Chicago’s new mayor pledges commitment to progressive strategy and calls for unity

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson began his first term on Mondaycalling on Chicagoans to put aside deep-seated differences, face challenges together, and build “a city that works for all.”

Johnson, 47, whose victory was touted by progressives as evidence that bold stands lead to victory, must immediately deal with an influx of immigrants in desperate need of refuge, pressure to build support among skeptical business leaders, and the summer months that historically bring a rise in violent crime. His first term in charge of the nation’s third-largest city will test the former union organizer’s ability to turn his proposals into solutions to lingering problems made worse by the coronavirus pandemic, including public safety, economic growth and the affordability of the House.

“Let’s show the world, Chicago, where our heart is,” Johnson said in his inaugural address to a cheering crowd. “Let’s build a Chicago that is the economic wonder of our state, the Midwest and this nation. Let’s build a Chicago that means our economy can grow by diverting the rivers of prosperity toward the foundation of disinvestment. So that no one goes thirsty.”

The former Chicago Teachers Union organizer was little known when he entered the mayoral race in 2022 and has no experience within city government. But the two-term Cook County commissioner gradually rose to the top of a crowded field with the support of the influential union he once worked for, Sens’s endorsement. bernie sanders and Elizabeth Warren and local progressives for take down the incumbent mayor, Lori Lightfootand win a tough runoff in April.

Seeking to appeal to those who did not back him in the election, he filled his transition team with familiar names from Chicago corporations and philanthropic organizations, as well as leaders of organized labor and progressive groups. He selected a Chicago emergency management agency veteran as his chief of staff and a retired police major who is popular with rank and file officers as acting leader of the Chicago Police Department.

There is no question that public safety will remain the city’s top concern, and Johnson’s response will shape his relationship with business leaders, elected officials, his base of progressive activists, and residents of every Chicago neighborhood.

“A safe Chicago means a safe Chicago for everyone, no matter what they look like, who they love or where they live,” Johnson said Monday, pledging a strategy based on more mental health care, violence prevention programs and police accountability. .

Asiaha Butler, co-founder of the Greater Englewood Residents Association on the South Side, said she hopes Johnson remains committed to his pervasive approach to crime, and that Chicagoans give him the chance to make a difference. Butler said that improving security on her block took up to 15 years of cooperation with neighbors and other community groups.

“Knowing the desperation our city sometimes faces, it’s going to take a while to lift that cloud,” Butler said. “I wouldn’t put anybody up to that job in a term.”

Chicago has a higher per capita homicide rate than New York or Los Angeles, but the most recent federal data shows it is lower than other Midwestern cities such as St. Louis and Detroit. Still, the number of homicides in Chicago reached a 25-year high in 2021 with 804, according to the Chicago Police Department.

That number decreased last year, while other crimes, such as robberies and car thefts, increased.

Chicago business leaders overwhelmingly supported Johnson’s opponentformer Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas, usually swayed by his argument for strengthening surveillance, or Johnson’s various tax proposals that hit big business and the wealthy.

The mayoral race was dominated by questions about how to approach crime, and Johnson argued that a police-first approach has failed.

Instead, proposed to increase mental health treatment, hiring more detectives, expanding youth employment programs, and increasing taxes on the sale of properties over $1 million to support more affordable housing. Johnson will also have the final say on the appointment of the city’s next police superintendent, although for the first time an appointed citizens’ commission will select three finalists.

Andrea Sáenz, president and CEO of the Chicago Community Trust, said she is hopeful Johnson can unite philanthropies, businesses, police officers and activists to create a comprehensive strategy to prevent violence now and remove the conditions that enabled it. to flourish.

“It seems like this is a moment, the moment, to have those conversations, for a mayor to bring everyone to the table,” Saenz said.

Johnson has shown no sign of backing down on his campaign strategies. When violence erupted when teenagers flooded the streets of downtown Chicago in mid-April, he issued a statement calling on people not to “demonize young people who have otherwise been deprived of opportunities in their own communities”.

Paying for his campaign promises, including the public safety response, hinges on a series of tax increases targeted at high-income earners and large corporations likely to put up a political fight. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the state’s most influential Democrat, refused to back Johnson’s proposal to tax financial transactions, which would require approval by state lawmakers.

Johnson is also taking on a growing immigration crisis. Chicago is one of the US cities they are already struggling to provide shelter and other aid to hundreds arriving from the southern border, with families sleeping in the lobbies of the police stations. The flow of arrivals is expected to increase now that pandemic-era restrictions on migrant crossings have ended.

Johnson said Monday that he is committed to welcoming all who come here, saying the strength of a city depends on how it treats the vulnerable. He did not provide new details about his administration’s strategy.

Illinois State Rep. Kam Buckner, a Chicago Democrat who is also running for mayor, said Johnson will have to use the same strategy that got him for mayor to achieve his many priorities.

“What Lori Lightfoot learned is that in Chicago, your defenders can quickly become your detractors,” Buckner said. “We want our leaders to be authentic, to have conversations with us about the future. As long as he continues to do that, I think people will give him a chance.”