Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Mitchell Armentrout2023-03-28T05:00:00-05:00https://chicago.suntimes.com/authors/mitchell-armentrout/rss2023-03-28T05:00:00-05:002023-03-28T13:46:55-05:0043rd Ward runoff: Ald. Timmy Knudsen faces Brian Comer
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<img class="Image" alt="Ald. Timmy Knudsen (left) and challenger Brian Comer participate in a 43rd Ward candidate forum at Lincoln Park High School last week." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/70d52fe/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+67/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F9LiKaB7mxzP6ri2FN2PnvirGJkE%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28638x425%3A639x426%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24541323%2Fknudsen_comer_combo_3.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3354427/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+67/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F9LiKaB7mxzP6ri2FN2PnvirGJkE%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28638x425%3A639x426%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24541323%2Fknudsen_comer_combo_3.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Ald. Timmy Knudsen (left) and challenger Brian Comer participate in a 43rd Ward candidate forum at Lincoln Park High School last week.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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<p>Ald. Timmy Knudsen sits in his 43rd Ward City Council seat thanks to Mayor Lori Lightfoot.</p><p>If it’s pulled out from under him in next week’s runoff, it’ll likely be thanks to his connection to her.</p><p>Five months after Lightfoot appointed him to replace retiring former Ald. Michele Smith, Knudsen came out on top in the Feb. 28 election. But he did so with just about a quarter of the vote across Lincoln Park, Old Town and the Gold Coast — and by less than three percentage points over the upstart, runner-up challenge from consultant Brian Comer. </p><p>On that same February day, voters in the 43rd summarily rejected Lightfoot, who finished a distant third in the affluent ward behind Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas — whose vote total was more than five times greater than the outgoing mayor’s. </p><p>Now, Knudsen — at 32 the Council’s youngest member, and the first openly gay person to represent his ward — finds himself defending his brief record in a race that, like so many others across Chicago, has largely emerged as a referendum on which candidate is better equipped to address public safety concerns. </p><p>“Since I was appointed back in September, we’ve gotten right to work on crime,” Knudsen said during a debate with Comer last week at Lincoln Park High School. “We’ve added more funding for cameras in our ward that the police commanders feel is a good way to deter crime and put eyes on the beat. … I believe in community policing, and we will keep fighting for it.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Ald. Timmy Knudsen answers questions during a 43rd Ward candidate forum at Lincoln Park High School in Lincoln Park last week." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/51657c2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F9f0IjNaaOB6Tkm8t0maqBBW24Cc%3D%2F0x0%3A6122x4083%2F6122x4083%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283061x2042%3A3062x2043%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24541330%2FRUNOFF43_03XX23_08.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/754d313/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F9f0IjNaaOB6Tkm8t0maqBBW24Cc%3D%2F0x0%3A6122x4083%2F6122x4083%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283061x2042%3A3062x2043%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24541330%2FRUNOFF43_03XX23_08.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Ald. Timmy Knudsen answers questions during a 43rd Ward candidate forum at Lincoln Park High School in Lincoln Park last week.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Comer, 48, has tried to position himself as a bigger thinker on police strategy, in opposition to an incumbent “appointed by a lame-duck mayor,” whom Comer claims “is not engaging, listening or collaborating with the residents of this community.”</p><p>“Public safety is issue one, two and three right now,” Comer said at the debate. “Cameras are great, but that doesn’t actually rebuild the 2,000-officer deficit that we have in the city right now. That’s an acute problem that needs an innovative solution,” he said, offering up a plan to recruit and incentivize college students to join the ranks. </p><p>Knudsen, a corporate lawyer by trade who previously directed the Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals, led the field of six candidates in the general election with 26.8% of the vote. </p><p>Comer is the president of the Sheffield Neighborhood Association president, and he says his consulting clients mostly come from the renewable energy and financial services sectors. He advanced to the runoff with 24.1% of the vote.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Runoff candidate Brian Comer answers questions during a 43rd Ward candidate forum at Lincoln Park High School in Lincoln Park last week." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f862158/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FSVamuWUwzs-F8Bt7aE5n9_rXvtI%3D%2F0x0%3A6122x4083%2F6122x4083%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283061x2042%3A3062x2043%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24531280%2FRUNOFF2023_04.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/87d5794/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FSVamuWUwzs-F8Bt7aE5n9_rXvtI%3D%2F0x0%3A6122x4083%2F6122x4083%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283061x2042%3A3062x2043%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24531280%2FRUNOFF2023_04.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Runoff candidate Brian Comer answers questions during a 43rd Ward candidate forum at Lincoln Park High School in Lincoln Park last week.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>The only other two challengers to crack double digits in the first round of voting — Rebecca Janowitz with 19.8% and Wendi Taylor Nations with 13.5% — have both endorsed Knudsen in the runoff. </p><p>Knudsen took a plurality of votes in 13 of the ward’s 23 precincts last month, compared to five where Comer led the pack. </p><p>Overall, Knudsen outpaced Comer head-to-head in 16 precincts, with the incumbent sweeping most areas closer to Old Town and the lakefront north to Diversey Parkway, while the challenger racked up sizable margins over Knudsen in seven polling places, mostly west of Halsted Street. </p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<p>In the mayor’s race, Vallas swept the ward with 55.2% of the vote, compared to 17% for Johnson and 10.8% for Lightfoot, whose ties to Knudsen have been downplayed by the appointed alderperson even though the mayor gave him the job. </p><p>It’s a story of unrequited political boosts across the board. Comer, who also applied for Lightfoot’s appointment, has endorsed Vallas throughout his campaign, but Vallas is endorsing Knudsen — who says he’s not taking sides in the mayor’s race. But Knudsen says he does “support the crime plan of Paul Vallas.” </p><p>Knudsen — who worked on past campaigns for Democrats including Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Gov. J.B. Pritzker — has lined up establishment support from the highest ranks of the state party, including U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, on down to the 43rd Ward, where Michele Smith and all five other living former alderpersons are endorsing Knudsen. </p><p>Knudsen also served as a “bag boy” for Barack Obama — carrying the president’s luggage — when Obama came to town to raise money for Giannoulias’ ill-fated 2010 Senate bid, a gig that put Knudsen behind the scenes with the president and his then-chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.</p><p>“It was very like storybook-like, one of the cooler days of my early life,” Knudsen told the Sun-Times during an interview at his campaign office near Halsted and Armitage. </p><p>Those connections help explain how a City Council neophyte has managed to raise money like a seasoned political veteran, collecting more than $367,000 in donations since launching a campaign committee last summer. </p><p>Knudsen’s lengthy roster of contributors includes familiar deep-pocketed Chicago investors such as Elzie Higginbottom and Fred Eychaner, as well as Matthew Pritzker, a cousin of the billionaire governor.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) (left) and runoff candidate Brian Comer ask each other questions during a 43rd Ward candidate forum at Lincoln Park High School in Lincoln Park last week." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5a761a7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5870x3294+0+310/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FZn7EbUUV6Gr535gUoiDttRNtOW8%3D%2F0x0%3A5870x3913%2F5870x3913%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282935x1957%3A2936x1958%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24531278%2FRUNOFF2023_01.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b263e0c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5870x3294+0+310/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FZn7EbUUV6Gr535gUoiDttRNtOW8%3D%2F0x0%3A5870x3913%2F5870x3913%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282935x1957%3A2936x1958%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24531278%2FRUNOFF2023_01.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) (left) and runoff candidate Brian Comer ask each other questions during a 43rd Ward candidate forum at Lincoln Park High School in Lincoln Park last week.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Knudsen’s campaign has also cashed checks from Grubhub, DoorDash and the Illinois Restaurant Association, in addition to several unions and the Realtor PAC. </p><p>Comer calls them all troubling examples of how the incumbent is “funded and supported by a political machine that is trying to take your vote.”</p><p>The challenger has worked with a smaller financial war chest, but has still raised more than $75,000 since last August. That includes $7,400 of Comer’s own money, plus campaign contributions from a relative and a handful of city law firms and other businesses. </p><p>Comer said the connections he’s made and the problems he’s solved entering his fourth term as president for 10,000 residents in the Sheffield Neighborhood Association will translate well to City Hall. </p><p>“Not only are you engaging with your community, you’re collaborating with your neighbors and residents, and you need to listen to them,” Comer told the Sun-Times before a fundraiser at a Lincoln Park gym. </p><p>“At the end of the day, you’re gonna have 52,000 bosses, and they’re gonna let you know what they think.”<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/28/23653664/43rd-ward-runoff-timmy-knudsen-brian-comerMitchell Armentrout2023-03-24T19:10:13.83-05:002023-03-24T19:10:15-05:00Who is Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas? From shy boy with a stutter to CPS CEO.
