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Washington Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Trump rides to the rescue of Chicago's flailing mayor
Two years ago, Chicago voters dumped their unpopular incumbent mayor, Lori Lightfoot, a standard-issue Democratic progressive, and replaced her with Brandon Johnson, who is, if anything, an even harder-left progressive. It was as though voters thought there was only one way to run a city, and they were ready to keep trying until they got it right. Fast-forward to this year, and Johnson's approval rating is 14 percent, according to an Illinois Policy Institute poll in January. Of the 798 registered Chicago voters polled by M3 Strategies, nearly 80 percent had an unfavorable view of Johnson, including 65 percent 'very unfavorable.' Johnson defends his record by pointing to a decline in crime that has been dramatic by some measures — this past April saw the fewest murders in that month since 1962, though violent crime has been declining nationwide. And you might figure a drop in crime should make the mayor's approval numbers rise, not fall close to the level of disdain Americans show for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin (8 percent, according to a Pew Research poll). Beyond crime, the story of Johnson's first two years is a familiar one: lousy public services with a high cost of living exacerbated by seemingly endless tax increases. The Chicago budget passed in December included $181 million in new taxes and fees. These included hiking a cloud services and digital goods tax from 9 percent to 11 percent; raising the streaming and cable TV tax from 9 percent to 10.25 percent; and increasing the parking tax to 23.25 percent. Oh, and adding a $3 ride-hailing surcharge on weekends and increasing the single-use bag tax from 7 cents to 10 cents. Johnson wanted even higher taxes. In 2024, the mayor offered a ballot referendum called Bring Chicago Home that would have raised transfer taxes on properties that sell for more than $1 million and used the revenue to fund homelessness programs, but 52 percent of voters rejected it. When Johnson was a mayoral candidate, one of the few areas where he didn't want to raise taxes was property taxes, and no wonder. The Civic Federation, a nonpartisan local research organization, noted in a report last fall that 'a taxpayer in the City of Chicago pays property taxes to 7 or 8 local governments, depending on which part of the City they live.' (Those local governments include Cook County, the city of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Park District, Forest Preserve District of Cook County and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Chicago residents living south of 87th Street also pay property taxes to the South Cook Mosquito Abatement District.) But despite Johnson's campaign promise, he proposed $300 million in property tax hikes in October that the City Council unanimously rejected. After the defeat, the Wall Street Journal editorial board called Johnson 'America's worst mayor.' In Johnson's defense, at the time of that editorial, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) had yet to be photographed posing for photos at a cocktail party in Ghana while the Palisades Fire was torching a good chunk of her city. This is why we need a playoff system. Living in a big city almost always costs more than in the suburbs or rural areas, but Chicago's city government seems dead-set on wringing money from residents in every way imaginable. Now, they are rationally concluding that the mayor and his administration aren't delivering. With such an abysmal approval rating and no sign of Johnson reconsidering his governing philosophy, you might think it would take a miracle to resuscitate his popularity and political future. Well, that miracle seems to be arriving in the form of the U.S. Justice Department. On May 19, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon wrote to Johnson, informing him that the Justice Department is investigating his administration to see if it 'engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race.' The day before, in a speech at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood, Johnson boasted that his deputy mayors, budget director, chief operations officer and senior advisers were Black, and added, 'When you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else. We are the most generous people on the planet.' That's a thin reed on which to base an accusation of racial discrimination in city hiring, and you're forgiven if you doubt that's the wisest use of Justice Department resources. (If prosecutors can prove that the city is turning away qualified applicants because of their race, that's a different story.) It isn't as if bringing down a Democratic mayor would boost Republican prospects in Chicago; Donald Trump received just 28 percent of the vote in Cook County in November, his worst performance in any Illinois county. If anything, the Trump administration is helping Johnson by going after him; few things could make Chicago Democrats instinctively unite like an attack on the mayor by this White House. If Johnson's numbers improve and the severely underperforming mayor tightens his grip on City Hall, that will ensure Chicago remains a prime example of progressive failure. Perhaps that would be Trump's ultimate, if unintended, revenge on Chicago voters for preferring Kamala Harris to him — getting them to sign up for four more years of Johnson's mismanagement.
