Vallas and Johnson advancing to runoff after Lightfoot concedes
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Paul Vallas, the former Chicago Public Schools CEO, will advance to the mayoral runoff in Chicago in April, and will face off against Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, after Mayor Lori Lightfoot conceded.
It is the first time in 40 years, that an incumbent mayor was defeated after one term.
With about 98% of the vote in Chicago counted, Vallas is leading the nine-candidate field with 34% of the vote, and Johnson was in 2nd place with 20%. Lightfoot is in third place with 17%, and Jesus "Chuy" Garcia is in 4th place with 14%.
No other candidate is in double digits, with millionaire businessman Willie Wilson at 9%, community activist Ja'Mal Green at 2%, Illinois State Rep. Kam Buckner at 1.8%, Ald. Sophia King at 1.2%, and Ald. Roderick Sawyer at 0.4%.
The race will offer Chicago voters a stark choice in April, between Vallas, who has been backed by the right-leaning Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, and has said the city needs to "take the handcuffs" off officers by easing restrictions on police foot pursuits and vehicle chases; and Johnson, who has been backed by the more progressive Chicago Teachers Union, and has supported diverting money away from the Chicago Police Department to address the root causes of crime through for violence prevention programs, mental health treatment, and more.
In a speech Tuesday night, Vallas touted his experience – including as budget director for Mayor Richard M. Daley and then as chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools, and also in running the school system in Philadelphia and rebuilding the school system in New Orleans.
"I've had success because I've always had the good sense to listen to the community, to empower the community, and draw my leadership from the community," Vallas said.
Vallas emphasized a need for stronger public safety – which has been a major theme of his campaign.
"We will have a safe Chicago," he said. "We will make Chicago the safest city in America."
Vallas also emphasized the need for schools to be a part of the public safety solution – a major theme throughout his campaign to this point.
He further called for "local empowerment" and the need to invest in the city's poorest and most neglected communities.
"We need to address the underlying causes of the problem that the city faces, and we have to invest in those neglected communities," he said.
He also touted his background as coming from a family of public servants – including several police officers – and that he supported marriage equality in 2002 when he was running for governor against Rod Blagojevich. Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), Chicago's first openly gay alderman who will be retiring this year, introduced Vallas for the speech.
Meantime, in his own celebration for making the runoff, Johnson thanked the many labor unions that backed his campaign, including the Chicago Teachers Union.
Johnson, who started the race with low name recognition, was able to climb into contention with the backing and financing he got from the CTU and other progressive-leaning labor unions.
"They said that this would never happen. I am so freaking proud, because we did this. A few months ago, they said they didn't know who I was. Well, if you didn't know, now you know," Johnson said after Lightfoot conceded.
Repeating a line he's used several times during the campaign, Johnson said if he wins in April, "a Black woman will still be in charge," referring to his wife of 25 years, Stacie.
To voters who supported one of his rivals, Johnson said, "I want you to know that I'm running to be the mayor of you, too, and I'm going to work just as hard as I have to get to this point to earn your support."
"With our voices and our votes, we've come together as one city to say that we deserve a Chicago that is better, stronger, safer for everyone. No matter where you live, no matter what you look like, you deserve to have a stronger, safer Chicago. Whether you live in Jefferson Park, or Morgan Park, or McKinley Park, or Gage Park, or Humboldt Park, you deserve a better, stronger, safer Chicago," he said.
Around 8:45 p.m., Lightfoot took the stage at her election night party to say she had called Vallas and Johnson to congratulate them on advancing to the runoff.
"We were fierce competitors in these last few months, but I will be rooting and praying for our next mayor to deliver for the people of the city for years to come," Lightfoot said.
Vallas solidified his status as the frontrunner in the mayor's race in recent weeks. Since launching his campaign, he has outraised all of his opponents except Lightfoot, with more than $6.1 million in contributions, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The former Chicago Public Schools CEO has made public safety the consistent theme of his campaign, saying he wants to halt an exodus of police officers from leaving CPD, and entice retired officers to return to the department.
Vallas, like most of Lightfoot's challengers, also has vowed to fire Chicago Police Supt. David Brown. He also has said he wants to revisit CPD's foot chase policy, and in his words stop "punishing" officers for being proactive.
His public safety plan helped him win the endorsement from the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing rank-and-file officers.
"I intend on bringing the leadership on the 5th floor that can address the city's most important issues, and right now there's no more important issue than public safety. Public safety is a human right. Everyone who lives in the city of Chicago is entitled to be able to walk the streets safely, to go to school safely, to run their businesses safely," Vallas said Tuesday morning.
Vallas has said it won't matter who he faces in the runoff. He's confident he will win in April.
Lightfoot is the first incumbent mayor of Chicago to lose a bid for re-election since Jane Byrne lost to Harold Washington in 1983.