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<img class="Image" alt="A young Paul Vallas (left) in 1962; mayoral candidate Paul Vallas (right) earlier this month." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/43009c0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FxROENcQuSs284FJnkyH-tm-nwYY%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28606x296%3A607x297%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532092%2Fvallas_child_combo_1.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c58c6fc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+0/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FxROENcQuSs284FJnkyH-tm-nwYY%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28606x296%3A607x297%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532092%2Fvallas_child_combo_1.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>A young Paul Vallas (left) in 1962; mayoral candidate Paul Vallas (right) earlier this month.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Provided; Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times-file</p></div></div>
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<p>If you ask those close to Paul Vallas to describe the man behind the headlines of his four-decade career, you’ll get a portrait of a complex figure: one who is an “accessible,” “incredibly honest” visionary, but who can be “impulsive,” and at times a “fish out of water” with a propensity for “temper tantrums.” </p><p>That range of opinion is only fitting for the sometimes controversial figure who has taken a winding path from a shy boy with a severe stutter in the Roseland neighborhood, to the head of Chicago Public Schools — and now the cusp of the fifth floor of City Hall. </p><p>Supporters and opponents alike tend to agree on at least a couple of descriptors for the 69-year-old mayoral contender: a “ball of energy” with a deep well of public policy ideas. They also often note a sincere desire to benefit different communities — and a temper that can flare upon others who aren’t up to the task. </p><p>“I’ve always been pretty intense and pretty demanding,” Vallas said at his West Loop campaign headquarters during a brief sit-down. “I think I still am — I mean you don’t see me behind the scenes. But I think when I get angry, it’s generally for legitimate reasons.” </p><p>After a series of political campaigns that all ended in defeat until Feb. 28, Vallas now finds himself favored by many in the April 4 runoff, where Chicagoans will weigh not only his record, but also his temperament and leadership style when deciding whether he’s fit for Chicago’s highest office. </p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<p></p><h3>‘I had my own imaginary friends’</h3><p>Some of Dean Vallas’ earliest recollections of his older brother were that of a nervous, lanky kid with a speech impediment, who mostly kept his mouth shut to avoid attention. </p><p>“There was a lot of bullying going on,” Dean Vallas said. “And he struggled with some of his own learning differences as a result of it.” </p><p>The second of four kids, Paul Vallas would play football and baseball with his siblings, but was often more comfortable on his own. </p><p>“I had my own imaginary friends,” the mayoral candidate recalled, describing the Flash Gordon-inspired scenarios he’d act out. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatLeft>
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<img class="Image" alt="Paul Vallas High School Graduation photo August 1972." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/667954d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2501x1404+0+540/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FOuGG1CbUTUrS-Bau20Iv_Zbjsrk%3D%2F0x0%3A2501x2483%2F2501x2483%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281251x1242%3A1252x1243%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532628%2Fvallas_one_.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5ff25b9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2501x1404+0+540/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FOuGG1CbUTUrS-Bau20Iv_Zbjsrk%3D%2F0x0%3A2501x2483%2F2501x2483%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281251x1242%3A1252x1243%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532628%2Fvallas_one_.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Paul Vallas’ high school graduation photo, August 1972.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Provided</p></div></div>
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</div><p>It got tougher when the family moved to the southwest suburbs, where Paul Vallas’ father opened a restaurant in Alsip. The persistent stutter, an unfortunate case of acne and a new crowd of classmates at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park made for hellish teen years. </p><p>“I got into fights a couple of times,” said Paul Vallas, whose grades were middling until he underwent a radical transformation — physically and academically — at Moraine Valley Community College and later Western Illinois University. </p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<p>“He pretty much locked himself in the weight room and studied all day and lifted all day as well,” the candidate’s brother said. “So he came out four years later, Phi Beta Kappa [honors] from Western Illinois, straight-A student, master’s degree in political science and about 225 pounds of muscle. And he started to build confidence in himself.” </p><p>Paul Vallas signed up for the National Guard, where he stayed for 13 years, with hopes of a career as a diplomat. Instead, former state Sen. Sam Maragos, a friend of his parents, pointed Vallas to openings in Springfield, where in 1980 he became an analyst in the Illinois Senate president’s office. </p><h3>‘It took me about 30 days to basically say, “I own this” ’</h3><p>A far cry from his days as a shy teen, Paul Vallas has taken a dominant and at times unilateral approach to his leadership roles. </p><p>His number-crunching prowess eventually landed him at the top of the Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission, the nonpartisan agency that did research for the state Legislature. He also caught the attention of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who named him the city’s revenue director in 1990 and later budget director. Daley then tapped Paul Vallas as his first CEO of Chicago Public Schools in 1995, launching his lasting career as a school reformer. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatRight>
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<img class="Image" alt="Paul Vallas-1990 National Guard photo" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f878e66/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2461x1381+0+286/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2Fj7hQwzRtrh5M4-qggLr0f63yjxg%3D%2F0x0%3A2461x1953%2F2461x1953%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281231x977%3A1232x978%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532637%2Fvallas_two_.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ab0c625/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2461x1381+0+286/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2Fj7hQwzRtrh5M4-qggLr0f63yjxg%3D%2F0x0%3A2461x1953%2F2461x1953%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281231x977%3A1232x978%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532637%2Fvallas_two_.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Paul Vallas-1990 National Guard photo</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Chicago Sun-Times Archives</p></div></div>
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</div><p>At CPS, Paul Vallas made rapid top-down changes, including opening the city’s first charter schools, an approach strongly opposed by traditional public school advocates in Chicago. He was initially praised for improving test scores and raising teacher pay, and he takes pride today in setting an education agenda he believed in. </p><p>“It took me about 30 days to basically say, ‘I own this,’” Paul Vallas said. </p><p>But his enthusiasm was at times scattershot, say some former colleagues. The CPS CEO was “all over the place” with ideas, said Carlos Azcoitia — whom Paul Vallas initially fired and then rehired as his deputy education chief.</p><p>“He was impulsive in many ways” but “with certain key people, he would listen,” said Azcoitia, who spoke highly of the mayoral candidate. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatRight>
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<img class="Image" alt="Then city Budget Director Paul Vallas in 1993." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/043da24/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+189/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FKTD0rLH6MMiMQkeyzCCui0xZt_k%3D%2F0x0%3A3000x2061%2F3000x2061%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281500x1031%3A1501x1032%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532638%2F298_VALLAS_PAUL_G._DIRECTOR_OF_REVENUE____0497434A.4244.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1f7abb5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+189/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FKTD0rLH6MMiMQkeyzCCui0xZt_k%3D%2F0x0%3A3000x2061%2F3000x2061%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281500x1031%3A1501x1032%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532638%2F298_VALLAS_PAUL_G._DIRECTOR_OF_REVENUE____0497434A.4244.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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>
</picture>
<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Then city Budget Director Paul Vallas in 1993.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Rich Hein/Chicago Sun-Times files</p></div></div>
</figure>
