Chicago voters focused on public safety booted incumbent Lori Lightfoot, and now, two candidates with differing views on crime will tangle in April runoff.
In 2019, Lori Lightfoot became the mayor of Chicago as a candidate for reform, promising to break away from the political elite of the city. She also made history as the first Black woman and first openly gay person to hold this position, winning in all 50 wards.
In just four short years, the political dynamics of the Second City have dramatically changed. This shift was evident when Lightfoot failed to secure a spot in the top two and move on to the April runoff. Chicago now joins other major cities that have faced mayoral elections that will put them to the test. The opinions of a mostly Democratic group of people towards crime and policing are being observed.
Lightfoot had some disagreements with police and teachers’ unions while also having some less than friendly relationships with city aldermen and Illinois’ Democratic governor. As a result, she had few influential allies. Additionally, voters were uneasy due to an increase in violent crime during her time in office as well as other concerns. The public transportation system still has some service gaps and delays, but Mayor Lightfoot’s handling of the pandemic has been well-received. Unfortunately, the city’s economic recovery has been slow.
During the municipal election, Lightfoot came in third among nine candidates, with only about 1 in 6 Chicago voters supporting her. This makes her the first full-term incumbent Chicago mayor to lose reelection in 40 years.
The election results highlighted the community’s dedication to public safety, which has become increasingly important due to a surge in violence within the city during 2020 and 2021. While incidents of shootings and murders have decreased since then, other crimes such as theft, car-jacking, robberies, and burglaries have unfortunately increased since last year. Based on the year-end report of the Chicago Police Department for 2022.
Paul Vallas, a former schools superintendent who advocated for a strict stance on crime, and Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner with support from the important teachers’ union, both made it to the final round of the election in just five weeks.
Vallas, who is the most conservative candidate, plans to tackle crime by bringing in more police officers, while Johnson, the most liberal candidate, wants to address the root causes of crime and even suggested cutting police funding at one point.
Vallas spoke at his campaign party on Tuesday night and said, “Our goal is to create a secure Chicago. We aim to make Chicago the safest city in America.”
The city’s weak economic recuperation from the pandemic is linked to criminal activity. During a speech at The Economic Club of Chicago last autumn, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski mentioned that the company was experiencing difficulty persuading potential staff to move to the West where McDonald’s has many branches. Welcome to Loop headquarters!
“He mentioned how it manifests itself in various forms,” he explained. “Crime has a widespread impact on people’s mindset, and it has an impact on us all. It’s hindering progress for everyone involved.”
What’s changed since 2019?
The election’s emphasis on crime and safety demonstrated how the citizens’ perspectives and the city’s priorities had evolved over the four years since Lightfoot ran on a platform of reforming the police force and improving officer oversight and discipline.
In 2019, Lightfoot surprised everyone by winning first place in a crowded mayoral primary with just 17.5% of the vote. She beat Toni Preckwinkle, the Cook County board president and a longtime political figure in Chicago, in the runoff as voters were looking for a change.
Lightfoot promised on the night of her triumph, “We are capable and determined to transform Chicago.”
The first round of the 2019 elections had a low turnout with less than one out of five Chicago voters supporting the first-place winner who advanced to the runoff. This outcome foreshadowed the challenges that Lightfoot would face in the future.
She had won an office that has always been controversial without a steady support base. Though her strength was beneficial during her campaign, it caused Lightfoot to lose some of the allies she had accumulated on her path to success.
One of Lightfoot’s significant challenges was facing off against teacher and police unions before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in both groups supporting other candidates in the 2023 mayoral race.
In 2019, there was a disagreement over pay and class size between Lightfoot and the Chicago Teachers Union, which resulted in an 11-day strike. Last year, they disagreed again as Lightfoot urged teachers to go back to the classroom during a rise in Covid-19 cases.
Last fall, the union endorsed Johnson, who was not very well known outside his Cook County commission district, yet propelled him into the top choice among nine candidates.
According to union President Stacy Davis Gates, Tuesday’s election results show that Chicago is ready to move past outdated political practices that disregard the requirements of our students, their families, and school communities.
Last year, Lightfoot angered police during a dispute about overtime pay in a department struggling to retain and recruit officers. She described officers as having an “incredible” amount of time off, causing further tension in the ongoing conflict between police and the community. During Lightfoot’s leadership, she worked hard to control and reduce overtime expenses.
The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police showed support for Vallas, who previously held positions as schools chief in Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Bridgeport, Connecticut. Vallas campaigned on a pro-police platform and highlighted the fact that he had family members who were officers.
His tough stance on crime also drew in more conservative voters. Even though Chicago is an overwhelmingly blue and diverse city, with 83% of the electorate supporting the Democratic ticket in the 2020 presidential election, getting any amount of support in such a fragmented campaign is crucial.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown shared on Wednesday that he will step down from his position in March. This will provide an opportunity for the next mayor to bring in new leadership to the department.
The most recent mayoral election was focused on the issue of crime.
The recent mayoral races in Chicago resembled those in New York City in 2021, won by former police captain Mayor Eric Adams, and in Los Angeles in 2022, where then-Representative Karen Bass defeated billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who had invested more than $100 million into a campaign centered around law and order.
Bass won over Caruso by proposing her own ideas, such as increasing the number of police officers on the streets and declaring a state of emergency to address the homelessness crisis.
Although Vallas’ message may be similar to Adams’ message in New York, the people delivering the messages are different – Adams is African American and Vallas is Caucasian.
On Tuesday, Vallas and Johnson had a good showing in the northern part of the city which is mostly inhabited by White people. Meanwhile, Lightfoot performed well in the predominantly Black areas to the south and west.
These findings emphasize the fact that the runoff election is going to be a competition for the support of Black voters, and the differing viewpoints of Vallas and Johnson on policing are expected to be a primary focus.
During Johnson’s uplifting speech on Tuesday night, he demonstrated his intention to unite with liberals who supported other candidates in the nine-person field. He even mentioned each candidate by name.
Johnson reassured all those who voted for other candidates that he is running to be the mayor for them as well.
He promised to fight for the safety of everyone in the city, and also to make sure that the trains run on time and the public schools have all the resources they need.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Vallas announced his candidacy for Mayor of Chicago, stating that he wants to represent all of the city and ensure that public safety is a basic human right. He believes that everyone in every neighborhood deserves to feel safe.