Chicago Tribune
7 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Laura Washington: Keep at it, mayor. Equity is the best tool you have against the White House.
Mayor Brandon Johnson is scrambling to beef up his Black bona fides. His moves have backfired. A cardinal rule of politics is that, if you lose your base, you're gone. Halfway through his first term, Johnson is laboring diligently to shore up his support among Black voters. That has put him crosswise with President Donald Trump. Johnson is bogged down by polls that show his popularity has plummeted. For example, a massive 79.9% of respondents disapproved of Johnson's performance in office, according to one survey of 700 likely Chicago voters taken in late February. Only 6.6% of voters viewed Johnson favorably, and about 12% of respondents said they had a neutral opinion of the mayor, according to the poll by M3 Strategies. Johnson's weak performance has brought out the knives. Two political organizations have vowed to fight the mayor and his progressive allies. Chicago Forward, a group of city business leaders, helped torpedo Johnson's prized Bring Chicago Home referendum. Its political consultant, Greg Goldner, told the Chicago Tribune that the group will continue to pound away at Johnson and his supporters. A 'dark money' group called Common Ground Collective has raised $10 million and is targeting aldermen who are close to the mayor, the Tribune reports. So, it's back to the base. Johnson won City Hall by besting opponent Paul Vallas in the 2023 mayoral runoff, taking every one of the city's African American wards. Now, Black voters are grumbling. They want more city services and social service programs directed to their neglected neighborhoods. They complain about the hundreds of millions of dollars the Johnson administration has plowed into supporting immigrants and refugees. They clamor for job and recreational opportunities for African American youths. Johnson is hitting Black churches, appearing regularly on Black radio and at events on the city's South and West sides to tout his record. On a recent Sunday, Johnson boasted about his hiring record at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn. He listed African Americans he has tapped for top jobs in his administration. 'Business and economic neighborhood development, the deputy mayor, is a Black woman,' he declared. 'Department of Planning and Development is a Black woman. Infrastructure, deputy mayor, is a Black woman. Chief operations officer is a Black man. Budget director is a Black woman.' That unforced error blew up in his face. The U.S. Justice Department reacted by launching an investigation 'to determine whether the City of Chicago, Illinois, is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race,' in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In a May 19 letter to Johnson, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote: 'Our investigation is based on information suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race.' Johnson, Dhillon noted, 'highlight[ed] the number of Black officials in [your] administration. You then went on to list each of these individuals, emphasizing their race.' The Trump administration is on a crusade to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion in government, educational institutions and the corporate arena. 'We're not going to be intimidated by the tyranny that's coming from the federal government,' Johnson responded at a news conference. 'The diversity of our city is our strength.' He declared that 'we are going to show up for the Latino community. We're going to show up for Asian Americans. We're going to show up for Black folks in this city. We're going to show up for the LGBTQ+ community. Any group that has been marginalized and has suffered under tyranny and oppression, we're going to show up for them.' The racial makeup of the mayor's office staff is 34% Black, 24% Hispanic, 30% white and 7% Asian, according to data a mayoral spokesperson provided to the media. The latest census data shows that Chicago's population is 39% white, 29% Latino, 28% Black and 7% Asian. Of Trump, Johnson said, 'My administration reflects the country, reflects the city; his administration reflects the country club,' noting that Trump's Cabinet is overwhelmingly white. Our civil rights laws were not designed as racist tools to keep Trump in power. Five years, ago, we were all-in on fighting for racial equity in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd. America's racial awakening was in full swing. Now, we are in what the Chicago Defender has labeled the 'post-Floyd backslide.' DEI is under attack by Trump, who sees diversity as a dirty word, even a crime. Trump doesn't give a whit about fairness; he just wants to preserve and uphold white male dominance. For sure, Johnson erred by leaning heavily into his base at the church event, rather than his overall record of making equity a hallmark of his administration. No need to apologize for that. People of color everywhere despise Trump for his assault on our history, culture and achievements. Keep at it, mayor. The best political weapon you have against the White House is battling for equity. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@
Chicago Tribune
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: It's not the messaging, Mr. Mayor. Your policies and governance are the problems.