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</div><p>Paul Vallas also started to develop his now long-standing reputation as an accessible figure who gives his phone number out like candy.</p><p>“If there was a problem with the Chicago Public Schools, I felt I should explain what happened,” he says. </p><p>Eventually, Daley grew disenchanted with his public schools chief and suspected he was more concerned about his public image than improving the district, Daley confidantes told the Sun-Times at the time.Amid a downturn in test scores, Paul Vallas was pressed to step down. </p><p>He stayed in the news with the launch of his first in a series of failed political bids when he ran for governor in 2002 in the Democratic primary. It was a tall task “in the deep end of the political pool,” and Paul Vallas “didn’t have a lot of swimming lessons at the time,” said 42nd Ward Ald. Brendan Reilly, who worked as the candidate’s communications director in that race. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatLeft>
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas holds a news conference in Mayor Richard M. Daley at City Hall in 1997." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1ded5f5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1646x924+0+205/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FKuUKfIhAY77LNgEyp3-rerjYCTY%3D%2F0x0%3A1646x1333%2F1646x1333%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28823x667%3A824x668%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532642%2F11_28_Black_School_Bill.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/49cc39e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1646x924+0+205/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FKuUKfIhAY77LNgEyp3-rerjYCTY%3D%2F0x0%3A1646x1333%2F1646x1333%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28823x667%3A824x668%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532642%2F11_28_Black_School_Bill.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas holds a news conference with Mayor Richard M. Daley at City Hall in 1997.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Bob Black/Chicago Sun-Times-file</p></div></div>
</figure>
</div>
</div><p>“Paul gravitates toward big challenges,” Reilly said. “He’s a problem-solver. He goes for the really big, nearly impossible tasks.” </p><p>Reilly, who has endorsed Paul Vallas this year and described him as “a bit wonkish” and “incredibly honest,” said he’d at times have to confiscate the candidate’s phone to stop him from talking to reporters ad nauseam about his policy ideas. Paul Vallas lost that primary by 2 percentage points. </p><h3>‘Not a punitive person’</h3><p>With a brewing reputation as a “fixer” — for better or worse — Paul Vallas took his school overhaul formula on the road in 2002 with a series of school district stops including in Philadelphia, Louisiana, Haiti and Chile. It’s work his supporters cite as evidence he can face a challenge head-on, even when he made missteps. </p><p>“Was he aggressive? Yes. Did he cuss a lot? Yes,” said Joyce Kenner, the former Whitney Young Magnet High School principal, who has endorsed him. “Paul Vallas has made mistakes. But has he learned from those mistakes? Absolutely.”</p><p>His temper is among the things New Orleans public school advocate and parent Karran Harper Royal remembers most about Paul Vallas. Harper Royal said she would meet with him to advocate for a school in her neighborhood, which ended up being run by three different charter companies, despite protests. </p><p>“He told me everything I wanted to hear. … He was friendly until you pushed back on what he was doing,” Harper Royal recalled. “And then he acted like a 2-year-old. I have seen him slam things on the desk.” </p><p>The mayoral candidate admits he still loses his temper but does so “behind closed doors,” adding that he’s “not a punitive person” and “can take a punch.” </p><p>While away, Paul Vallas would make regular trips back to visit his wife Sharon and sons Paul, Gus and Mark. He saw an opportunity to come home in the 2010 race for Cook County Board president, and thought about running as a Republican. Though he never ran at all, that he considered a GOP ticket haunts him now as some question his true party leanings. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatLeft>
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<img class="Image" alt="Paul Vallas has breakfast with his family in their Beverly home in 2002 before he heads out to campaign for governor. Pictured (left to right) are Paul, then 13; Mark, then 8; Gus (with back to camera), then 10; Vallas and wife Sharon." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9b746ae/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1122+0+95/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FDCSMNrblsBrIjOZ8f48rBXnJTbg%3D%2F0x0%3A2000x1312%2F2000x1312%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281000x656%3A1001x657%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24535316%2F2_12_WHITE_paul_vallas_19.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5ad6a1c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1122+0+95/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FDCSMNrblsBrIjOZ8f48rBXnJTbg%3D%2F0x0%3A2000x1312%2F2000x1312%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281000x656%3A1001x657%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24535316%2F2_12_WHITE_paul_vallas_19.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Paul Vallas has breakfast with his family in their Beverly home in 2002 before he heads out to campaign for governor. Pictured (left to right) are Paul, then 13; Mark, then 8; Gus (with back to camera), then 10; Vallas and wife Sharon.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>John H White/Chicago Sun-Times file</p></div></div>
</figure>
</div>
</div><p>Paul Vallas makes friends across the political spectrum, Dean Vallas countered, adding that his brother — a film buff — used to go to the movies with an unlikely cast of characters, including the Rev. Michael Pfleger and the late former Republican Attorney General Jim Ryan. It’s a bipartisan approach Vallas honed in Springfield, Dean Vallas said. </p><p>“He’d walk up to a Republican farmer from Bloomington and say, ‘Hey, here’s what a farmer in a very similar district is doing in Iowa. Take a look at this.’ ” Dean Vallas said. “And he would do the same thing for a legislator from the Back of the Yards. So it’s always been about policy.” </p><h3> ‘A fish out of water’</h3><p>It was Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner who appointed Paul Vallas to his most recent post on a public payroll, tapping him in 2017 for a seat on the Chicago State University board of trustees, hoping for a turnaround of the financially maligned South Side campus. </p><p>His work there earned mixed reviews. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatRight>
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<img class="Image" alt="Then CPS CEO Paul Vallas at the Board of Education headquarters in 1998," srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/af2f13f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1592x893+0+341/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FzBWt0jtE8i92jiuX5_etavF9ssU%3D%2F0x0%3A1592x1576%2F1592x1576%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28796x788%3A797x789%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532663%2F7_2_cruze_vallas_1.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/246dc4a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1592x893+0+341/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FzBWt0jtE8i92jiuX5_etavF9ssU%3D%2F0x0%3A1592x1576%2F1592x1576%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28796x788%3A797x789%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532663%2F7_2_cruze_vallas_1.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Then CPS CEO Paul Vallas at the Board of Education headquarters in 1998,</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Tom Cruze/Sun-Times-file</p></div></div>
</figure>
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</div><p>“He was almost like a fish out of water,” said the Rev. Marshall Hatch Sr., who chaired the board when Paul Vallas arrived, and has endorsed his opponent <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/24/23653900/brandon-johnson-profile-mayor-runoff-election-ctu-religion-grade-school-paul-vallas-union" target="_blank" >Brandon Johnson</a> for the runoff. “He’s this ball of energy guy, and his brain is all over the place.” </p><p>“He’s calling the university ‘the district’ — I mean, that’s kind of like a dead giveaway. He’s not entirely clear that this is a different context.” </p><p>But retired professor Robert Bionaz, who was president of the faculty union at the time, has a different impression.</p><p>“Sometimes [Vallas] got the nomenclature wrong, but I think he had a good understanding of the educational mission.” </p><p>He recalls Paul Vallas reaching out to him to discuss campus issues — a “highly unusual” olive branch. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatLeft>
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<img class="Image" alt="Gov. Bruce Rauner (left) and Paul Vallas (right) listen as state Sen. Donne Trotter discusses Chicago State University during a news conference in 2017.&nbsp;" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7659c3a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2424x1360+0+128/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FfoIXBMYrL_CRW0sMLuemfu3MY7M%3D%2F0x0%3A2424x1616%2F2424x1616%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281212x808%3A1213x809%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532653%2F2_12_WHITE_paul_vallas_11.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d5d2be5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2424x1360+0+128/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FfoIXBMYrL_CRW0sMLuemfu3MY7M%3D%2F0x0%3A2424x1616%2F2424x1616%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281212x808%3A1213x809%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532653%2F2_12_WHITE_paul_vallas_11.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Gov. Bruce Rauner (left) and Paul Vallas (right) listen as state Sen. Donne Trotter discusses Chicago State University during a news conference in 2017. </p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times-file</p></div></div>
