It has been called the ‘city drenched in blood from violent crime’.
But Chicago’s incoming Democrat mayor Brandon Johnson has promised ‘a new chapter in the history of our city’, despite his prior support for defunding the police.
His election marks a sea change in US politics, with his winning platform a rejection of the ‘tough-on-crime’ mantra that has gripped local politics in recent years.
The former teacher faces a mountainous in-tray to turn life around in the Windy City, where a pandemic-era rise in crime has left residents frightened and angry.
Johnson, 47, also has an uphill battle to win over Chicagoans who backed his more conservative Democrat rival, Paul Vallas, whom he defeated by around 13,000 votes.
In his concession speech Vallas, 69, noted the narrow margin showed ‘the city is deeply divided’.
Chicago’s incoming Democrat mayor Brandon Johnson, pictured celebrating his victory in Tuesday’s vote, has promised ‘a new chapter’ in the history of the city
Johnson’s opponent Paul Vallas (above) lost narrowly and warned that the city was still divided
Vallas promised to bolster the police, but Johnson’s opponents fear he will gut it instead.
So who is Chicago’s new union-backed, liberal mayor and what does his election mean for America’s third largest city?
How did he win?
The Cook County Commissioner from Elgin, south Chicago, began his career as a public school teacher at Jenner Academy in Chicago’s Near North Side.
He has been employed by the powerful Chicago Teachers Union for the last dozen years and their support proved crucial to his success.
In one early poll, Johnson garnered just 3 per cent support, but unions poured millions of dollars into his campaign, providing key endorsements and volunteers.
Some analysts, including former President Barack Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod, questioned whether voters would want a mayor ‘beholden’ to a union that has clashed repeatedly with the city’s last two mayors.
But Johnson successfully played up his background growing up in a poor, black family, teaching at a school in a notorious former public housing complex, and recounted stories of shielding his children from gunfire in their west side neighbourhood to great effect.
He also drew backing from key figures on Democratic left, including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Squad member Ayanna Pressley, as well as Chicago-born rapper and actor Common.
Johnson cited Jesse Jackson – who also backed him – and Martin Luther King Jr. in his victory speech and called his election a continuation of their legacies.
Johnson won the support of key Democrats, including Bernie Sanders and Ayanna Pressley
How is he different?
Axelrod described the mayoral election as the battle between ‘the candidate of the Fraternal Order of Police’ and the ‘candidate of the Chicago Teachers Union’.
Although both Democrats, Vallas was the more moderate, conservative candidate, compared to Johnson’s liberal, progressive vision, with their differences playing out over voters’ main concern – public safety.
Vallas vowed to make Chicago ‘the safest city in America’ by expanding its police force and taking a hard line on minor crime.
He slammed outgoing mayor Lori Lightfoot for overseeing an ‘utter breakdown of law and order’ and pledged to fully fund city police departments.
Lightfoot, the first openly lesbian black woman to serve as mayor of a major US city, had embraced calls to defund law enforcement in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, cutting around $58million from Chicago’s police budget in 2021.
In a similar vein, Johnson introduced a resolution in 2020 calling for Cook County to ‘redirect funds from policing and incarceration to public services not administered by law enforcement’, according to the Chicago Tribune.
In a radio interview the same year, he said defunding is not just a slogan but ‘an actual real political goal’, and he sponsored a nonbinding resolution on the county board to redirect money from policing and jails to social services.
During his mayoral campaign, Johnson distanced himself from his past support of defunding police and promised to promote 200 new detectives from the existing pool of officers, while strengthening police accountability.
But he has said he wants to tackle crime by ploughing money into mental health care, education, jobs and affordable housing, rather than the police.
Johnson’s other priorities included environmental justice, gender equity and education, according to his campaign website.
Johnson backed defunding law enforcement in the wake of George Floyd’s killing in 2020, but has since distanced himself from theidea
The former teacher believes the way to tackle crime is not more police funding but investment in social programs, paid for by more taxes
His opponent Vallas campaigned on a ‘tough-on-crime’ approach, promising to fully fund the police and take a hard line on minor crimes
Johnson’s supporters also sought to depict Vallas as too conservative for Chicago, citing his support for charter schools and past comments that he saw himself as more Republican than Democrat.
They also seized on his association with the Fraternal Order of Police, a nationwide organization representing sworn law encroachment officers across the US that has supported Republican politicians, while its leader, John Catanzara, has defended the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6.
Tax was another major dividing line. Johnson called for vast expansion of social programs in the city, with $80million to be raised by taxing the rich.
Vallas, who had strong support from the business community, said the plan would be disastrous for Chicago’s economy.
Race is also a factor in the city. Vallas, a white Chicagoan, had stronger support downtown and in largely white areas of the Northwest and Southwest sides.
He tried but failed to win over enough voters in majority-black neighbourhoods.
Johnson, on the other hand, was able to expand his base of white progressive voters on the North Side’s lakefront.
What challenges does he face?
Lightfoot became the first incumbent to lose reelection in the Windy City in four decades, with opponents blaming her for a sharp rise in crime.
When Lightfoot lost her bid for reelection, conservative broadcaster Megyn Kelly tweeted: ‘Turns out her rallying cry of “I am a black woman” (literally – this was her reminder) did not win over voters in a city drenched in blood from violent crime.’
Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her re-election bid over criticisms of her soft-on-crime approach amid a steady spike in violence. Pictured: Lightfoot at her election night rally on February 28
According to the Chicago Police Department’s latest report, rapes have shot up by 16 percent so far this year compared to the same time in 2022.
Robberies are also up 13 percent, with aggravated battery and burglaries both up 11 percent.
Theft in the windy city is up 31 percent, and vehicle thefts, specifically, have soared up 143 percent.
Homicides and shooting incidents were the only category to see decreases, falling by 18 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
While overall violent crime is up 52 percent from the same time last year, it’s up 102 percent when compared to 2021.
Johnson, who takes office in May, also faces a wider post-pandemic malaise, with its population in decline, a drop in public school enrollment and fewer people using public transport.
BRANDON JOHNSON
Brandon Johnson wants to tax the rich
- Former teacher, 47, from Elgin, north Chicago.
- Previously backed defunding the police, although has subsequently distanced himself from the movement.
- Believes the way to tackle crime is not more money for police but more social investment.
- Backed by the powerful, progressive Chicago Teachers Union.
- Wants to fund social programs by taxing the rich.
PAUL VALLAS
Paul Vallas promised to fully fund the police
- Former superintendent, 69, from Roseland, south Chicago.
- Promised to fully fund the police and slammed the outgoing mayor Lori Lightfoot for an ‘utter breakdown of law and order’.
- Pledged to make Chicago the ‘safest city in America’ by taking a hard line on minor crime.
- Backed by the Republican-leaning Fraternal Order of Police.
- Believes Johnson’s tax plan will spell economic disaster.
DailyMail
