Hot Take: What Are Your Thoughts on Tonight’s Chicago Mayoral Election?

Teddy Jack wrote:

Paul Vallas’s fascist and unconstitutional calls for the expansion of police powers should be rejected as a shallow solution to a deeper problem. Only Brandon Johnson will solve the root cause of crime by investing in our schools, our jobs, our infrastructure, our housing, and our mental health programs.

William Karr wrote:

Tonight is an important night for Mayor Lori Lightfoot, as eight candidates vying to oust her from office. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote tonight, the top two finishers will move on to a second round in April. And, according to a recent poll by Victory Research, former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas has a strong lead over the other candidates with 26.8%. He most likely will move to the next round, but the candidate that will face off against him is uncertain. Lightfoot, in the poll, is close to Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson and U.S. Representative Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

Isa Harrison wrote:

I think approaches to addressing gun violence that start and end with changes in policing are not enough to address the root cause of crime. Crimes aren’t committed with the intention of being caught, so the only way to address the problem head-on is by reforming broader structures that cause people to turn to crime in the first place. Once 911 has been called, the damage might already be unacceptable. Reform must start before.

Alex Two wrote:

Vallas only seems moderate (or even left-leaning?) because we’re used to seeing very extreme right-leaning candidates from other parts of the country. Vallas, functionally, seems to be a Republican, despite what he might say. His fiscal policies seem to have a lot to do with cutting funding for programs that aren’t the police (Vallas, master of budgeting!) and lowering taxes, including “anticipatory capping property taxes” to reduce homelessness. It alludes me how a property tax CAP will lower property taxes for affordable housing with presumably less taxation. Being pro-choice isn’t the only factor to being a progressive, and using the label of “progressive” might mislead voters.