Crime, education, city finances dominate mayoral runoff forum between Paul Vallas, Brandon Johnson
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago mayoral finalists Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas squared off Wednesday night for the first mayoral runoff forum.
While the candidates largely stuck to the issues – primarily public safety, education, and city budgets and finances – they also went negative on each other several times, with Johnson in particular accusing Vallas of supporting the political right wing.
NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago hosted the forum, with NBC 5 Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern moderating. One of the Ahern's early questions was aimed directly at controversies surrounding each candidate.
She noted that Vallas spoke at a fundraiser for the far-right group Awake Illinois last year, and also noted that in a 2009 interview, Vallas said he was "more of a Republican than a Democrat."
Vallas countered that he is a lifelong Democrat, having started out as a legislative assistant to Democratic Illinois state Sen. Dawn Clark Netsch. Vallas had considered a 2010 run for Cook County Board President as a Republican, but he emphasized that he ran for lieutenant governor with Gov. Pat Quinn in 2014 – five years after the interview. He did not address the controversy about Awake Illinois.
Meanwhile, Ahern asked Johnson about a past interview where he championed the defunding of police and called it a "political goal."
Johnson reiterated the content of his public safety plan, which he said calls for promoting, training, and hiring 200 more police detectives – and devoting funds to administering the federal consent decree, a series of mandated CPD reforms that a federal court is overseeing to make sure they are implemented.
He also emphasized that he believes part of the problem is that officers are being asked to do other first responders' jobs in addition to their own – noting that 40 percent of 911 calls are for mental health crises.
"The way you recruit officers, you've got to make sure, when people are working in the front line, you can't ask police officers to do their job and someone else's," Johnson said.
Johnson and Vallas have both emphasized a need to fight crime and make Chicago safer in their platforms, though they have called for responding to that need through different approaches. Asked what he would to do make Chicago safer, Vallas said the city is down 1,700 police officers compared with 2019, and many 911 calls do not end up even getting a response.
He called for a return to community-based policing, a greater police presence on the Chicago Transit Authority system, leadership changes, and scheduling changes so that 1,000 officers do not keep leaving the force every year.
Johnson returned to what he said was a need to alleviate pressure from police officers so that they would not also have to act as "social workers, counselors, and marriage therapists."
When it comes to the low clearance rate when it comes to solving crimes in Chicago – which Vallas and Johnson both agreed is a serious problem – Vallas said Johnson's plan to promote 200 more detectives would not be sufficient. He said there are not enough police officers in Chicago – and there are only one-sixth as many of detectives in the CPD as there are in the NYPD.
Johnson, in turn, noted that it takes 18 months to undergo all the training to become a police officer, and said under Vallas' plan, the city would have to wait two years to see the new officers he would hire even make it to the front line.
Johnson repeatedly attacked Vallas on the grounds that his "budgetary scheme" in previous roles in the 1990s was at least partially to blame for the city's current financial trouble. He said Vallas worked with the Republican Party in the 1990s to take the dollars that were supposed to go toward pensions – and decades later, the city was left on the hook for $2.5 billion in property taxes that had to be raised to make up the money.
Vallas rebutted that as city budget director under Mayor Richard M. Daley, he passed balanced budgets without raising property taxes once. He added that under his watch chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools, property tax hikes averaged only 1.5 percent.
Vallas, meanwhile, took Johnson to task for his support of the return of a head tax on Chicago employers, as well as an increase in the hotel-motel tax.
Johnson said there was no way around the fact that the city needs to raise revenue to deal with its structural deficit. Of the head tax, he said: "We can raise up to $20 million with that particular tax. If people do not like that particular tax, then help me find $20 million."
The candidates also disagreed sharply on the issue of schools having closed for the COVID-19 pandemic. Vallas said the closures were to blame for steep learning losses. He laid some of the blame personally on Johnson, an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union.
"Brandon was in part responsible for the shutting down one of the poorest school systems in the country – with devastating consequences – for 15 consecutive months, and three times threatening to strike to force the mayor to keep schools closed," Vallas said, "and if you look at the crime statistics and you look at the violence, and you look at the dislocation of decline in test scores, you can see the results."
Johnson said only the COVID-19 pandemic was to blame for the decision to close schools and indoor spaces in general. Johnson went on to note Vallas has received the support of Citadel founder Ken Griffin – and said Griffin "loves" Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom Johnson in turn accused of denying there ever was a pandemic.
"The city of Chicago cannot afford Republicans like Paul Vallas," Johnson said.
The candidates were also asked if they would ensure the protection of the reproductive rights of both women who live in Chicago and those who come into the city from elsewhere – with the U.S. Supreme Court having overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Both emphatically said they would do so, with each starting their comments with the phrase, "Yes, absolutely," though Johnson questioned Vallas' stance on abortion.
"I've been a supporter of women's reproductive rights, always, from the very beginning," Vallas said, adding that he would ensure the city would protect the reproductive rights of both residents and visitors.
Johnson also said he would protect a woman's right to choose – noting that he has always supported women's reproductive rights, that he is raising a daughter, and that he works in an education profession that is predominantly composed of women. But he questioned Vallas' support of women's reproductive rights.
"Paul Vallas is on record in saying that he fundamentally opposes women's reproductive rights. He said it. He fundamentally opposes abortion," Johnson said. "But it shouldn't be a surprise, because he's hanging out with right-wing extremists who have attacked women."
"That's nonsense. I have never said that," Vallas countered. "Someone once asked me the religious question, because I'm Greek Orthodox, and I really said that in essence that I have the same position that Nancy Pelosi has, or Biden has. My fundamental religious beliefs aside, I will always be 100 percent supportive of women's reproductive rights."
Each candidate also accused the other at one point of making the campaign about race. Johnson also claimed that Vallas does not support teaching Black history. The controversy stems from a 2021 interview with Wirepoints – in which Vallas agreed with a criticism of critical race theory and called it "giving people an excuse for bad behavior."
"Young people in the city of Chicago deserve Black history," Johnson said. "He's the one that said that should not happen."
Vallas countered that his record as head of CPS contradicts such claims.
"Just nonsense again. I actually integrated Black history in all the curriculum, and it moved beyond just Black History Month in February," Vallas said. "I also incorporated African studies into the world history curriculum – and I did a third thing. We worked with local school councils who wanted to provide for more Afrocentric curriculum, so my record is for everyone to see."
The candidates also addressed questions about improving police morale, securing more affordable housing, narrowing the wealth gap between white Chicagoans and Black and brown Chicagoans, dealing with empty storefronts on the Magnificent Mile, and making city government more open and transparent, among other topics.
Ahern also asked the candidates if there was any way they are more alike than different. In addition to noting that they happened to wear similar suits to the forum, Johnson expressed admiration for Vallas' work ethic.
"Paul is a very hard worker. He's resilient. He don't miss nothing. And I believe I was raised with similar values where you show up and go to work every single day," Johnson said. "Now, we obviously don't agree once we get to work, but Paul shows up – and I actually appreciate that about him."
Vallas said he had learned from his interactions and exchanges of ideas with Johnson. He cited one particular example of a policy where they are on the same page.
"For example, the universal work study program for high school kids – which I've done op-eds about for the last four years – the idea that all of our high schools can offer work study with city agencies, city departments, city contractors, et cetera – we can literally put tens of thousands of young people to work in paid work study jobs," Vallas said.
The runoff election is Tuesday, April 4. Early voting begins March 20.