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Chicago Voters Choose Between Progressive and Moderate for Mayor

by Madison Thomas
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Today, the people of Chicago will vote for a city leader. The two choices have different ideas about important topics like safety, taxes, education and how much money should go towards policing. Chicago is one of the biggest cities in America and it usually votes for democrats.

Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson are running against each other to be Chicago’s mayor. Paul is supported by the police union and businesses, while Brandon is backed by the teachers’ union. Mayor Lori Lightfoot wanted another term but didn’t get enough votes in February’s election – making her in the first incumbent mayor in 40 years to not get reelected.

In this election, no one candidate could get more than 50% of the votes. So the two people who got the most votes need to compete against each other in a second round of voting on Tuesday. All the candidates were Democrats, although this was an official “non-partisan” race.

A competition has been taking place due to higher rates of violence and expensive property taxes during the coronavirus pandemic. Other races, such as those for mayor in places like Philadelphia and Houston, can also be affected by this race in Chicago. People have strong opinions about things that affect big cities, like fighting crime or joining police unions. This race is seen as a way to measure how well both sides of the political debate have organized their arguments and messages about these topics.

Vallas has been criticizing Johnson because Johnson once said he would not defund police. Even though this is the case, Vallas believes that what most clearly sets them apart from each other is their experience. He used to be in charge of organizing the budget for Chicago and also managed to make improvements in schools there and in other places. He thinks his past will be very important when it comes to tackling the current problems the city is facing, like police and financial issues, as it comes out of the pandemic situation.

“Vallas said that now wasn’t the time for learning on the job or for someone who can’t give concrete answers when asked questions.”

Johnson believes Vallas, a Democrat who has run for office multiple times, is too conservative to lead Chicago. He mentioned some of Vallas’s big donors have backed Republicans including Donald Trump and the head of the police union has defended people who caused trouble on January 6th. At a rally last week with Bernie Sanders, Johnson called his opponent an extremist from the right and other “selfish people”.

At the rally full of people, Johnson said that if Paul Vallas was getting money from Donald Trump supporters while trying to show he supports progressive ideas, he should “sit down”. Both men have been involved with the Democratic Party for a long time though their paths differ.

Johnson, who is Black, had a tough childhood as he was poor. Now he is raising his children in a very dangerous area of Chicago. He taught in middle and high school and then worked to support teachers – including during the 2012 strike where the Chicago Teachers Union became important in local politics.

A 47-year-old person suggests that instead of spending more money on police and going to jail, the city should focus on providing mental health care, reasonably priced houses for everyone, and jobs for young people. He proposed a plan to make $800 million by taxing wealthy individuals and companies. The idea includes charging employers a “head tax” per employee and adding another fee on hotel stays. But one other person disagreed with this plan since he believes it would be bad for the city’s economy that is still in recovery.

Vallas was the only white person in a group of nine that competed in the February election, and he ended up coming in first. Senator Dick Durbin from Illinois and the local Chamber of Commerce gave Vallas their endorsement. His grandparents were Greek, and he spent his childhood helping out at his family’s restaurants. Additionally, two of Vallas’s sons have been police officers, with one now being a firefighter.

Paul Vallas worked at a high job in the city of Chicago under Mayor Richard M. Daley, and then took over running Chicago Public Schools. After that, he moved to different cities to lead their school districts like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Philadelphia, and Bridgeport in Connecticut. But sadly, he was unsuccessful in his run for mayor in 2019.

This election, he has focused on ways to make police officers feel better. He was a consultant for the union that talks with Mayor Lightfoot’s office to try and make things work. He also said he would give someone who already works in the police department a promotion to be the head of it all.

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