In the runoff, the Tribune Editorial Board endorses Paul Vallas for mayor
On Feb. 2, this Tribune Editorial Board endorsed Paul Vallas for mayor of Chicago. Vallas, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and city budget director for then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, went on to receive 32.9% of the vote in the Feb. 28 election, compared with 21.6% for Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, 16.8% for incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot and 13.7% for U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García.
Since no candidate received a majority of the votes cast, that triggered an automatic April 4 runoff between the top two finishers, Vallas and Johnson. Early voting at select polling stations begins Monday.
With nine candidates in the race and a demonstrably unpopular incumbent, a runoff was a surprise to no one. But even though Vallas won handily in the first round, Chicagoans will need to once again do their civic duty in what is, in essence, a fresh contest between two candidates with strong bases of support.
We have not wavered in our support of Vallas, despite the traditional campaign machinations and revelations. Though we acknowledge Johnson’s energy, passion and intelligence, we endorse Vallas again in the runoff.
In our view, Vallas is the candidate best positioned to tackle the city’s existential problem of violent crime, and to do so without regard to where in the city you live. As Vallas has said on the campaign trail, the right to live without fear of attack against person or property should be viewed as an inalienable human right.
In the last few weeks, some have suggested that white people don’t really experience violent crime, or that the attention being paid to the issue is a consequence of the spillover of such crimes as carjacking into traditionally more affluent neighborhoods.
Black Chicagoans are far more likely to be the victims of crime, which is why so many voted for Vallas or businessman Willie Wilson, who ran far to Vallas’ right on the issue. But the fear of crime is about more than the murder rate in a particular neighborhood. It is about the human need for safety and security. Political leaders have an obligation to face down the perception as well as the reality.
Without that understanding, the central business district begins to fail, neighborhood dog walkers peer nervously around corners as they dream of smalltown living, a city atrophies and residents with the ability to leave do precisely that.
First and foremost, we expect Vallas to not necessarily expand the Chicago Police Department, but to improve it across the board — in its clearance rates, responsiveness to the community, accountability, compassion, humanity and in its adherence to the consent decree.
We expect him to leverage the political support he enjoys among rank-and-file officers — in all emergency services, it appears — to better serve Chicagoans in urgent need. All Chicagoans. We similarly hold him to his promise that he will root out corruption in city government when and where it appears.
Second, we expect Vallas to improve the public education of Chicago’s youths. Whatever your views on charter schools, unions, school closings or any of the other education flashpoints that have dominated the election, it’s clear that Chicago failed its most needy students during the COVID-19 crisis. Simply put, we now owe these kids.
They deserve the finest education this city can provide. And it must do so as equitably as possible, applying rigorous standards across the board. No election in our lifetimes will end these debates, which have become only more bitter as time has passed and hearts have hardened.
But that doesn’t change the moral imperative. Educators know this and that’s what drives them to go to work every day. They must be heard and celebrated. And adults with strong opinions must learn something students are taught — the noble art of compromise.
But schools and policing hardly are the whole story of the runoff. Chicago is in need of a reboot and a more optimistic outlook. The city needs to recover its retail prowess and its robust tourist and convention business. It needs to build new attractions that create jobs and pride, and not fall into an overreliance on gambling or marijuana sales.
It must regain the politically potent position that it enjoyed on the international stage in the early Obama era, when this city often felt central to the world. Chicago needs to attract innovative, high-quality businesses and build affordable homes.
Attracting young, educated Americans, especially Black Americans, will be crucial to its future. Chicago must compete, and that cannot become a dirty word. It must function and it must still dream.
The possibilities are evident. There’s the ever-growing West Loop, offering convenient jobs for residents on the West Side; the commitment that now exists in the business community to invest on the South and West sides, thanks in no small part to Lightfoot and her team; the recovery of the Loop’s entertainment district, which has a huge impact not just on downtown businesses but on public safety in the Loop, especially at night.
As Donald Trump attacked former Mayor Rahm Emanuel for political gain, Chicago began to lose control of its own spectacular narrative.
This is our chance to take control again and to write a better, fairer story for ourselves.
Editor’s note: On Monday and Tuesday, the Tribune Editorial Board will publish its aldermanic endorsements in the 14 Chicago wards where runoff elections will be held.