By: Matt Rosenberg
Crime continues to be the Number One Issue in Chicago. Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas has made crime the centerpiece of his campaign and pledges to hire more police, deploy them more strategically, and improve their working conditions. That aligns with the nearly two-thirds of Chicagoans who say they don’t feel safe.
His April 4th general election opponent Brandon Johnson has taken a different tack with a focus on social programs fueled by higher taxes to get at the “root causes” of crime. But Johnson in recent years has gone further, expressing support for the “Defund the Police” movement and sympathy for looters in Chicago. Given nearly 80 percent of Chicagoans have said they want as much or more police presence in their neighborhoods, a closer look at Johnson’s remarks is warranted.
“I never said defund the police”
This week Johnson is claiming, “I never said, defund the police.” But that’s not what the record shows. Confronted directly in last week’s Chicago mayoral debate, Johnson sidestepped any explanation of his 2020 comment – shown on video during the debate – that defunding police is not “a slogan, it’s an actual real political goal.”
Those comments by Johnson were one of a series of remarks that were either at odds with maintaining present funding levels for law enforcement, or that excused looting.
In 2020, as a Cook County Commissioner Johnson said, “Reducing the sheriff’s budget is a case that I believe that we want…There is no number big enough.”
That year speaking at an panel titled “We Don’t Call Police: A Town Hall on a Police-Free Future,” Johnson said, “part of it is removing ourselves away from this, you know, state-sponsored policing, but also the tools that have been placed against Black folks that have been used violently, whether it’s policing, or administering standardized tests, or … around how white supremacy finds its way in every facet of our lives, that we have to fight and resist that.”
Looting stemmed from “frustration and anguish”
As the city reeled from escalating deadly violence and anarchy in the streets in summer 2020, Johnson in a WGN-TV interview also defended looting as “an outbreak of incredible frustration and anguish” tied to “a failed racist system.”
Chicago was becoming a national case study in failed leadership during the urban crime crisis that began after Floyd’s death. Eighteen people were killed in Chicago in one day on May 31 as rioters, looters, and shooters ran free citywide. That same day, neighborhood business districts were attacked by bands of organized criminals. Some backed up large rented trucks to buildings targeted for looting. Others removed and busted open ATMs. Some raided pharmacies for prescription drugs.
In July, 105 residents were murdered. Then in August Chicago exploded in rioting and looting once more. A local TV station posted photos of “a night of unrest and looting.” Shown in this one collection of snapshots were numerous shattered store windows, a smashed ATM, a looted SUV and the detritus of a rampage at a Best Buy where consumer electronics goods were looted. Other nabbed handbags and other luxury items from high-end stores on Michigan Avenue.
These were some of the looters whom Johnson excused as acting in “frustration and anguish.”
Defenders of Chicago looters were working from a common script. In an interview with Chicago’s NPR affiliate, a local Black Lives Matter activist named Ariel Atkins said, “A lot of people are…like, ‘Oh, you support the looters.’ And yeah, we do, one hundred percent. That’s reparations…I will support looters ‘till the end of the day. If they need to do that in order to eat, then that’s what you’ve got to do to eat.”
Looted stores “have insurance and assurance”
Retailers weren’t taking it well, understandably. Johnson was asked by a WGN-TV interviewer at that time, “Do you worry about stores leaving Chicago and the county because they don’t think it’s safe?”
Johnson bristled at the concern. He replied, “these companies have insurance and assurance.” He also said, “you can’t take a certain level of urgency to protect capital and the wealthy and not have that same tenacity to provide relief for families that have been devastated through structural racism for generations.”
Johnson amplified the point, saying, “We have to redirect dollars away from a failed racist system and move it into the hands of people who really are trying their very best to survive day-to-day. And if we can’t do that as a government, we are failing to meet the moment…To continue to criminalize people, and to chastise folks for being poor, it’s tired and it’s old. We actually need a new direction that really calls for massive investments in neighborhoods.”
In Johnson’s language, people do not deserve punishment for theft, it is a cry for help. It is a view echoed by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx who raised the threshold for felony theft from $300 to $1,000. As a result, victims and police know most thefts aren’t worth reporting. Hence the arrest rate in Chicago for theft last year was 3.6 percent. That’s out of 54,561 reported thefts.
At Chicago Public Schools, where Johnson has worked full-time as an organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, anti-police and pro-theft sentiments remain embedded on the district’s “equity” web page.
There lies the video “How Can We Win?” from activist Kimberly Jones. It’s an impassioned rant falsely charging police with routinely killing blacks. The video also advocates looting, and burning buildings because blacks cannot achieve material equity another way. Jones says: “their only hope and their only opportunity to get some of the things that we flaunt and flash in front of them all the time is to walk through a broken glass window and get it.”
