Chicago mayoral vote dominated by crime
CHICAGO — Chicagoans headed to the polls Tuesday to vote in highly contested mayoral and City Council races that have largely focused on crime, policing and the performance of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who is seeking a second term leading the nation’s third-largest city.
Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor who ran as a change agent vowing to root out corruption and reform the Chicago Police Department, won 74 percent of the vote in the final balloting when elected four years ago, a favorite of progressives who hailed her historic victory as the city’s first Black, female mayor.
But she has faced widespread dissatisfaction from voters since, and many have thrown their support to other candidates: Eight challengers have lined up against her, and unless one candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote — a highly unlikely scenario — the top two finishers Tuesday will advance to a runoff on April 4.
Polls suggest Lightfoot, whose rivals have positioned themselves to her political left and right, is in a tight contest for one of those spots. Voters have said in surveys that issues driving the race include crime, the economy, education and immigration.
Perhaps most threatening to Lightfoot’s re-election chances are the spike in homicides and shootings in 2020 and 2021, and civil unrest and looting that scarred retailers, including those on the famed Magnificent Mile. In 2021, robberies, thefts and burglaries increased from the year before, leaving many Chicagoans unsettled about the direction of the city.
In the Beverly neighborhood in Chicago’s South Side on Tuesday, Megan Hayes, 40, a mother and lifelong Chicagoan, said crime was the biggest issue facing the city. Although she voted for Lightfoot in the last election, she said she was disappointed in the mayor’s performance.
“I don’t think she managed the city very well,” she said.
Among the front-runners in the race is Paul Vallas, a Democrat with more conservative views on crime and education, who has portrayed Chicago as being in a state of disarray. Running with an endorsement from the local Fraternal Order of Police, he has called for expanding the police force, improving arrest rates for serious crimes and expanding charter schools.
Lightfoot is also fighting a challenge from Brandon Johnson, a Democratic county board commissioner who has been endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union. Johnson staked out a position to the left of Lightfoot on policing, at one point suggesting he agreed with the movement to reduce police funding, though he later backtracked.
Another contender, Rep. Jesús G. García, is also competing for votes from progressives. García, who was born in Mexico, would be Chicago’s first Hispanic mayor. In 2015, he ran for mayor against the incumbent, Rahm Emanuel, winning enough votes to force a runoff.
Polls suggest that Willie Wilson, a businessperson with a base of support from workingclass Black voters, is also within striking distance of the runoff.