</figure>
</div>
</div><p>“I thought it was a mistake that they didn’t give him more authority,” Bionaz said. </p><p>Paul Vallas was out after barely a year, with some board members questioning whether he’d used the post to score political points ahead of his first run for mayor in 2019, which the candidate disputes. </p><p>Tragedy struck the Vallas family in 2018, when the candidate’s son Mark died in California after a struggle with opioid addiction. </p><p>Paul Vallas told the GreekReporter news service at the time that his son’s death “made me more determined to run for public office.” </p><h3>‘He’s been better than I’ve ever seen’</h3><p>After placing ninth in a crowded field in 2019, Vallas has found his groove this <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections" target="_blank" >election,</a> in part through his focus on the city’s persistent crime problems, and his ability to rein in his wonkiness. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatRight>
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas greets the crowd during his election night party on Feb. 28." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/039ae26/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+156/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FXMMM1cn-HStKX8ig7pAt3ds3mAc%3D%2F0x0%3A3000x1996%2F3000x1996%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281500x998%3A1501x999%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532656%2FELECTIONFEB_4.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/84508aa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+156/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FXMMM1cn-HStKX8ig7pAt3ds3mAc%3D%2F0x0%3A3000x1996%2F3000x1996%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281500x998%3A1501x999%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532656%2FELECTIONFEB_4.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas greets the crowd during his election night party on Feb. 28.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times-file</p></div></div>
</figure>
</div>
</div><p>“We never needed a policy team. What we need is people to write down what he’s saying, and then condense it … He’s been better than I’ve ever seen,” said Dean Vallas, who added that his brother is much more willing to attack his opponent this campaign. </p><p>“We have two weeks left,” Paul Vallas said in an interview Monday. “The last two weeks are going to be like a slugfest, like the 14th and 15th rounds of a heavyweight boxing match. So if you’re gonna win on points, you’ve got to win the final two rounds.”</p><p><i>Mariah Woelfel covers city politics and government for WBEZ. Mitchell Armentrout covers casinos, gambling and other political issues for the Chicago Sun-Times</i><br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/24/23654104/paul-vallas-profile-mayor-runoff-election-cps-daley-grade-school-brandon-johnsonMariah WoelfelMitchell Armentrout2023-03-24T08:23:17.869-05:002023-03-24T10:05:15-05:00How Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas grew into Chicago mayoral runoff rivals
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<img class="Image" alt="A young Paul Vallas (left) in 1962; Brandon Johnson (right) in grade school. " srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/da3f732/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+67/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2Fbr4OyyDwkXgsVspTHVRMV7x2pZI%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28638x425%3A639x426%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532235%2Fvallas_johnson_child_combo_1.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ab382d5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+67/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2Fbr4OyyDwkXgsVspTHVRMV7x2pZI%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28638x425%3A639x426%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532235%2Fvallas_johnson_child_combo_1.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>A young Paul Vallas (left) in 1962; Brandon Johnson (right) in grade school. </p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Provided</p></div></div>
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<p></p><p></p><p>As the April 4 runoff draws closer, the Sun-Times and WBEZ have teamed up to take an in-depth look into the lives and careers of the two men vying to be Chicago’s next mayor.</p><p>One of them started out as a boy in Roseland before moving with his family to the southwest suburbs. The other was raised in far west suburban Elgin before moving to Chicago’s West Side after he married. </p><p>Despite following very different paths, both now have their sights trained on Chicago’s City Hall. Below, check out detailed profiles on the respective backgrounds of Johnson and Vallas from Sun-Times and WBEZ reporters.</p><h3><a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/24/23653900/brandon-johnson-profile-mayor-runoff-election-ctu-religion-grade-school-paul-vallas-union" target="_blank" ><strong>PROFILE: Brandon Johnson</strong></a></h3><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson (left) before a debate earlier this month; Brandon Johnson (right) in grade school.&nbsp;" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d3afff1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+67/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FP0LiU5uFaHb56IQBvH4m6Hltwzg%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28638x425%3A639x426%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24531935%2Fjohnson_child_combo_1.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0aff8d6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+67/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FP0LiU5uFaHb56IQBvH4m6Hltwzg%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28638x425%3A639x426%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24531935%2Fjohnson_child_combo_1.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d3afff1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+67/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FP0LiU5uFaHb56IQBvH4m6Hltwzg%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28638x425%3A639x426%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24531935%2Fjohnson_child_combo_1.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4="
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson (left) before a debate earlier this month; Brandon Johnson (right) in grade school. </p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times; Provided</p></div></div>
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</div><p></p><h3><a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/24/23654104/paul-vallas-profile-mayor-runoff-election-cps-daley-grade-school-brandon-johnson" target="_blank" ><strong>PROFILE: Paul Vallas</strong></a></h3><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="A young Paul Vallas (left) in 1962; mayoral candidate Paul Vallas (right) earlier this month." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/991b047/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+67/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FxkjXpYUZ-jIf8PQJ0gtnqyqtEJQ%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28638x425%3A639x426%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532092%2Fvallas_child_combo_1.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4755851/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1275x716+0+67/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FxkjXpYUZ-jIf8PQJ0gtnqyqtEJQ%3D%2F0x0%3A1275x850%2F1275x850%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28638x425%3A639x426%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24532092%2Fvallas_child_combo_1.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>A young Paul Vallas (left) in 1962; mayoral candidate Paul Vallas (right) earlier this month.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Provided; Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times-file</p></div></div>
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https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/24/23654130/brandon-johnson-vs-paul-vallas-profiles-mayoral-runoff-2023Tina SfondelesMariah WoelfelTessa Weinberg | WBEZMitchell Armentrout2023-03-23T05:00:00-05:002023-03-23T17:29:04-05:00Giannoulias targets carjackings in Illinois with $21 million in grants
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<img class="Image" alt="A Chicago Police Department SUV with license-plate readers at a Northwest Side station in 2022. State officials are investing $21 million in that technology and others to help police fight a rise in carjackings." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7026cab/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3267x1834+0+78/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FYRhV8Len9oj5ZXcnoHz4cPqyOdA%3D%2F0x0%3A3267x2178%2F3267x2178%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281739x995%3A1740x996%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24528271%2FPLATEREADERS_042122_06.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7670404/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3267x1834+0+78/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FYRhV8Len9oj5ZXcnoHz4cPqyOdA%3D%2F0x0%3A3267x2178%2F3267x2178%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281739x995%3A1740x996%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24528271%2FPLATEREADERS_042122_06.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>A Chicago Police Department SUV fitted with license-plate readers at a Northwest Side station is shown in 2022. State officials are investing $21 million in that technology and others to help police fight a rise in carjackings.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin / Sun-Times file</p></div></div>