Like Jones, Johnson presumes that blacks are incapacitated by ongoing structural racism and have no recourse through merit and achievement. Johnson wants $800 million more in local taxes to help balance the scales for black and Latino communities and reduce crime.
Is Johnson’s bold mayoral candidacy right on time, or tone-deaf?
There’s a lot to weigh. Reported major crimes in Chicago so far in 2023 are 47 percent higher than last year, while district-level beat cops are down 19 percent from 2019. Chicago in 2022 led the nation in number of murders for the 11th year in a row. Its murder rate was 2nd highest among the nation’s 20 most populous cities, 5 times higher than New’s York’s and 2.5 times greater than that of Los Angeles.
The mayoral contest is tightening
The latest poll shows the mayor’s race tightening, with Vallas up just six points and 16 percent of voters still undecided. Chicagoans had an hour-long look at Johnson and Vallas in last week’s debate.
They’ll soon decide what tack to take. It will be a particularly momentous decision.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Lori Lightfoot gets the boot in murder-capital Chicago. What does that mean for mayors of other homicide hot spots?
- Don’t let violence prevention programs become a fatal distraction in the quest to make Chicago safe again
- More cops on Chicago’s streets won’t help until criminals are prosecuted and sentenced
- Chicagoans are shooting back – and it’s not going to stop until leaders lead
- Chicago’s pursuit of ‘criminal justice reform’ an utter failure: Windy City homicides top nation for 11th year in a row with crime still rising.
- Chicago, New Orleans were the nation’s murder capitals in 2022 – A Wirepoints survey of America’s 75 largest cities
A set of state lawmakers want to extend CPS’ current school closing moratorium to February 1, 2027 – the same year CPS is set to transition to a fully-elected school board. That means schools like Manley High School, with capacity for more than 1,000 students but enrollment of just 78, can’t be closed for anther three years. The school spends $45,000 per student, but just 2.4% of students read at grade level.
Hopefully, all media will get the message, in Illinois, too.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
Chicago is beyond help. It has a majority criminal element that wants no police, not rules only death and mayhem. Let them have it, let them kill each other off and then start over.
I think the CIA is taking over the city slowly. They currently have the presidency now they can have the city the cartels targeted to move drugs around the country. They can checkmate the Teachers Union and politicians here with all of the debt the city is beholden too.
I seriously don’t know how anyone could vote for this idiot. Then again, when I look at the crime-friendly culture of the south side of Chicago and how people like him want to punish decent citizens who defend themselves well giving the green light to the real criminals who are killing, burning, looting and vandalizing it’s not surprising how someone like him might get elected. A recent Rasmussen pull has showed that nearly half of all blacks are racist against whites and these racist blacks are going to make up a huge part of his voting block. To be honest… Read more »
OMG! Johnson has the makings of a great politician. Says one thing and does something else. More money to get the root causes. There’ll never be enough! Chicago will love him. He’ll go far, er, at least one term.
I cannot fathom how anyone in Chicago who cares about public safety could vote for Brandon Johnson. He’s lying about his stand on defunding the police.
At its apex in the 1980s, Pravda and Izvestia provided cover for the Soviets in all of their ventures. As comical as it was, everyone was in on the joke and discounted their reporting and input/output. For Americans, we were cognizant of a few things: 1) We were the good guys, 2) Our military would dominate any escalation that the Russians decided to pursue, and 3) Whatever was being peddled in Moscow, was certainly propaganda and not reality. Fast forward to contemporary Chicago, Illinois, and the United States. We now have a monolithic and consolidated political class with a sycophantic… Read more »
Thank you for clarifying Mr Johnson’s position on law enforcement.
Obviously Chicago needs a larger law enforcement presence, not a reduction.
Perhaps he should reconsider his Mayoral bid and apply for an entry level position at CPD’s Bureau of Patrol where he can gain some appreciation of the necessity.
Great writing and reporting from Matt Rosenberg, just like always. And, like always, Matt writes about an issue important to people who care so much about Chicago. I’m on that list, right near the top.
You’ll always, always, always get a complete, comprehensive story from Matt about our Chicago. He’s part of that great tradition.
Kudos … again.
Johnson’s philosophy defies all common sense. It is hard to imagine anyone sharing his vision, which is pure anarchy, but the entitlement beliefs are strong in Chicago, based upon years and years of promises and expectations. Of course, he has never run a business either, so he has no idea what the real cost of looting is. Nor does he face the daily danger that most Chicagoans face daily. If Chicago doesnt have enough common sense to vote for Vallas, I fear the once great city is lost. And all of us will pay that price.
