The contest is between Brandon Johnson, a native Chicagoan with concrete plans to address Chicago’s issues, and Paul Vallas, a privatizer with a proven track record of decimating public schools in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans.
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Brandon Johnson’s Platform: “A city where you can thrive regardless of who you love or how much money you have in your bank account. A city that respects the workers who keep it running, that actually values them by building new, affordable housing, blazing a pathway for homeownership.”
Brandon has a proven track record of investing in people and following through on campaign promises. As a Cook County commissioner, he increased funding for violence prevention, spearheaded a budget for Black lives, created the Cook County Equity Fund, and allocated $75 million in COVID relief funds for violence prevention programming. He expanded access to housing, passed legislation to end housing discrimination against formerly incarcerated people, provided legal representation to immigrants facing deportation, and expanded funding for legal aid and eviction defense. As a Chicago Teachers’ Union organizer, he led multi-racial coalitions with social workers that created sustainable community schools, and organized community programming in neighborhood schools. He helped pass Medicare for All legislation, providing health care coverage for 40,000 additional Cook County residents through County Care.
His public safety plan gets at the root causes and the immediacy of violence. He plans to promote 200 more detectives to solve crimes and will make sure that the police consent decree is enacted with all expediency. “There’s a direct correlation between youth employment in violence production,” Jordan said. We’re going to reopen our mental health centers. The trauma that we are experiencing is an overwhelming fight that we cannot continue.
Johnson said police officers should not be in positions where they have to be social workers and counselors. He supports Treatment Not Trauma that provides professional workers on mental health crisis calls. He will reopen the closed mental health clinics, provide year-round youth employment, an Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and expand park and school-based programming.
Johnson supports the Bring Chicago Home campaign to create a dedicated revenue stream for permanent supportive and affordable housing. He commits to ending houselessness by fully funding affordable housing and city community support services so that all people, including people with disabilities, can live lives of their choosing in safe, stable, and supportive housing.His platform explicitly calls for “financial support and stability for the city’s art workers—including safe working conditions, pay transparency, and more accessible funding opportunities.” https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/artists-are-all-in-for-brandon-johnson/
Johnson “will be a partner in working with Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union to remove obstacles in the way of achieving excellent schools, rather than contributing to constant friction.” He states he will “advocate and build coalitions to identify revenue sources and structures that, over time, will deliver the fully funded schools that families and communities deserve.” https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/1/23620648/chicago-mayor-mayoral-election-2023-brandon-johnson-paul-vallas-runoff-education-overview-guide
“I believe that the City of Chicago can be stronger and safer. We can do it together as we work throughout the city. I’ve done this as an organizer and as a Cook County Commissioner passing multi-billion dollar budgets. I’ve seen what’s possible when we organize and do it together.” https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/1187261
When Paul Vallas led Chicago Public Schools (CPS), he defunded public schools, stopped paying into the pension fund, and turned around CPS curricula, leading to the mass exodus of black teachers from schools.
Vallas is actually on record as a Republican and is against a woman’s right to choose. He is on the record against inclusive anti-racist school curriculum. He stated that African-American history lessons “distract from quality instruction in the core subject areas . . . —our standards suffer and damage is done.”
He runs on the GOP strategy of fear-mongering and touts solutions favored by the elite like simply hiring more police. Vallas is aligned with extremists like FOP president John Catanzara who defended the Jan. 6 rioters, Republican billionaires who funded Bruce Rauner, Trump supporters like failed gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey, and misogynist Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk. Powerful, corporate politicians from both political parties have endorsed Paul Vallas. The truth about Paul Vallas by Activate Chicago Parents webinar – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX54m2Q0AxU/
Conclusion
These are Chicago’s choices: a planned, cooperative effort for a city that will thrive with accountability, equitable resources, and shared communication between leadership and the people; or a police state with privatized public services and gentrification. The choices are exhilarating and the people have joined together in solidarity to start a real city of Broad Shoulders. There is a hopeful expectation of moving toward equity. The answer to success comes from the voting booth. There is a frenzy to register new voters, as well as webinars, town halls, and forums to engage voters. There is joy and hope in Chicago! Stay tuned.
Kathy Powers is a lifetime Chicagoan. At 50, Kathy speaks out as the voice of the people. She became a revolutionary activist whose lifelong fight raises unheard voices. She is the Health Care Desk on the People’s Tribune Editorial Board.