We're halfway through Mayor Brandon Johnson's term, and the city the mayor described in a series of recent interviews to mark the milestone hardly resembles what we see. We agree with the mayor that Chicago is a great American city, made so by the people who live, work, play and love here. But in many other respects — a transit system that continues to perform unacceptably, public schools that cost too much and do a poor job of teaching our children, violent crime levels well above peer American cities and a local economy needlessly deprived of the dynamism that produced our uniquely beautiful skyline — Chicago is ailing. For all the unfair shots ideologically motivated critics take at the city, Chicagoans who've grown up here and made adult lives here know something has gone wrong these last two years. They've seen what this city looks and feels like when things are going well. And, judging from Johnson's rock-bottom public-approval numbers, many of them have concluded he's a big part of the current problem. The job of mayor is tough no matter who's in the office, but Chicago could be doing so much better with a different brand of leadership — and, really, a wholly different philosophy — than Johnson has brought to the fifth floor. Before we discuss what we think is wrong, let's recognize what Johnson has done well. Topping that list is appointing Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling, who has helped restore some measure of morale to the force, overseen a noteworthy reduction in violent crime and led a smooth Democratic National Convention in which protesters were allowed to have their say without sparking chaos. Likewise, Johnson's recent choice of Michael McMurray in the crucial post of aviation commissioner was solid. On the policy front, his Cut the Tape initiative, aimed at reducing the inexcusably long time it takes to win city approval for development projects, is laudable. The execution, however, has been too slow. And, more generally, no one doubts Johnson's love for Chicago and his honest desire to lift up neighborhoods that long have been neglected. But the losses and setbacks have far outnumbered the wins despite the City Council being populated with record numbers of self-described progressives, who (on paper at least) are allies of the mayor. Leave aside more moderate aldermen who from the start were unlikely to back Johnson's agenda; the mayor has struggled time and again to win support even from fellow progressives for high-priority initiatives. Many of those progressives have openly feuded with his administration. Likewise, when they've had the chance, voters have clearly expressed their displeasure with the mayor. The most striking example was the March 2024 rejection of his Bring Chicago Home referendum, which would have allowed the city to dramatically hike taxes on the sale of higher-priced residential and most all commercial property to fund homelessness programs. The school board elections last November were another warning sign. Improbably, candidates not endorsed by the mayor's most important political ally, the Chicago Teachers Union, won six of nine contested elections — a clear rebuke of the mayor. In interviews, Johnson's message at the halfway mark has consisted largely of the time-honored political tradition of acknowledging mistakes in the same way a job applicant responds to the question of describing their biggest flaw by saying they work too hard at times. In the mayor's telling, it's not any of the policies or their execution that explain his unpopularity; it's that he hasn't done enough to communicate all the wonderful things that are happening on his watch. He points to city initiatives like the so-called green social housing ordinance — one of his few victories in the City Council — which will have the city financing and for the first time taking direct ownership of affordable housing projects. He mentions early-term policy changes like eliminating the subminimum wage for tipped employees and imposing paid-leave mandates