This escalated quickly.
This guy was bad news from the word Jump. Now, he’s hiding behind his words, and changing his tune. He will be a lot worse than his predecessor.
Brandon Johnson will continue the pro crime, pro criminal policy of Lightfoot. Rosenberg lays out the facts and the truth about Johnson. It’s time for the good people of Chicago to expose him and encourage everyone they know to vote against him.
Excellent piece, Matt.
In a nutshell, Brandon Johnson is a radical leftist whose agenda as mayor will give Chicago more of the same lawlessness that they’ve gotten from Lightfoot’s administration. He openly supported defunding the police and the destructive blm riots in 2020, but when confronted with his own words, he lied about it. I submit that if he truly cared about black lives, he would be more concerned with protecting the law-abiding, taxpaying black citizens of Chicago whose taxes he plans on raising while still leaving them vulnerable to the criminal elements roaming free in their neighborhoods.
Another terrific piece. Thanks for continuing to shine a light on Chicago’s problems with crime. Electing Vallas a must!
Am I correct in saying that Johnson believes that when a black person murders a black person it is the fault of white racism? Race should not be the focus of crime talk. The focus should be on how to make all streets safe for all people in the city, all the time. There should be no excuses for any murderer, no matter his race. The focus should be on the victims. They should be at the center of the conversation.
Mr Rosenberg shows us that Mr Johnson reflects the same sort of failed “leadership” that has embraced chaos and lawlessness, and rejects outright the desires of the voting public. Rather than confront challenges facing the city head-on – like a real leader would – Mr Johnson hides behind slogans and trite soundbites. Either he: 1) doesn’t understand the problems facing Chicago; 2) hold a world-view anathema to the voters; or, 3) is a coward. Voters should reject him at the polls.
Or 4) Ive heard the same comment from several people who have met Johnson. They all make the same comment: He is…….dumb. He says nothing of any substance and has no original thoughts. He simply parrots the same scripted talking points and can’t respond with any coherence to any off script question. He is a perfect brainless ventriloquist dummy for CTU vermin to control.
Kinda like a guy I’ve heard of who lives in Washington DC
LOL he lives in Delaware, occasionally spends time in DC, or at least that’s what they tell us…
Sure, makes sense. Given even more power to the public employee teachers union.
I must say, Mr. Rosenberg, this is your most eye-popping article yet. I knew Johnson was a racist and a communist, and probably an atheist, but I had never before seen the statements you quoted on policing and crime, especially looting. I’d say if Chicagoans vote for such a person, it shows a collective defect in the character of our residents.
Agreed. That “collective defect” that you speak of can de pluralized to stupidity and laziness. Also the Democrats pander with freebies to the “free stuff army” and gain the majority from the apathetic (30%) voting bloc. Get Out Of Jail Cards also are readily available. Contact Kim Foxx.
So well written, thank you, Matt. If anyone still needs convincing as to Brandon Johnson’s moto actions and beliefs, I encourage you to watch the Illinois Policy documentary “Local 1: The Rise of America’s Most Powerful Teacher’s Union”. Give the link to anyone you know who is still uncertain who they want to vote for. For me, there’s no question & I pray Chicago will finally have the guts to do the right thing. Here’s the link to YouTube, well worth an hour of your time: https://youtu.be/YbQ81mGucvs
Pretty simple, vote for Johnson and Chicago is done. I predicted this was going to happen years ago because the White man refuses to stand strong and challenge being called a racist.
My mother ran a flower shop and green houses in the South Shore neighborhood until 1996. As the neighborhood became more violent, the windows in the greenhouses were broken on a regular basis. The greenhouse manager had piles of window panes to replace the broken ones without ever filing a claim with the insurance company. The reason was sinple: file claims on a regular basis and watch insurance premium go through the roof or even face the possibility of not getting any insurance at all. Johnson is an idiot. Businesses pay property taxes for an implied contract with the city.… Read more »
If Chicagoans vote for Johnson – they deserve more of what they just voted out ….Lori Lightfoot in a suit.
The entire idea of “defund the police” by a candidate running for office, and in this case, Mayor, is not only reckless and it’s very divisive. Encouraging people to commit crime (burglarizing a business) sends the wrong message. Raising taxes during these very difficult times is all wrong.
The people have a choice to make. I hope it’s the right one.
Let’s go Brandon! Now I know what they mean.