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<p>Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias on Thursday plans to announce $21 million in grants to police departments and task forces across the state in an effort to tamp down on a three-year surge in armed carjackings. </p><p>More than half of that funding is earmarked for the Illinois State Police and the Chicago Police Department as the city grapples with some of its highest numbers of carjackings in at least a generation. </p><p>“It’s destroying communities,” Giannoulias told the Sun-Times ahead of the grant announcement. “It’s causing people to leave the state, making people second-guess putting their kids in the backseat. It can happen at 10 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon.</p><p>“We want to give law enforcement every resource we can to help identify and prosecute these criminals,” said Giannoulias, the first-term Democrat elected last year to replace the long-serving former Secretary of State Jesse White. </p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2021/12/31/22848890/chicago-carjackings-inside-mind-chicago-carjacker" target="_blank" >Inside the mind of a Chicago carjacker</a>
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<p>Almost half of the grant money — nearly $10.3 million — will go to the Illinois State Police’s expressway safety enforcement group. About $1.5 million is going to the Chicago Police Department’s major auto theft investigations unit. </p><p>The money is slated to supplement police budgets for license-plate readers, helicopters, tracking devices, GPS software and other technology to track down carjackers and to help cover salaries for more investigators. </p><p>Chicago has a higher rate of carjackings than any other area of Illinois, according to figures from the city and state. </p><p>More than 1,600 armed carjackings were reported in the city last year, an 11% decrease from 2021, but still higher than any year in at least two decades. </p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<p>Chicago carjacking reports more than doubled, from 603 in 2019, to 1,413 in 2020. They hit an apex of 1,849 in 2021. More than 250 have already been reported this year.</p><p>Giannoulias said it’s a personal issue for him. He was carjacked with a group of basketball teammates on the West Side in 1998. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/25d337a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+158/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2Fgw-AI6O4rabDbJ7x9ckL_irL9Xc%3D%2F0x0%3A3000x2000%2F3000x2000%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281500x1000%3A1501x1001%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24528355%2FNOV8ELECTION_12.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/00814b1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+158/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2Fgw-AI6O4rabDbJ7x9ckL_irL9Xc%3D%2F0x0%3A3000x2000%2F3000x2000%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281500x1000%3A1501x1001%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24528355%2FNOV8ELECTION_12.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Giannoulias was a senior in high school, driving with a group of teammates to the state three-point shooting competition in Champaign. Their vehicle was hijacked by a group of people wielding guns and knives in Austin.</p><p>“It was a brutal experience,” he said. “It leaves a scar you never forget. I hate the thought of anyone else going through that.”</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<p>Other grants are going to the Illinois Statewide Auto Theft Task Force, which is led by Secretary of State police ($3.4 million), the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force ($2.5 million), the Greater Peoria Auto Crimes Task Force ($2.1 million) and the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force ($1.8 million). </p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<p>The funding comes partially from a $1 assessment on auto insurance policies that go to the Illinois Vehicle Hijacking and Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention and Insurance Verification Council. </p><p> That body, overseen by Giannoulias’ office, has been around for more than 30 years, but state law was tweaked last year to dedicate more of its funding to carjacking prevention. The grants also draw on some of the $30 million set aside in last year’s state budget targeting the crime. </p><p>Funds will be distributed over the next few weeks. The police departments can apply to renew the grants for three years. </p><p></p><p></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2023/3/23/23651964/carjacking-chicago-police-funding-investigate-illinois-secretary-state-grant-giannouliasMitchell Armentrout2023-03-22T21:47:03.522-05:002023-03-23T13:10:36-05:00Brandon Johnson, Paul Vallas debate police, Kim Foxx — and ‘dismissing people’
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson (left) and Paul Vallas participate in a roundtable discussion Wednesday at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios in the Loop." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fa6f7fc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4832x2712+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FlFwc2g_HiCu1hfhHyj1wQmCDUG0%3D%2F0x0%3A4832x3221%2F4832x3221%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282395x1135%3A2396x1136%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24529860%2FMAYORFORUM_032323_16.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e0bbbaa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4832x2712+0+0/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FlFwc2g_HiCu1hfhHyj1wQmCDUG0%3D%2F0x0%3A4832x3221%2F4832x3221%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282395x1135%3A2396x1136%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24529860%2FMAYORFORUM_032323_16.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson (left) and Paul Vallas participate in a roundtable discussion Wednesday at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios in the Loop.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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<p>As Chicago’s two mayoral contenders clashed Wednesday night over now familiar issues — police strategy, education funding and union alliances — Brandon Johnson landed one his most personal attacks yet against his rival, saying voters are more familiar with Paul Vallas than they might think. </p><p>“We all know someone like Paul, who has failed over and over again, and continues to be allowed to fail up,” Johnson said. “[Just] because you make the loudest noise, and you roll your eyes at everybody else, doesn’t mean that you know what’s best.”</p><p>That shot drew a shake of the head from the former Chicago Public Schools chief, who landed a few punches of his own during the candidates’ fourth televised debate, hosted by WFLD Fox 32. </p><p>Overall, it proved to be a more restrained affair than their previous few matchups — but not without some big swings, as when Vallas suggested he has more experience teaching than the Cook County commissioner, who’s running on his classroom bona fides and organizing experience with the Chicago Teachers Union. </p><p>“I was a teacher too, at all levels. In fact, probably I spent more time as a teacher at all levels, including in the military, than the four years that you spent at Jenner [Academy], in a school that I built in Cabrini-Green,” Vallas told Johnson in response to a question about school safety. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas participates in a roundtable discussion at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios on Wednesday." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1b5a85f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4722x2650+0+249/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FmukK8CrSWsgC9iifBfaRDlR0JBs%3D%2F0x0%3A4722x3148%2F4722x3148%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282361x1574%3A2362x1575%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24529814%2FMAYORFORUM_032323_06.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4145329/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4722x2650+0+249/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FmukK8CrSWsgC9iifBfaRDlR0JBs%3D%2F0x0%3A4722x3148%2F4722x3148%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282361x1574%3A2362x1575%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24529814%2FMAYORFORUM_032323_06.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas participates in a roundtable discussion at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios on Wednesday.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>“The point here is that I have presided over districts that have seen extraordinary violence in the community. ... We had police officers in our high schools, and we had trained security in our elementary schools because police officers deter active shooters,” Vallas said. </p><p>He also claimed that Johnson and the CTU “have been advocates for defunding the police and have been advocates for getting the police officers out of the schools.”</p><p>Johnson pointed out that the decisions by some schools to remove Chicago police officers were made by local schools councils, with “the autonomy to make a decision on whether or not it was … the best use of their resources.”</p><p>“I actually find it absolutely ridiculous, but all too familiar, that someone like Paul Vallas speaks to other people and believes that they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Johnson said. “It’s shameful, it’s ridiculous, but we’re familiar with that.”</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
