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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@
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nearly 80% of Chicagoans disapprove of Mayor Brandon Johnson, new poll finds
The Brief Just under 80% of Chicago respondents to a poll this month said they disapprove of the job Mayor Brandon Johnson is doing. The same poll also found that two-thirds of respondents said crime was the top issue facing the city. CHICAGO - Just under 80% of respondents in a new poll said they disapprove of the job that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is doing. The overwhelming disapproval comes from a survey of nearly 700 likely Chicago voters in a poll conducted between Feb. 20 and 21 by M3 Strategies. It's the latest sign of residents' frustration with Johnson who took office in May of 2023 and whose tenure has been marked by continued violent crime and tensions with aldermen over city finances and the leadership of Chicago Public Schools, among other issues. By the numbers A whopping 79.9% of respondents said they disapprove of Johnson's record. Only 6.6% of respondents held a favorable record, which gave him a net favorability rating of -73.3%. About 12% of respondents had a neutral opinion of Johnson. The findings of the M3 Strategies poll align closely with the findings of a poll conducted last month by the libertarian Illinois Policy Institute. The M3 Strategies poll also asked residents what they thought was the biggest issue facing Chicago now. About two-thirds of respondents said the top issue facing the city was crime. Here are the full findings. Respondents were able to pick their top three issues: Crime – 67% High taxes – 54% Inflation (cost of goods and services) – 41% Immigration control/border security – 24% More funding for CPS – 20% Racism – 11% Need for school choice (vouchers, charters) – 6% Reproductive freedoms – 4% LGBTQ+ rights 3% What we know Pollsters also asked respondents to disclose whom they voted for in the 2024 presidential election and how they identified in terms of political ideology. Nearly 71% of those polled said they voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, and 18% said they voted for Republican President Donald Trump. About 8.5% said they voted for another candidate. Just under 40% of respondents said they identified as "moderate" in terms of their political ideology, a little over 17% identified as either somewhat or very conservative and 43% identified as either somewhat or very liberal. About 27% of respondents identified as African American, nearly 19% identified as Hispanic or Latino, 5.5% identified as Asian American, and 43% identified as white.