Despite recent polls showing her approval rating as low as 32%, Lightfoot consistently ranked among the top four candidates in polls leading up to Election Day. Nonetheless, she ended up falling short of advancing to a runoff.
Lightfoot said she's grateful of the support Chicagoans showed for her during her four years in office, as she led the city through the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Anything is possible with hard work, and I want you to know that no matter what happens along the way, you should always believe that, because it's true. Believe that you can bring about change, believe that you matter, and believe that you can love who you want to love, and do what you want to do, and be who you want to be. You will not be defined by how you fall. You will be defined by how hard you work, and how much you do good for other people," Lightfoot said in her concession speech.
She also said she's proud of her record when it comes to public safety, pointing to a decline in homicides last year, after murders in Chicago surged during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
She called it the "honor of a lifetime" to serve as mayor. Lightfoot has yet to say if she'll back either Vallas or Johnson in the runoff.
Johnson, a Cook County commissioner from the West Side, has seen his campaign surge in recent weeks. He's championed by many progressives, and has been endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Johnson is a former teacher and CTU organizer himself. Much of his campaign funding has come from CTU and other key labor unions. He has raised nearly $4 million in contributions, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Throughout his campaign, he has called for a major shift in the city's public safety plan, including recruiting social workers to respond to mental health-related 911 calls rather than police.
While voting Tuesday morning, Johnson was asked what he'd say to undecided voters.
"If you want a mayor that is committed to investing in people – which that's what my commitment is, it's what I've done throughout my entire career – if you want a mayor that is committed to loving people, then Brandon Johnson is your choice," he said.
Garcia, despite being the last candidate to enter the race, quickly became a frontrunner in the race, thanks to his combination of name recognition and having previously forced former Mayor Rahm Emanuel to a runoff in the 2015 election, but Garcia stayed off the airwaves until late in the campaign, only to watch Vallas jump out to the lead in the polls.
Since the start of 2022, Garcia has raised nearly $3.7 million in contributions for his campaign, much of it from various labor unions, and seemingly placed is bets on saving his money for a late surge in the final weeks of the race.
While Garcia has vowed to fill approximately 1,600 vacant positions at CPD, he also has called for more investment in community, violence prevention, and youth programs to help address the causes of crime in Chicago.
Garcia is counting on his longtime base of support on the Southwest Side to turn out at the polls on Tuesday as he makes his second bid for the mayor's office in Chicago. He's pushing his 40 years of public service experience – from the Chicago City Council to the Cook County Board to Congress – as the reason to put him onto the 5th floor at City Hall, with the know-how that he says Mayor Lightfoot has not shown in office.
"Critical to the decision that voters will be making is making Chicago a safer place for everyone, instilling trust between community residents and police officers, and of course most importantly investing in the root causes of violence and poverty in communities that haven't seen investment," Garcia said.
Wilson has twice run for mayor before, and raised just under $6.1 million in contributions, the vast majority of that money coming from his own pocket from $6 million in loans to his campaign, according to the Tribune.
While he has consistently polled around 9% to 11% in most polls, he has struggled to break into the top four of candidates. He also won about 11% of the vote in both of his prior runs for mayor, falling short of the runoff both times.
Like Vallas, Wilson has said he wants to "take the handcuffs" off of Chicago police officers by rolling back policies that limit their ability to chase suspects on foot or in police cars. He also drew criticism from several opponents when he repeatedly said he wants to let police chase down some criminal suspects and "hunt them down like a rabbit."
Wilson also has touted himself as the only person on the ballot to successfully run a business, claiming he would run the city like he runs his business. After putting $6 million of his own money into his campaign, he said he will wait for voters, and not rely on pre-election polls, none of which have had him in the lead.
"I have one word for that. I think that the polls don't matter. I believe that that is garbage. You know, pure garbage. There have been polls that had me up, and then polls that had me down," he said.
Before announcing his campaign for mayor last summer, Wilson held several free food and gas giveaways in the city and suburbs, but has insisted he was not trying to buy votes.
The remaining four candidates all have consistently trailed far behind the rest of the pack in both polling and fundraising.
While King has raised approximately $800,000 in contributions – a relatively impressive amount for an alderman who has never run for citywide office before – she has consistently polled in the single digits, with the latest poll showing her at about 5.8%.
Green, who also launched a campaign for mayor in 2019, but dropped out after facing a challenge to his nominating petitions, also has consistently polled only in the single digits, with the latest poll showing him at 4.9%. He has raised just over $350,000 in contributions, according to the Tribune.
Buckner, an Illinois state representative since 2019, raised just over $312,000 in contributions since Jan. 1, 2022, according to the Tribune. During much of that time, he was also running for re-election to the state legislature, so some of that money did not go directly to his mayoral campaign. Most polls have shown his support in the single digits, with the latest poll having him at 3.4%.
Sawyer has struggled the most in gaining any traction during the campaign, raising only about $222,000 in contributions, and often polling at less than 1%.