Making Good
In his campaign for mayor, Brandon Johnson promised to make Chicago a more equitable and safe city. He pledged to invest in education, create jobs, and reform the police department. He also promised to be a more accessible and transparent mayor than Lori Lightfoot. Since his inauguration, he has already been making good on some of those promises.
Johnson made an appearance at the Department of Family and Support Services’ “My Chi. My Future.” Partners meeting at the Chicago Cultural Center on Thursday. Johnson gave a powerful speech in which he spoke of the strength and resiliency of Chicago’s communities and the importance of My Chi. My Future.’s youth employment programs, as well as the future of the city.
Johnson is already facing some significant challenges as mayor. Chicago is still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the city’s finances are strained. The city is also struggling with a high crime rate and ongoing racial disparities.
In his speech, Mayor Johnson opened up about his own family’s experience living in Austin, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city.
“Over the last four years, there have been more murders in the Austin neighborhood than many of the neighborhoods combined in the city of Chicago, said Johnson. My son attended a funeral of three of his classmates who buried their father, and their father was gunned down. It’s the first time my son attended a funeral like that.”
Community Safety
One of the most hotly debated topics of this past mayoral race was policing and community safety in Chicago. Many considered it to be one of Johnson’s weaker political subjects. Johnson directly addressed crime and safety issues at the partners’ meeting.
“We have to have short and long-term solutions. Part of it is to make sure that we have a layered approach in the immediate where we have strategic policing in the neighborhoods that historically have violence that is more likely to take place.”
Johnson remains an advocate of diverting money from police resources into other areas, like mental health services, youth programs, and peace officers, to help reduce both violence and police brutality. He argued in his speech that more police on the streets does not automatically mean safer streets.
“You all know we spend more money per capita on police than anywhere else in the world. In fact, the police department was larger in the 90s when I was going to high school, and there were 900 people getting murdered every year. So clearly that strategy has failed,” said Johnson. “And so that’s why we are layering all of our resources strategically with youth opportunities while also engaging all of our institutions, our faith community, our community-based organizations that have suffered tremendous harm.”
Engaging the Youth
A safer, stronger Chicago means providing our youth with engaging, paid opportunities to explore their passions, gain new skills, and connect with peers. Our work to elevate youth voices and create a youth-centered city continues! pic.twitter.com/gDBRXeKcQC
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) June 22, 2023
Johnson also answered questions from young people who were in attendance. One asked, “how do you collaborate with communities to make them better?”
Mayor Johnson answered by talking about how collaboration can be incredibly useful and productive, and that he wants to engage with people who have expertises in different areas, “whether it’s mental health, education, public safety, economic development, housing. I’m going to be the most active mayor in the history of Chicago. No one works harder than me. No one. That collaboration that you’re referring to is not just about discussion, it’s also about policies.”
Mayor Johnson is unique in the long line of Chicago Mayors. He was an outsider, never having the full backing of the city’s established political machine. Many of his takes and promises are refreshing to the ears of long-time residents. But words mean nothing if they aren’t backed by action.
Johnson is already proving that he meant what he said about being accessible and visible. The people of Chicago can only hope that he will also come through on some of his more ambitious, and ultimately more important, campaign promises.
Written by Seth Herlinger
Sources:
Associated Press: New Chicago mayor pledges commitment to progressive strategy, asks for unity
The New Yorker: Chicago’s Unlikeliest Mayor, Brandon Johnson
Partners Meeting: DFFS, My Chi. My Future., June 22, 2023
Images courtesy of Seth Herlinger