on businesses — initiatives that raise costs for existing businesses and discourage the creation of new ones. While the intentions behind these policies were mostly good, they don't make up for the lack of confidence private investors and job creators feel in the city under Johnson's leadership. It's not even close. The oft-cited dearth of cranes in Chicago's sky represents tangible evidence. More generally, the numbers confirm what Chicagoans see and feel as they move about the city. With the exception of a few retail strips in affluent neighborhoods, Chicago isn't thriving. It's not growing. It's lacking energy. And it's losing ground to competitors. Every year, on behalf of state government, Moody's produces a detailed and illuminating report on Illinois' economy. Those reports tell a damning tale of Johnson's term so far. In February 2023, three months before Johnson took office, Moody's pointed to Chicago employment growth of 3.5% over the previous year and observed that the performance 'outpaced' the Midwest and the U.S. as a whole. A year later, in February 2024, nine months into Johnson's term, Moody's said, 'Chicago's economy is showing signs of fatigue.' Job growth had slowed to just 0.8%, with most private-sector industries other than health care lagging. Wage gains also were worse in Chicago than in the country as a whole. The most recent report, from February 2025, was sadder still. 'Chicago's economy is trailing its large peers and the U.S. overall,' Moody's said. Employment was 'relatively flat for the past year and a half.' Throughout Johnson's tenure, the city's unemployment rate consistently has been about a percentage point above the national rate. Johnson describes himself as 'pro-business' and told Crain's Chicago Business he will 'put his record up against' any past mayor with a business-friendly reputation. Very few people actually doing business in Chicago would agree with the mayor's self-assessment. Johnson still doesn't seem to understand that economic development doesn't emanate mainly from City Hall and its programs — or shouldn't, anyway, in a healthy commercial ecosystem. Far more jobs and economic opportunity, including for people living on the South and West sides, are created when the city provides essential services at a reasonable cost and engenders confidence in those considering establishing new businesses or expanding existing ones that stability along those lines can be expected in the future. Thus far, the Johnson administration has failed in that basic task. On his watch, the city's debt rating has been downgraded for the first time in a decade. Unlike in past years, the administration last week barred journalists from attending any part of a two-day gathering with investors in which Johnson's finance team attempted to persuade them to buy hundreds of millions in new bonds the city wants to issue this year. Hardly inspires confidence. Facing a daunting budget deficit last year, the mayor proposed a $300 million property tax hike, summarily rejected by the City Council, thereby breaking a categorical campaign promise while refusing to consider layoffs or even furloughs to make ends meet. He's piling more debt on a city awash in IOUs and even pushed hard — again, failing so far, thankfully — for Chicago Public Schools to take on hundreds of millions in more debt despite being the largest issuer of junk-rated municipal bonds in the country. The mayor could be considered the epitome of a tax-and-spend Democrat, only he's typically unable to persuade fellow officeholders with similarly progressive views to green-light the taxes. So he's become a borrow-and-spend Democrat. For any mayor, the job entails two primary tasks before all else: public safety and financial stewardship. On the latter count, this mayor has been deeply disappointing so far. In our view, that's a major reason why Chicago's economy is stuck in the mud. It's not that Chicagoans haven't understood what you're selling, Mr. Mayor. The problem is what has been on offer.
