The present incumbent, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who ran as a populist reformer outside of traditional Chicago machine politics, has quickly became a near insider; an unexpected move that took many by surprise, and perhaps even herself, as she roared into office, on a white horse, pennants flying, only to find her ideals trampled into running a toddling town that can become a many headed hydra.
With reversals on an elected school board, a hard kick to aldermanic prerogatives, and a less than stellar record with the city council, including some teeth baring encounters with members has given her a a tough lady rep, in an even tougher town.
A look in the rearview mirror shows that this has been seen before in City Hall with her predecessor, Rahm Emanuel, who was no shrinking violet, and who came to office with the rumor of sending a dead fish to a political enemy, and a string of bruising encounters from the Obama White House, where he served as chief of staff.
It’s now a safe bet that Lightfoot could not make peanut butter sandwiches without criticism from all sides: from the left, there was not enough butter, from the right there was too much and from the independents, that it was not organic.
Her chief nemesis has been Ray Lopez 15th Ward alderman, a candidate as early as April, who has been an outspoken critic, especially in the area of public safety, as Chicago has descended into a violent quagmire with car jackings, robberies, and retail thefts, often by gangs, sometimes even aided by pre-teens.
Now Lopez has rescinded his candidacy, stating that the growing field might lead to a runoff vote that might entrench Lightfoot as mayor, and on Twitter he posted a warning that with “With every new challenger that enters the race, the odds of Lori Lightfoot making it into a runoff, possibly even winning reelection, grows,” and added “Chicago has survived many things over its existence, but it will not survive another four years with this mayor chasing headlines to cover up her nonstop bouncing from bad decision to bad decision.”
Previously, he had said, “As mayor, my core principles will be simple: focus on safely rebuilding our economy and supporting our first responders and city employees that serve the taxpayers of Chicago.”
Block Club Chicago has also noted that “Lopez has a reputation on City Council for being one of the most conservative members, particularly on crime.”
While continuing to run for election as alderman in the 15th ward, his withdrawal has also generated some blowback, from contender Victoria Alvarez whose campaign team issued a statement, just before Thanksgiving, which said, in part, "As a candidate, Raymond Lopez declared he was “all in” on his mayoral bid - but now he is changing his tune. Seeing an uphill battle for the mayor’s office, he has decided to return to the 15th Ward he has neglected and now claims to speak for every resident.
Aldermanic candidate, Victoria “Vicko” Alvarez, rejects his oversimplifications and lack of civic imagination. Vicko gathered more than three times the required amount of signatures by knocking doors in every neighborhood of the 15th Ward."
Another familiar face to locals has been Paul Vallas who was CEO of Chicago Public Schools, from 1995 to 2000, and while with failed prior attempts to win the top job, he has also leaned hard into the crime problem, and has tweeted on several of the more alarming incidents bemoaning the lack of a comprehensive plan by Lightfoot.
An avuncular figure Vallas has been down this road before, and has also railed against high taxes, as well as crime, and, will undoubtedly be seen favorable by the Chicago Teachers Union whose teeth marks can still be found in Lightfoot’s arm as she dealt with the powerful union, in her first month in office; as she fought a public battle with the union.
That was then, and now we have Brandon Johnson a former teacher who has received the endowment of the CTU, as well as the Service Employees International Union, two powerful voice in local politics and whose support puts him in the first slot for attention.
Crime is the key blow against Lightfoot and Vallas like others has also said that he would fire Chicago Police Superintendent, David Brown, Lightfoot’s handpicked police chief who in his early days showed, to some, a naivety, especially in the aftermath of the riots that piggybacked onto the peaceful protests that followed the murder of George Floyd.
His track record is not bright and as Block Club Chicago reported, “In the 2019 mayoral race, Vallas got 5 percent of the vote. He also unsuccessfully ran for Illinois governor in 2002 and lieutenant governor in 2014 with then-Gov. Pat Quinn.”
Taking tack for a candidacy is State Rep Kam Buckner, a spry 37 year old whose diverse 26th District looks like Chicago he has stated, ““The district looks a lot like Chicago,” Buckner said. “… Being in that role has been incredibly telling to me. It’s given me a very clear view into what happens when we have a tale of two cities — what happens when we have robust investment on one hand, and robust disinvestment or benign neglect on the other hand.”