Read Matt’s article and understand that exchanging one very bad mayor for another is not the answer. Brandon Johnson is lightfoot 2.0 …. if Chicago wants to save what is left of its streets and economy, Paul Vallas is its only answer.
Has Johnson earned the endorsement From Minister Farakahn, and the Nation of Islam? Sounds like the same talking points, or even more racist, but have not heard any mention of it.
He was at rainbow push last wknd. You can listen at AM 1690. It’ll knock your socks off, the things you’ll hear; give a listen.
Is there a link to the segment?
It’s linked in the second paragraph.
Probably was at his event this weekend at McCormick.
My impression of Brandon Johnson is that he attracts flies. We really don’t want mob rule or anybody who has no standards at the helm of a large City.
Kiss Chicago goodbye if Johnson is elected. Full blown communist who thinks the government is the answer to everything. He will drive thousands more out of the state. Should have never gotten to this point. Chicago voters have brought this upon themselves. Urban cities in this country have a problem with addressing crime and unfortunately it will need to get worse before it ever gets better. Any business is probably making plan A and plan B if the commie hater is elected. I keep thinking Chicago voters have a brain and then I see Brandon Johnson with his racist comments… Read more »
The tactic of blatant gaslight seems to be a core tactic of the extremist on the left side of the aisle. When this happens in such a blatant manner know that civil society is probably scrapping the bottom of the barrel. This is evidence by the flood of lunatics seeking office only to codify what in the past would have never been tolerated, rampant and unchecked deviant behavior. Johnson is no different. You thought lightfoot was bad (and she/they/them was awfully bad) this guy is next level catastrophe.
When I look at Chicago’s run-off election, I have to ask, “How did COVID alter America?” Not the virus, but the lockdowns. Isolating the public wasn’t meant to protect us from an invisible enemy. It was meant to isolate us from sharing thoughts about exaggerated COVID deaths. The ineffectiveness of masks and lockdowns, The devastation of our schools and breakdowns of mental health, etcetera. One thing not discussed: biased news media and it’s affect on society. Corporate media did more to destroy the fabric of our country than any exterior enemy. Corporate media divided us, whether it was social media outlets such as Twitter, or the… Read more »
It’s worse than what you’ve described. Left wing articles now all say the exact same thing. There’s no nuance in thought, there’s no intra-party debate. Almost everyone in the Democrat party thinks exactly the same. Democrat senators and congressmen all vote exactly the same, and the two senators who dissent are vilified. because of this, there’s no point in watching CNN, or reading the trib, or listening to NPR, or visiting Salon/Atlantic/Huffpo. THEY ALL SAY EXACTLY THE SAME THING. The conservative media has more nuance, and diversity, as it oscillates between corporate RINO, to new right (NRx), to fringe. But… Read more »
The best predictor of future conduct is past conduct. He said he wanted to defund the police. Believe him.
I am a 71 year old small business owner. I went into business at 62. I took out an SBA loan from the fed that charges me 10 and 1/2% interest. I owe one more year on my loan. I employ 4 people who depend on me for their livelihood. I put my blood, sweat and tears into my business! The idea that someone flippantly implies that someone has the right to loot makes me physically ill! This is obviously someone who knows nothing about busting your behind to survive! Talk about elitist!! Shame on him!!
Good for you Christine! I applaud you for speaking out about Brandon Johnson’s terrible statements about business owners!
You should have been born with platinum spoon in your mouth like pritzger and all would be good. He doesnt know what hard work or hard times are. A billionaire from birth and somehow your hard work doesnt count. Typical arrogant rich kid, make that fatass rich kid
It will be disappointing to see Chicago residents let this moment slip away. They have a clear choice between proven leadership that will improve the lives of all citizens or more empty rhetoric that drives business and jobs from the city, continues to turn a blind eye to the citizens being molested and murdered or drugged daily, and the general decay of the cities institutions and infrastructure.
Excellent points. We know who he is. The “polls” say they’re neck and neck. We know better. Without Dominion machines
(proven hacking), mail in ballots (harvesting and nursing home fraud) and dirty voter rolls (my dad kept voting after his death and I’m sure he switched parties), Vallas would win in a landslide. The Chicago Machine has selected not elected politicians for several decades. The foxes run the hen house now. Johnson will obey.
Sadly, in Illinois, he’s a shoe-in.
Plus Zuckerbucks are still being spread to election boards with a Obama leftist running the new software show.
Johnson and the Communist Party members I believe want Batman’s Gotham. Hope the collapse happens soon. The sooner Chicago dies the better.
What experience has Mr. Johnson had that will enable him to run a city with a $73 billion budget?
