As I recently sat at the traffic light at 119th & Ashland, a red and white “Willie Wilson for Mayor” sign was still displayed on the bridge over the I-57 from Round One. It was not in a place where I could easily snatch it as a souvenir. The election was over and a resounding question was “Did Paul Vallas lose it or did Brandon Johnson win it?” Although certainly not a landslide, the final numbers of 49 to 51% respectively, Johnson won it. I wondered about the old-school ideals of Vallas versus a progressive movement by Johnson.
Public safety was the number one issue of the campaign as residents, businesses, visitors, etc., were all affected by crime. Old-school ideals of Vallas were only dashed dreams now. His comprehensive plan to slow the exodus of police included a normal schedule for them, promote from within under rank and file, add another police academy, restore beat integrity, and return to community-based policing. I wondered about Vallas’s claim that many retired police officers would come back to fill vacancies. Why would they want to come back when they actually made it to retirement?
Vallas said that 26% of vacancies of the Magnificent Mile were because neither customers nor workers wanted to come, especially on public transportation because of crime. A perfect example was on April 15th when hundreds of young people took over the downtown area by attacking people, jumping on cars, damaging property, blocking traffic, and a couple people were shot. The incident made national news. One witness who helped a tourist couple who were beaten and robbed said the police drove right past them as she flagged them down.
Only 15 people were arrested as we saw police standing by. The police seemed to have no plan. Perhaps they just didn’t want to get involved. If they get involved, they could get hurt. If they have to arrest people, it could escalate. If they get forceful, they could get sued. They’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. News reports stated some officers said to expect more of this behavior because of Johnson’s win. Regardless of the election outcome, police still need to fulfill their mission.
Mayor-elect Johnson said that though he “does not condone the destructive activity that took place downtown [April 15], it was not constructive to demonize youth who have been starved of opportunities in their own communities.” Throughout the debates and interviews, Johnson was understanding about Black Lives Matter’s destructive actions. Regarding the George Floyd riots, he said looters were acting out of desperation.
Johnson refused three times in one forum to answer the question about his quoted statement of defunding the police. He emphasized prevention – invest in youth with jobs and mental health facilities. His plan of having mental healthcare and social workers handle many police calls will allow them to deal with more violent crimes. During one debate, a moderator pointed out that nation-wide studies showed such workers were also at a shortage. Johnson admitted that healthcare professionals would not necessarily respond. Instead, everyday people who have experienced trauma would qualify.
The concept of “Treatment Not Trauma” regarding mental health responders instead of police is not new nation-wide but less so in Chicago. We will likely be hearing more about it once Johnson takes office. Many who hoped for Vallas to win with his public safety plan of more police may feel like depressed dinosaurs. The same can be said for Willie Wilson supporters who wanted the old-school approach. Wilson and other former mayoral candidate, Ald. Sophia King, both wanted to re-open mental health facilities and were pro-police, also endorsed Vallas.
Many undecided voters are swayed by endorsements when they like qualities and values of the endorser. The endorsements for Vallas by 27-year-old activist and former mayoral candidate, Ja’mal Green, and 76-year-old former Ald. Bobby Rush were unexpected. Green was expected to draw young voters while Rush was a controversial figure who could unite blacks with a white candidate.
Race is always a factor in elections. Chicago is a diverse city and the candidate needs to represent all. An important factor with Vallas was he always had black people in his commercials, but more importantly, standing near him in gatherings. Hispanics seemed divided with Vallas getting former CPS Board President, Gery Chico’s support and Johnson getting Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s. I saw no Asians in commercials or gatherings for either candidate. Also missing was the infamous slogan “Let’s Go Brandon” as part of Johnson’s campaign.
Johnson claimed his vision was multi-generational and multi-cultural. All I saw around him were blacks. When Anjanette Young, the victim of a 2019 botched police raid, endorsed Johnson, he literally looked like he had stars in his eyes. Hopefully, he gets his head out of the clouds and his feet on the ground, as his dream has come true. Despite concerns about how beholden Johnson will be to the Teacher’s Union who put him in position, the People have spoken.
Johnson seemed to come out of nowhere to become a major player in the government of the country. Chicago being one of the most influential cities in the nation makes him bigger than life.
The old school pic was a good choice for showing how things were vs how he wants things to be. I would prefer a marriage of both the past and the future. But Johnson is a headstrong type who will demand things be his way. In school as a teacher, he did not believe in grades or homework. Radical for sure. But only the tip of the iceberg.
Defunding the police and taking that money elsewhere is a huge mistake by any measure. WE NEED LAW AND ORDER. WE NEED POLICE. This is the current priority for cities.
Johnson thinks that social workers can respond to 911 calls and that their community experiences will solve the problems. I hope that he is right. But crime tends to escalate without law and order.
Police are afraid to act today for fear of losing their jobs or law suits. That is terrible. There is very little respect for the police today in the cities. Gangs actually fight police. They shoot at them, burn their cars. So why have police at all? I mean, who can rescue the police?
Depressed dinosaurs is another good picture of the way that things were. Vallas is one such dinosaur. He had all the right answers in theory. But Johnson had mostly black folks in his commercials and his fast-talking radical anti-police rhetoric along with the strong backing of the teachers union won him the slim margin of votes to win.
The big cities of the USA are all in black trouble. Watch the news of all the yutes shooting people. They are 90% black. Why is that? Johnson should give them all grades and homework assignments before they are released back onto the streets only to commit crimes again and again. Let’s go Brandon. You better be right.
There are no easy answers here. CBS News recently reported how Johnson rose above the main candidates – Lightfoot, Vallas, Garcia and Wilson. With those four, you knew what you were going to get. Johnson was new. Also, Lightfoot and Garcia focused on tearing each other down, which benefitted Johnson. There’s also the saying “better the devil you know.”
I know what you mean about black-dominated crime on the news and don’t like it. It’s too one-sided. How do you think blacks feel? There is a lot of frustration among them, especially the old-school dinosaurs. It’s generational as well.
There was also a young woman on a panel on election night who spoke of how her generation does not get their news or ads from TV. They use social media and Johnson was apparently big on that despite his TV commercials. The teacher’s union and supporters outnumbered the police supporters too. I’m curious but not comfortable with this four-year term.
It doesn’t matter how he got there. We’re here now. Johnson’s gonna be the mayor. I believe it’s a good thing that we have a strong black man in this position. And by strong, I mean he’s a man of the people. The black community, which suffers the most of the brunt of these problems, maybe he can reach them and instill some old-school values.
I believe many black people have at their core, the same values. The answer to their problems rest in the hands of the families. If we’re going to change the way people think and feel, it has to come from deep within. This article certainly made me think and made me come to these conclusions. I wish Mr. Johnson great success for if he can turn this city around and unite us, maybe he can turn the country around.
It will be interesting to see what happens and I hope you’re right. However, Johnson did not run on old-school values. He represents a progressive movement. What kind of progress? It’s difficult to accept change and old-school ideas are likely heading in the same direction as dinosaurs.