was, and remains, the best person for this role,” Oak Park Village Manager Kevin Jackson said in the village’s statement. “She has been a significant part of OPPD since 2000 and is the first woman to serve as police chief in this village’s history. Chief Johnson has honored that distinction every day. We are proud to have her leading the Oak Park Police Department, and that support is unwavering.”
In an interview last week with Wednesday Journal, Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman acknowledged having received the results of a no confidence vote along with a patrol officer membership survey.
“It’s not for the village board to be discussing personnel beyond the leadership of our village manager,” she said. “But to speak for myself, service, community safety, those basic services that you depend on from government, always remains of top concern and attention. That’s our job fundamentally as a municipal government, to make sure that we’re serving our community and keeping all residents equally safe and respected. So that in and of itself, just means we support our staff in having a healthy working environment.”
Wednesday Journal is waiting on comment from the union at this time.
The village’s statement emphasized some of the challenges that the department has faced since Johnson took over leadership of the department including the fatal shooting of Oak Park Detective Allan Reddins, a chronic officer shortage in the department, 2023’s “migrant crisis” and the department’s continued occupation of the “inadequate” police headquarters in the basement of Village Hall. The village’s statement also pointed to Johnson’s role in recent departmental reforms for “accountability and transparency.”
“Votes of no confidence can be a legitimate expression of workplace frustration,” the statement said. “The village hears that frustration. But frustration with some circumstances that predate Chief Johnson’s tenure, and that she has worked harder than anyone to change, should not be directed at her leadership.”
This is a developing story.