<div class="RelatedList-title">Related</div>
<ul class="RelatedList-items">
<li class="RelatedList-items-item">
<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/21/23651060/debate-wgn-paul-vallas-brandon-johnson-mayoral-runoff-forum-tv-april" target="_blank" >Mayoral debate: Vallas and Johnson ‘lecture’ one another on the CTU, Donald Trump and ‘working class’ roots</a>
</li>
<li class="RelatedList-items-item">
<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2023/3/20/23649550/paul-vallas-brandon-johnson-chicago-mayor-election-black-and-latino-communities" target="_blank" >Vallas, Johnson offer contrasting ideas at forum on issues affecting Black and Latino communities</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>As for Vallas’ claim to a lengthier teaching resume, Johnson said, “You can’t keep just dismissing people, Paul. It’s irresponsible.”</p><p>During one of Vallas’ familiar attacks on Johnson as a supposed proponent of defunding police, Vallas was asked how he’d get more officers on the street to fend off summertime violence.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson participates in a roundtable discussion at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios on Wednesday." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b79d5f6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5404x3033+0+286/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FhEUsxRbNUTXlGsOwkeruOCjK4Vw%3D%2F0x0%3A5404x3603%2F5404x3603%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282702x1802%3A2703x1803%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24529819%2FMAYORFORUM_032323_09.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/95d4ab6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5404x3033+0+286/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FhEUsxRbNUTXlGsOwkeruOCjK4Vw%3D%2F0x0%3A5404x3603%2F5404x3603%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282702x1802%3A2703x1803%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24529819%2FMAYORFORUM_032323_09.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson participates in a roundtable discussion at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios on Wednesday.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Vallas characterized it as an issue of strategy, not funding.</p><p>“I’ve talked about closing [police] vacancies. … They’re spending $175 million on overtime, probably over $200 million now, up about seven times the amount that they paid when I had 13,500 officers on the street,” Vallas said, referring to his tenure as city budget director. “We’re spending $100 million on private security on the CTA that could hire another 300 officers. So, the bottom line is, it’s not a funding issue.” </p><p>“It’s about a strategy that returns to community-based policing where there are cars covering all the police beats,” Vallas said. </p><p>Johnson pounced on his opponent’s claim that hundreds of retired officers would be motivated to rejoin the ranks if Vallas makes it to the fifth floor of City Hall. </p><p>“I’m a public school teacher,” Johnson said. “If we’re asking the city of Chicago to count on retirees to come back to teaching or retirees to come back to policing — that is a strategy that, quite frankly, has not worked anywhere in the world.” </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson (left) and Paul Vallas (right) participate in a roundtable discussionr at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios in the Loop on Wednesday. &nbsp;Moderators were Fox 32 News Political Editor Mike Flannery, and anchors Anita Blanton (center) and Scott Schneider." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a2700bc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5695x3196+0+301/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FTgWOT3rU4ylwPfaWDeDjfMIx1ns%3D%2F0x0%3A5695x3797%2F5695x3797%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282848x1899%3A2849x1900%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24529739%2FMAYORFORUM_032323_03.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7df123c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5695x3196+0+301/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FTgWOT3rU4ylwPfaWDeDjfMIx1ns%3D%2F0x0%3A5695x3797%2F5695x3797%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282848x1899%3A2849x1900%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24529739%2FMAYORFORUM_032323_03.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson (left) and Paul Vallas (right) participate in a roundtable discussionr at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios in the Loop on Wednesday. Moderators were Fox 32 News Political Editor Mike Flannery, and anchors Anita Blanton (center) and Scott Schneider.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Asked if taxpayers should be concerned about a CTU organizer negotiating more favorably as mayor with the union that once employed him, Johnson said “They don’t have to be worried because I’m a part of the working class in the city of Chicago.”</p><p>Similarly, Vallas was asked if residents of a largely Democratic city should be worried about a candidate backed by billionaire Ken Griffin and other conservative supporters.</p><p>“The business community that’s supporting me have also supported Mayor [Richard M.] Daley. Many of them have given money to Rahm Emanuel, and many of them have given money to Lori Lightfoot,” Vallas responded.</p><p>The candidates landed far apart when asked for their opinion on the job done by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. </p><p>The Fraternal Order of Police-backed candidate Vallas said Foxx “has not been aggressive at keeping dangerous criminals off the street, and the data clearly states it.”</p><p>The progressive CTU employee Johnson said the county’s top prosecutor has led with an incredible amount of integrity, calling her “a part of the type of reform that’s needed.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson (left) and Paul Vallas (right) participate in a roundtable discussion at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios in the Loop on Wednesday." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8f82635/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4388x2463+0+232/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FTYlYzAx69zHjxC8MV6Z0p5XWaDU%3D%2F0x0%3A4388x2925%2F4388x2925%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282194x1463%3A2195x1464%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24529809%2FMAYORFORUM_032323_01.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3b7c948/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4388x2463+0+232/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FTYlYzAx69zHjxC8MV6Z0p5XWaDU%3D%2F0x0%3A4388x2925%2F4388x2925%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282194x1463%3A2195x1464%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24529809%2FMAYORFORUM_032323_01.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson (left) and Paul Vallas (right) participate in a roundtable discussion with Fox 32 News Political Editor Mike Flannery, Anita Blanton (center) and Fox 32 News Anchors Scott Schneider at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios in the Loop on Wednesday.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/22/23651965/chicago-mayor-debate-brandon-johnson-paul-vallas-fox-32-runoff-forumMitchell Armentrout2023-03-17T23:06:44.154-05:002023-03-17T23:06:45-05:00Illinois’ COVID death toll nears 37,000 3 years into coronavirus pandemic
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<img class="Image" alt="Nurse practitioner Capri Reese (left) watches the monitor for a heart rhythm while respiratory therapist Khafran Alshahin performs chest compressions on an 80-year-old man suffering from COVID-19. Respiratory therapists Dennis Kelly and Malcolm Love (right), also look at the monitor. The 80-year-old man was one of three patients to die of the coronavirus at Roseland Community Hospital, Tuesday afternoon, April 28, 2020. " srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/37bca7d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5511x3093+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F69dM6vYcZ_jwaSx-IA3nBogqykc%3D%2F0x0%3A5511x3674%2F5511x3674%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282429x1518%3A2430x1519%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24515362%2FTOPTEN_122720_03.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/eea5231/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5511x3093+0+0/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F69dM6vYcZ_jwaSx-IA3nBogqykc%3D%2F0x0%3A5511x3674%2F5511x3674%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282429x1518%3A2430x1519%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24515362%2FTOPTEN_122720_03.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Nurse practitioner Capri Reese (left) watches the monitor for a heart rhythm while respiratory therapist Khafran Alshahin performs chest compressions on an 80-year-old man suffering from COVID-19. Respiratory therapists Dennis Kelly and Malcolm Love (right), also look at the monitor. The 80-year-old man was one of three patients to die of the coronavirus at Roseland Community Hospital, Tuesday afternoon, April 28, 2020. </p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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<p>Mountainous bar graphs of daily case numbers can illustrate how quickly <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus" target="_blank" >COVID-19</a> swept across Illinois in 2020. But they can’t capture the isolation felt by people in Chicago and beyond who were told to stay at home in the early days of the pandemic. </p><p>Hospital admission figures reflect the waves of patients who have crowded into coronavirus wards with serious illness. But they don’t reveal anything about the exhaustion of health care workers who have switched to new careers.