Brandon Johnson, a West Side native and current Cook County Commissioner, will officially be on the ballot for the April 4 runoff election. As the more progressive candidate of the mayoral election, he is facing off against moderate Paul Vallas on political issues for the city, such as crime, public transportation, and public schooling.
Johnson’s Background
Brandon Johnson publicly stated his bid to run for mayor in late October of 2022. While behind his opponents in time, he quickly rose up in the polls. As a former public school teacher, he received support from the Chicago Teachers Union before announcing his campaign.
Johnson was elected Cook County Commissioner for the first district in 2018. This means he is responsible for approving the budgets of many county administrative officials. With this knowledge of the proper budgeting, Johnson has many plans on how to better allocate the city’s money.
His Stances on Issues
One of the issues Johnson is running on is the defunding of the Chicago Police Department. Johnson believes that an overly-funded police force does more harm than good to the communities they serve. Johnson wants to put more money into violence prevention programs and focus on the mental health of citizens and the community. This is in an attempt to stop the true root of violence before it happens.
In addition to stopping the root causes of violence, he wants to reopen mental health clinics and establish youth employment centers.
Another issue he is running on is the better use of tax money for the city. He proposed the “Big Head Business Tax” for larger corporations in Chicago that do 50% or more of their work in the city.
He also wishes to make the CTA more efficient for Chicagoans. Furthermore, he wishes to reduce or eliminate the fare for CTA riders, as well as place trained advocates at stations to aid in crisis on CTA trains and buses.
Written by Caroline Buehler
Sources:
NBC Chicago: Who is Brandon Johnson? What to Know About the Cook County Commissioner After Advancing to the Runoff Election
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Omari Jahi
Inset Image Courtesy of Omari Jahi
