The Chicago mayoral race is down to the wire as the runoff election approaches, with national and local Democrats split between candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas, who offer vastly different methods to tackle hot-button national matters.
Johnson, a more progressive candidate, and Vallas, who offers a centrist perspective, are heading to the April 4 runoff election to become the next mayor of Chicago after ousting Lori Lightfoot in February. The election cycle has highlighted a nationwide debate between Democrats on how to handle matters relating to crime and education, causing influential unions and politicians to hop into the race.
CHICAGO MAYORAL RACE: RUNOFF CANDIDATES RESUME ATTACKS AS ELECTION APPROACHES
Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara sparked scrutiny after he claimed that there would be "blood in the streets" if Johnson is elected mayor.
"If this guy gets in, we’re going to see an exodus like we’ve never seen before,” he said of Johnson.
The police union endorsed Vallas, who has received severe backlash from Johnson and other critics for his connection to the union and Catanzara, who has made charged comments in the past relating the coronavirus pandemic's vaccine mandate to the Holocaust and for inviting Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to speak with officers.
Tackling crime is a big-ticket topic plaguing Democratic-controlled cities, as crime rates have increased in recent years and have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. While violent crime is facing a downward trend for 2023, property crimes, motor theft, and other less-deadly crimes are increasing dramatically, and Chicago is not immune to the effects. A new mayor will inherit a crime-infested city that already has reported 115 homicides for 2023, per a Chicago Tribune database.
Vallas and Johnson offer polarizing views on crime, with the former focusing on hiring and putting more officers on Chicago's streets and the latter advocating comprehensive reform of the criminal justice system, prioritizing mental health and affordable housing, as well as promoting detectives to solve crimes.
Democratic strategists believe Vallas's connection to more Republican-leaning ideologies and donors may negatively affect him in the election, with strategist Douglas Wilson believing that Vallas “has to be very careful” about how he presents his plan for crime and policing with voters.
"He’ll have to say something to the effect of ‘We need police reform, but we also have to be able to recruit more good police so we can fight crime and keep these crime levels down because folks are dying out there,’” Wilson told the Hill.
On the other side, however, Wilson said Johnson's stance on policing could be an easy attack for centrist Democrats and Republican voters.
“In the city where there has been high levels of crime, progressives won, and that just shows progressives are not tough on crime,” Wilson said of a possible GOP argument. “They’ll try and use that as fodder nationwide."
Both candidates have received endorsements from national and state lawmakers, largely following ideological lines. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has endorsed Vallas, while Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) endorsed Johnson.
“I think that they do represent two, quite frankly, stark different visions of the Democratic Party,” political operative Victor Reyes, who’s supporting Vallas, said.
Tensions among the candidates are rising, with their latest debates centered on resume attacks and leadership capabilities. Vallas's biggest debate point has been arguing that Johnson wants to remove police officers from the streets, recalling previous comments Johnson made supporting the "defund the police" movement, another contentious topic that far-left Democrats support and divides the Democratic Party across several U.S. cities.
“I do think that some of these cities are starting to push a little bit back against a far-left agenda,” Reyes said, pointing to Chicago and Johnson himself fitting that bill.
However, Johnson has pushed back against these claims, positioning himself as a visionary leader, recently portraying Vallas as someone lacking "love" at his final campaign events over the weekend.
“Those who do not possess that love, they start to act out,” Johnson said. “My mother would say they’re just showing out. But there are days, y’all, that are in front of us. We’re gonna bring them along, too, because that’s the true essence of love. That we love our opponents, too.”
“I know there are individuals that want to divide the city of Chicago. We’re running to unite the city of Chicago,” Johnson continued. “This is an exciting moment. So we’re not going to allow those who do not want to see us united to characterize this."
Improving Chicago's educational system is also a major focal point of the election. The Chicago Teachers Union and several education-aligned groups have overwhelmingly backed Johnson, as Vallas has been heavily scrutinized for his handling of low-performing students and his budget management at schools in Philadelphia and New Orleans.
Vallas has scrutinized Johnson for his short tenure as a teacher within the Chicago Public Schools system, pointed to the union's support of school closures during the pandemic as a reason for a dip in the city's educational performance, and endorsed funneling money directly to institutions. He also has emphasized his support of charter schools and placing police officers in schools.
Johnson, on the other side, has opposed charter schools and rejects student-based funding, advocating needs-based funding, expanding staffing, and increasing clinicians and counselors. He also supports expanding partnerships with city colleges and trade schools and improving under-enrolled schools to accommodate child care and health clinics.
Democratic strategists agree that whoever wins the Chicago mayoral race will have to work across the board to unite groups, organizations, unions, and people who voted against them.
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“If Brandon Johnson wins, how will he deal with the FOP? If Paul Vallas wins, how will he deal with CTU?" Tracy Mayfield, a former adviser to Lightfoot's 2019 campaign, told the Hill. "For the well-being of Chicagoans, we need a mayor to have a functional relationship with both police and teachers."
A Victory Research poll released Sunday night shows Vallas with a 4-point lead over Johnson, 49.6% to 45.4%. The number of "undecided" voters shrank from 9.6% to 5%, per the poll.