CBS News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
2 years after inauguration, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he thinks his poll numbers will bounce back
As Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson marks two years in office this week, he talked about his swings, his misses, and why he thinks his poll numbers will likely rebound. Currently, Mayor Johnson has strong crime numbers to boast about — a 24% drop in homicides since taking office. But his poll numbers are currently terrible, and some of his handpicked leaders in the City Council even say he is trending toward becoming a one-term mayor. Mayor Johnson is a big basketball fan, and his term is now at the equivalent of halftime of a game. He was asked if he is leading or trailing? "I think the people of Chicago are certainly winning," the mayor said. "You cannot argue about safety in this city as we drive violence down. You can't argue that we're not building affordable homes, because we're doing that." But again, some in the City Council do not agree that Mayor Johnson's term has been a success so far. The mayor's head of the City Council Education and Child Development Committee, Ald. Jeanett Taylor (20th) said she is not sure the mayor can turn it around, and others think he is on track not to win a second term. "The opinion of our work doesn't just rest on one particular chamber or one individual," Johnson said. Over the past two years, there been lots of moments. Early on in his term in 2023, Mayor Johnson had to manage a situation where thousands of migrants were left sleeping on the floors of police stations. He hosted the Democratic National Convention last year. He lost his signature Bring Chicago Home ballot referendum that would have raised the transfer tax on million-dollar homes to fight homelessness was defeated. The mayor held his own during a grilling on Capitol Hill about sanctuary city policies. He had public fights with Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Pedro Martinez, and struck a contract with the Chicago Teachers Union. The mayor also developed a chilly relationship with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and has seen some brutal poll numbers — some as low as 14% approval. When asked how he looked at those numbers, Johnson was quick to pivot to his success with reducing violent crime. "You're asking me as mayor of the City of Chicago to just blow past the fact that violent crime is down in Chicago," Johnson said. "What I'm saying, though, is look, if you want me to spend time thinking about things that that, quite frankly, don't improve the quality of life for people, I'm not going to do that." The mayor believes as crime numbers remain low, his approval numbers will likely improve. "I do believe that there is a lag — I get what you're getting at — but eventually, I believe that the lag, that people will catch up to what's actually happening," Johnson said. As for regrets, he cited just one. "Look, if there's one thing that I do, you know, regret, that in the midst of me standing up government two years ago — what I didn't do, I didn't do a good enough job at effectively communicating with the very coalition that elected me," Johnson said. In particular, Johnson has noted on a number of occasions that he has gotten people coming up to him at public events saying they didn't know about his accomplishments and successes — and he is now trying to be a better advocate for his record.
Axios
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
How wealth and race shape who decides property tax referendums
A new study released Wednesday by the Cook County Treasurer's Office found that wealthier, white voters are deciding the outcome of property tax referendums. The big picture: " Voter Turnout, Race, Income and the Fate of Property Tax Referendums" was the first study by Treasurer Maria Pappas' office that compared income, race and homeownership status in relation to referendum voter turnout. Average turnout last year for tax-related referendums was about 46%. But for voters with median household income less than the county median of $81,800, turnout was only 34%. Turnout jumped to nearly 63% for voters with median household incomes over $150,000. Between the lines: Referendum voting is lower than overall turnout as voters often skip the measures because of lack of information or not being impacted by the outcome. State of play: Last year, Cook County voters were asked to weigh in on 35 property tax-related referendums, 30 of which were tax increases. Voters approved 26 measures. Several asked voters to borrow above state limits to improve parks, schools and a new library, and nearly all of those measures passed. Smaller municipalities are limited by state law in how much they can increase property taxes, but voters in south suburban Robbins and Palos and west suburban Riverside passed measures that would allow a hike. Voters in suburban Thornton Township voted against raising property taxes to fund mental health care, but Chicago voters approved two new mental health care programs through a 0.025% increase. Zoom in: One of the most well-known referendums on the primary ballot was Mayor Brandon Johnson's "Bring Chicago Home" initiative, which would have raised transfer taxes on properties that sold for over $1 million to help address homelessness. It failed. Wealthier property owners would have been most adversely affected by the measure, and more higher-income voters weighed in during the primary than lower-income voters. Another case in point: In south suburban Robbins, fewer than 73% of residents are homeowners and the median household income is less than $38,000, compared to over 97% home ownership in North Shore Kenilworth, which has a median household income over $250,000. Robbins had one of the lowest turnouts in last year's primary (14%) while Kenilworth had one of the highest (33.5%). By the numbers: Average voter turnout in majority white taxing districts was 55% in last year's elections, compared to 33% in Black-majority and 29% in Hispanic or Latino. Average referendum turnout was about 46%, up from 34% over the previous four years. This jump was despite Cook County last year having its lowest turnout for a presidential election in more than 30 years. What's next: There's a consolidated election on April 1 with eight property-related referendums on the ballot, including an increase in taxes for mental health services in Palatine and taking on hundreds of millions of dollars in debt in several western suburbs.
