[The Federalist] Mark down Tuesday, April 4, as the night Chicago died.That's when we learned that Second City voters narrowly elected Brandon Johnson as their next mayor. This is a city that was flattened during the reign of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who lost in the first round of voting for Chicago mayor because she didn't finish in one of the top two spots. Lightfoot, elected in 2019 after a career as a federal prosecutor who then held several appointed positions in Chicago, shut down the city for more than a year during COVID-19. She also bankrupted small businesses, allowed rioters to burn down whole neighborhoods, presided over the worst crime wave in 50 years and let the schools go to hell.
Now, the voters have selected Johnson. Elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2018, Johnson narrowly won the mayoralty of America's third-most-populous city on April 4 over Paul Vallas, a former Chicago schools CEO and a Democrat who presented himself as a political moderate compared to the far-left Johnson.
The incoming mayor may turn out to be a worse mayor than Lightfoot. Johnson's occupation is an organizer for the teachers unions. The unions spent several million dollars on the race. They got their man.
What this means is that Chicago's municipal government will now be a fully owned subsidiary of the Chicago Teachers Union. (Can you imagine what the union contracts are going to look like?) This is a city where, in roughly two dozen schools, zero children can read or write at proficiency level.
Johnson said that crime and shoplifting from local schools are societal problems. And he may continue Lightfoot's policy of not prosecuting people who rob stores -- often owned by minorities.
Related:
Brandon Johnson: 2023-04-06 Chicago Elects Mayor Even More Radical Than Lightfoot as Her Replacement
Brandon Johnson: 2023-04-05 Let's Go Brandon: Far leftist wins Chicago Mayor Election
Brandon Johnson: 2023-03-28 Former Obama cabinet member endorses pro-police candidate: 'Best hope for a safer Chicago'
Brandon Johnson: 2023-04-06 Chicago Elects Mayor Even More Radical Than Lightfoot as Her Replacement
Brandon Johnson: 2023-04-05 Let's Go Brandon: Far leftist wins Chicago Mayor Election
Brandon Johnson: 2023-03-28 Former Obama cabinet member endorses pro-police candidate: 'Best hope for a safer Chicago'