Chicago’s new human relations chair hopes to build bridges to Jewish community

The mayor’s relationship with leaders of the mainstream Jewish community has been frayed ever since he cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of a nonbinding resolution demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. It was further strained by the mayor’s refusal to fire his chief lobbyist and remove Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez as chair of the City Council’s Committee on Health and Human Relations for their social media posts viewed by Jewish leaders as antisemitic. Johnson also refused to remove a display at the Cultural Center that a City Council majority viewed as antisemitic.