He’s black therefore your quesrjon is totally racist. Now go sit in the corner.
I can’t vote in chicago any longer. I think it’s too little, too late. The gangs have taken over and are the New Machine. I think they will threaten and intimidate which will flip the Latinos to support Johnson. If looting and killing will make blacks and brown’s equal it’s Mayor Johnson. He’s already in the gangs pockets.
Hope I’m wrong.
Would not be surprised if cartel and gangs are making payments to Kim Foxx and many others. Its good business for them to have the entire city a shooting gallery because they can do anything with impunity. This is one of the biggest cities for Sinaloa if not the biggest. There is a cost just look at the narco state South of the border, murders every day and citizens have disappeared. I have sad that all along about Biden, no way in hell that the cartels are not involved. Did hear that is who helped with vote fraud in Arizona… Read more »
Black and Brown equal?? The majority of Latinos are conservative and non violent and won’t be flipped. Now you are sounding racist 🙄
Johnson is an outright racist. Plain and simple. From the beginning its all about race. So, as a voter who believes its not about the color of your skin nor your ethnic background, but more importantly your work ethics and what he/she will bring to the table to move Chicago forward and better position us for betterment. Johnson is NOT the guy for this job. WAY TOO MANY other racist on his coat tails. In the event he does win, this city will become Detroit again in no time.
I have to agree with Neil’s comments “you get what you vote for.” Johnson would be a disaster for Chicago residents and Chicago businesses. It is important to admit that Chicago drives Illinois. If Chicago can no longer hold its own because of the excess of crime, ALL of Illinois will suffer as a result. For the good of the people of Illinois, Chicago must be a major city and must be a place to do business and live. People are fleeing Chicago to other parts of the state or other states. Businesses are doing the same. Please, Chicagoans –… Read more »
You get what you vote for. Chicago used to vote for the candidate that made the city work. I doubt that either of these candidates will make Chicago “work”. But everything we know about Brandon Johnson says that the city will work even less well under his control. He has slogans without evidence that they will do anything to change the welfare of the people of Chicago.
Brandon Johnson is a radical marxist. He does not care about public safety as we have witnessed through his statements about defunding the CPD and the Cook County Sheriff’s department. His comments about the looting, theft and destruction of businesses by physical damage and fire, he is ignorant about what goes into running a business and his comment “they have insurance and assurance” shows his ignorance. All he does is speak about white supremacy and structural racism. If anyone thinks Chicago is in terrible condition now, wait until Brandon Johnson is becomes mayor. Brandon Johnson will be Lori Lightfoot 2.0.
Dear City of Chicago! If you vote in Mr. Johnson as mayor, you have made your city unlivable. Thus, people will opt to live elsewhere. Oh, and for the record! When the criminals assault and kill you, don’t go crying to your BLM Leaders from 2020 or any era that life isn’t fair. The reason? They don’t really care and besides! They won’t hear you because you’ll be in the hospital or dead. There is good and there is evil in life. There are people in society who are adults and by cooperation root out evil and replace it with… Read more »
No hope if he is elected, not that there ever was any hope.
The Chitty is in a free fall and will hit the bottom one day.
No one will like where it is going not even the criminals.
It will become a larger cesspool.
The first issue in dealing with crime in Chicago is indeed fixing a horrific public school system… the very system endorsing Johnson. Despite the disadvantage Chicago youth face being undeserved by a failing school system, making excuses for criminal behavior is not the answer.
Fix the problem for sure, but in the meantime the law-abiding citizens of the city deserve to be protected. The absolute failures of Lightfoot and Foxx will only continue with a Johnson mayoral term. Vallas may not be the long term solution for Chicago, but he can help, literally and figuratively, stop the bleeding.
Chicago is teetering on an abyss, let’s hope there is actual significant voter turnout for the run off.
What we have here is a textbook example of Saul Alinsky’s tactics in putting cultural marxism into practice. Creating class struggle, promoting violence, rubbing wounds raw, grinding salt into the wounds, encouraging looting, agitating for ways to drive law-abiding citizens out. How much more do we need to see to understand what’s going on?
Chicago can write its own epitaph on April 4th by voting for Johnson or get a reprieve from the death spiral it’s in by voting for Vallas. It’s just that simple. As a former Chicagoan born and raised on the northwest side, I pray it’s the latter!
Whats tired and old is the race baiting grift these days Brandon.
His words show that he is not a leader and never will be.
If Johnson gets his way, we will see many dead social workers, the last officer was shot just getting out of his car. Let’s get real, the dreamy foolishness of his campaign is mind boggling. Am sure he will get votes, sadly.