</p><p>And while the statewide death toll of at least 36,494 provides a devastating indication of what the virus has ripped away over the past three years, that number doesn’t approach the full breadth of grief rippling out from each loss. </p><p>Statistics don’t tell the whole story of the pandemic. But experts say the data they’ve collected provides vital insights into how the outbreak has hit different communities — and what everyone should think about as we learn to live with the virus permanently. </p><p>“This past winter shows we may be getting to a point where we can make it through a year without crushing the health care system,” said Dr. Arti Barnes, chief medical officer of the Illinois Department of Public Health. “That’s one of the first optimistic signs that we’re reaching a point where we’re starting to heal.”</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<p>The scars remain vivid. </p><p>More than 4 million COVID infections have been confirmed in the state since early 2020. The actual number is likely at least several times higher, experts say, since millions of cases have gone undiagnosed, and the official figure doesn’t include at-home tests. </p><p>More than 20,000 people a day were testing positive, on average, at the height of the Omicron variant surge in late 2021, according to state figures. </p><p>Hospitals across the state were treating more than 7,000 coronavirus patients a night during the Omicron crisis, a burden even greater than the first two waves that overwhelmed the health care system in 2020. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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</div><p><a class="Link" href="https://suntimes-graphics.s3.amazonaws.com/covid-19/graphics/icu-beds/index.html" target="_blank" ><i>Graphic not displaying properly? Click here.</i></a></p><p>“During the worst of it, it was like a mass-casualty disaster on a daily basis,” said Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, chief operating officer of the Cook County Department of Public Health. </p><p>Daily death counts hit a vicious apex in December 2020, just before the first vaccines were deployed. During the period of Dec. 5-11, 2020, the state averaged more than 150 deaths a day. </p><p>By comparison, the state is averaging about 1,300 confirmed cases a day over the past week, with fewer than 900 COVID hospitalizations and about nine daily fatalities. </p><p>That improvement — as well as the fact that the larger Omicron case surge didn’t result in more deaths than in the fall of 2020 — offer testament to the effectiveness of vaccination, experts say. </p><p>“Across the board, we see that those who are vaccinated are proportionately less likely to end up in the hospital,” Barnes said. “And, if they do, they’re more likely to walk out of the hospital.”</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<p>Each successive wave added to a death toll that’s now approaching 37,000 — roughly the equivalent of wiping out the population of Calumet City. </p><p>The Chicago area accounts for almost half that toll, with about 8,000 in the city and more than 7,500 in suburban Cook County. </p><p>It appears that deaths have hit different racial groups almost in line with the state’s demographics: White residents account for about 64% of COVID fatalities, Black residents make up about 18%, and Hispanic residents about 14%.</p><p>But the disparities were much wider in the early stages of the pandemic. From March through December 2020, the COVID death rate for Hispanic residents was 2.5 times higher than it was for white residents, while Black lives were claimed at a rate twice as high, state figures show. </p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<p>Death rates shrunk overall by about half through 2021, but the virus still killed Black and Hispanic residents at a rate about 1.5 times higher than white residents. </p><p>While death rates continued to fall last year, Black residents died at a rate about 1.5 times higher than those for Hispanic or white residents. </p><p>The trends have changed in the first few months of 2023, though, with white residents dying at a rate almost twice as high as the Hispanic community and slightly greater than that for Black residents. </p><p>The disparities remain acute on the South Side and West Side and in Cook County’s south and southwest suburbs, where vaccinations have lagged, Hasbrouck said. </p><p>“The numbers tell you it’s a simple ‘before and after,’ ” he said. “There have been a lot of preventable deaths since we introduced the vaccines. We need more people to get up to date with vaccines to keep lessening the carnage.”</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2023/3/17/23644403/covid-illinois-death-statistics-pandemic-coronavirus-chicagoMitchell Armentrout2023-03-15T21:47:33.339-05:002023-03-23T12:47:57-05:00Final February election results: 14 ward runoffs include Taliaferro in 29th
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<img class="Image" alt="Ald. Chris Taliaferro (left) has been forced into a runoff in the 29th Ward, while the final ballot tally for February’s election gave Ald. Daniel La Spata (right) outright victory Wednesday in the 1st." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/10902e0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1440x808+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F8nuDOPd4sA_VHTHVJ6fJ5HumBso%3D%2F0x0%3A1440x1080%2F1440x1080%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28718x309%3A719x310%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24510636%2FRUNOFFS0315.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/41fcc75/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1440x808+0+0/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F8nuDOPd4sA_VHTHVJ6fJ5HumBso%3D%2F0x0%3A1440x1080%2F1440x1080%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28718x309%3A719x310%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24510636%2FRUNOFFS0315.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Ald. Chris Taliaferro (left) has been forced into a runoff in the 29th Ward, while the final ballot tally for February’s election gave Ald. Daniel La Spata (right) outright victory Wednesday in the 1st.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Sun-Times file</p></div></div>
</figure>
<p>It’ll be a race to the runoff for West Side Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) — and a sigh of relief for Logan Square Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st). </p><p>The official final results, including all eligible mail-in ballots counted by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners on Wednesday, put Taliaferro 25 votes shy of the majority he needed to win a third term in the City Council outright after the Feb. 28 election.</p><p>That places Taliaferro among six incumbent alderpersons forced into runoff contests on April 4, in addition to races for eight other open Council seats and the mayoral showdown between Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas. </p><p>In the ward races, La Spata found himself just barely on the safe side of the 50% bubble, securing a second term with only 14 votes above the majority required to spare him a runoff. The far-left Council freshman ended up with 50.1% of the 1st Ward vote compared to 23.4% for his closest challenger, attorney Sam Royko, son of the legendary Chicago news columnist Mike Royko. </p><p>“It’s exhilarating, and it’s a relief,” La Spata said. “I was proud of where we were on Election Day, but then to have thousands of mail-in ballots come in overwhelmingly in my favor — I’m really proud of the affirmation the community has given me.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatRight>
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<img class="Image" alt="Sam Royko, unsuccessful 1st Ward candidate" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/02805a3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1405x789+0+383/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FStJL31duBM24JOrUP2SSnNeqxeI%3D%2F0x0%3A1405x1553%2F1405x1553%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28703x777%3A704x778%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24425444%2FROYKO_1.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f6a3c32/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1405x789+0+383/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FStJL31duBM24JOrUP2SSnNeqxeI%3D%2F0x0%3A1405x1553%2F1405x1553%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28703x777%3A704x778%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24425444%2FROYKO_1.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Sam Royko, unsuccessful 1st Ward candidate</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Christopher Dilts/Provided</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Sam Royko commended La Spata on a “hard-fought race,” saying it was “a reminder that every vote matters.”</p><p>That’s certainly the case in the 29th Ward, where Taliaferro, an ally of outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot, had cruised to reelection in 2019. </p><p>Now, he faces another political round, squaring off against community organizer CB Johnson. Since Feb. 28, Taliaferro, the chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, had been narrowly avoiding a runoff until election officials reported 112 ballots for write-in candidates <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/12/23636930/chris-taliaferro-reelection-chicago-city-council-write-in-voting" target="_blank" >over the weekend</a>. </p><p>Those ballots widened the vote pool enough to sink Taliaferro below the 50% mark; he ended up just shy of 49.8%, compared to 39.8% for Johnson. </p><p>Election board spokesman Max Bever said his agency hasn’t been able to find another example throughout the city’s colorful electoral history of write-in ballots being a deciding factor in forcing an incumbent to a runoff. </p><p>A campaign spokesperson for Johnson, who is backed by U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, called it “the best example of democracy in action.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatLeft>