An attorney, he has also worked for Sen. Dick Durbin who gave him some wind in his sails, but in another interview with Block Club Chicago he emphasized. ““We have to find a way to celebrate the places and spaces that we occupy — their diversity, their importance, their significance — but more importantly, the people who live there,”
This is a populist stance, and also alludes to the historic racial segregation in Chicago, but will it be enough, critics ask.
Some also wonder about his past bouts with alcoholism and driving under the influence, but he has affirmed his sobriety by saying, ““In being honest with myself, my God, my family and my friends and my constituents about this, I have arrived on the other side of this a better man, a better father, a better partner and a better public servant, "and added, “There are many things that have changed since these incidents occurred.”
Taking a tough stance, the response from City Hall was this: “Being mayor of Chicago requires the sort of toughness that Kam Buckner hasn't shown in his public life. When others stood up to Madigan and told him it was time to go, Buckner voted to keep him in power. You can’t take on the machine when you’re part of it,” Lightfoot campaign spokesperson Christina Freundlich said in a statement.
His efforts at World Sport Chicago, which he headed in the failed aftermath of Chicago securing the Olympics, proved to be sketchy with some saying that financial contributions declined as his salary soared, while others attribute the loss to the departure of his predecessor Scott Meyers.
What is significant is that Buckner has attributed this organization as part of his past accomplishment and WBEZ summed it up neatly, by saying, “He announced his campaign in May with a “four star” plan that includes “safety and justice,” improved education, economic recovery — as well as stabilizing the city’s long-troubled finances. In his campaign literature, [and] he has touted his time at World Sport Chicago, saying he brought sports to 70,000 students.
Donations and the budget shrank rapidly, they reported, and now spokespeople for the Buckner campaign say that this was by design. This belies assertions that, “To fund that programming, the organization was relying on the lump sum of leftover Olympic money that inevitably decreased year over year. But, under Myers, WSC was also raking in more than $1 million a year in grants and contributions from places such as the MacArthur Foundation, which donated $1,375,000 between 2009 and 2014, to sustain its programming for kids.”
While the waters appear muddied, the past for politicians can come forth to become a nuisance, and whether this will be the case, remains to be seen. But, questions related to whether his salary was outsized according to geographic norms for non profit directors at that time, when the evidence was produced seems to be buried, raising more unwanted questions for a candidate that has an impressive resume.
Coming on strong is another fierce Lightfoot critic Ja’Mal Green, a 27 year old firebrand who has run before, and lost to her, labeling her as incompetent and amidst other invective, a milder rebuke, “This city is in huge disarray!”
In April 2021 Green sent a tweet Green sent a Tweet in April 2021 declaring that “Lightfoot is resigning tomorrow in a stunning end to her mayorship,” turning rumors that were circulating on social media into a political firestorm, reported WTTW.
In response, Lightfoot called his action, “homophobic, racist and misogynistic.”
While this tweet, in hindsight was ill conceived, as well as ill advised, it’s also possible to see that his youthful impulsiveness, as well as a reputation as a l’enfant terrible, could harm his future intentions.
Case in point, shortly after that tweet, WTTW reported that “A month later, Green disrupted a news conference held by Lightfoot to blast her for blocking his effort to build a $15 million youth center on the site of the former Garrett Morgan Elementary School in Auburn-Gresham, which was closed by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.”
That being said, his association as an acolyte to Bernie Sanders might enhance his resume for progressive voters.
Coming on strong is Jesus "Chuy" Garcia whose late entry has some questioning his wisdom, and that losing the CTU endorsement might hurt him.
Garcia has been in this game before, in 2015, when he was a candidate, running against Rahm Emanuel, and whose last minute endorsement of then candidate Lori Lightfoot, propelled her candidacy and she won the election, Now, with an “anyone but Lightfoot” mantra, older faces are as welcome as new ones, and Garcia, recently re-elected to Congress has a hand in the fire of bruising Chicago politics, where character assassination and dirt digging are only the beginning.
Garcia's avuncular profile might avoid him some of the most serious blows, but he has some baggage, mainly that he endorsed the recently sullied former Speaker of the House, Mike Madigan, whose pay to play with a local utility company has Garcia tagged by some as part of the machine.
If the crowded field for Chicago mayoral candidates looks a bit like the Wild Wild West, then the analogy may fit even more as the elections grow closer.
Updated Nov. 29, 2022, CSDT
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