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<img class="Image" alt="CB Johnson, City Council candidate in the 29th Ward" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8bcb064/2147483647/strip/true/crop/482x271+0+103/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FBBpUmuDeL7R1tNur4q0nsia7DK0%3D%2F0x0%3A482x475%2F482x475%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28241x238%3A242x239%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24511306%2FCB_Johnson.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ca0a1d5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/482x271+0+103/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FBBpUmuDeL7R1tNur4q0nsia7DK0%3D%2F0x0%3A482x475%2F482x475%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28241x238%3A242x239%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24511306%2FCB_Johnson.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>CB Johnson, City Council candidate in the 29th Ward</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Provided</p></div></div>
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</div><p>“More than 50% of voters in the 29th Ward have advised the city that they are not happy with the current alderman,” spokesperson Tumia Romero said. “We plan to convince the others that CB Johnson is the best candidate, who will be responsive to their needs, be active in the community and be a full-time alderman.”</p><p>It’s the second disappointing showing for Taliaferro at the polls since last summer, when he came up short in the Democratic primary for a Cook County Circuit judge seat. </p><p>“I’m encouraged and confident that we will prevail in the runoff,” said Taliaferro, a former Chicago police sergeant. “Public safety is the voters’ No. 1 priority, and I have the experience to lead.”</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
<div class="RelatedList-title">Related</div>
<ul class="RelatedList-items">
<li class="RelatedList-items-item">
<a class="Link" href="https://elections.suntimes.com/" target="_blank" >2023 Voter Guide</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>A handful of other sitting Council members have been gearing up for runoffs since the February election, including 36th Ward Ald. Gilbert Villegas, who is up against teacher Lori Torres Whitt, and 45th Ward Ald. Jim Gardiner, who is facing attorney Megan Mathias. </p><p>Three Council members appointed by Lightfoot to fill vacancies over the last year will also have to defend their seats: 11th Ward Ald. Nicole Lee against Chicago Police Officer Anthony Ciaravino; 24th Ward Ald. Monique Scott against business owner Creative Scott; and 43rd Ward Ald. Timmy Knudsen against Sheffield Neighborhood Association President Brian Comer. </p><p>Runoffs are also in the offing for eight wards without incumbents.</p><p>On the South Side, state Rep. Lamont Robinson faces Prentice Butler in the 4th Ward; Desmon Yancy is squaring off against Tina Hone in the 5th; William Hall is vying against Richard Wooten in the 6th; Chicago Police Officer Peter Chico is competing with Ana Guajardo in the 10th; and Ronnie Mosley is running against Cornell Dantzler in the 21st.</p><p>In the Northwest Side’s 30th Ward, Jessica Gutiérrez and Ruth Cruz are running. And on the North Side, Angela Clay and Kim Walz are squaring off in the 46th, and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth and Joe Dunne are competing in the 48th.</p><p>As for the final mayoral election results, Vallas led with 32.9% of the vote, compared to 21.6% for Johnson, 16.8% for Lightfoot and about 13.7% for U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.</p><p>Citywide voter turnout in February ended up at 35.9%, a slight increase from 35.5% in 2019. </p><p>Early voting for the runoff starts Monday. <br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/15/23641802/chicago-election-final-results-runoff-taliaferro-la-spata-johnson-vallas-city-councilMitchell Armentrout2023-03-01T21:13:22.257-06:002023-03-02T13:01:29-06:00Paul Vallas takes tough-on-crime approach in runoff for Chicago mayor
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidate and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas greets potential voters outside the Thompson Center on Wednesday." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/73481c7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4160x2335+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FSJ4QCWdWNW60IOJkz-rkftfweUI%3D%2F0x0%3A4160x2773%2F4160x2773%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281478x668%3A1479x669%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24471840%2FVALLAS_030223_10.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5d58706/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4160x2335+0+0/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FSJ4QCWdWNW60IOJkz-rkftfweUI%3D%2F0x0%3A4160x2773%2F4160x2773%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281478x668%3A1479x669%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24471840%2FVALLAS_030223_10.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Chicago mayoral candidate and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas greets potential voters outside the Thompson Center on Wednesday.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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<p>More than two decades after his first run for public office, the fourth time was the charm for Paul Vallas. </p><p>So why is Vallas’ message landing now with city voters who have roundly turned him down in the past?</p><p>“I think it’s because the city is in crisis,” Vallas told the Sun-Times Wednesday as he strode through the Loop, shaking hands and stopping for selfies the day after voters emphatically sent him to the April 4 runoff election against Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. </p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<p>“The city really needs the type of leadership that can bring people together, and can assemble the type of leadership team that’s drawn from the community,” said Vallas, who took nearly 34% of the citywide vote, more than 13 percentage points ahead of the runner-up, Johnson. Outstanding mail ballots aren’t expected to cut far into that margin of victory. </p><p>“That’s what I’ve always been able to do, and that’s why I had success when I was city budget director and school chief here, and it’s been the key to my success elsewhere,” Vallas said. “To get this thing working for everyone — I think that’s been my message, that’s been my history, that’s been my record.”</p><p>But his history also includes being edged out by Rod Blagojevich in the Democratic primary for Illinois governor in 2002, coming up short again as former Gov. Pat Quinn’s running mate in 2014 — and then finishing a distant ninth in his first campaign for Chicago mayor in 2019. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas speaks to reporters outside the Thompson Center on Wednesday." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a903991/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5529x3103+0+291/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FE9sI9JDxPSf0F0C1czyVPW0xUgE%3D%2F0x0%3A5529x3686%2F5529x3686%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282765x1843%3A2766x1844%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24471983%2FVALLAS_030223_03.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cff8146/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5529x3103+0+291/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FE9sI9JDxPSf0F0C1czyVPW0xUgE%3D%2F0x0%3A5529x3686%2F5529x3686%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282765x1843%3A2766x1844%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24471983%2FVALLAS_030223_03.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas speaks to reporters outside the Thompson Center on Wednesday.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Now Vallas argues his ability to bring people together will enable him to turn his first political coup into a winning streak in next month’s runoff.</p><p>His tough-on-crime strategy remains the same — the former Chicago Public Schools CEO vowed during his victory speech Tuesday to “make Chicago the safest city in America” — as he tries to win over voters who chose outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot, businessman Willie Wilson or any of the five other vanquished candidates in the first round of voting. </p><p>“I seek everyone’s endorsement,” Vallas told reporters outside the Thompson Center. “More importantly, I’m seeking the voters’ endorsement, and I think I’m off to a pretty good start. </p><p>“It really kind of validated my approach that I’ve taken during this campaign, and really even before this campaign started, and that’s been to talk about the issues, offer solutions to the biggest challenges that the city is facing, particularly public safety, and really offering what I feel to be pathways to ensure that all communities are safe and secure.”</p><p>Vallas asserted that “voters want a mayor who’s going to get the city back on track and who’s going to address its most pressing issues, and obviously, the issue of public safety is front and center.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidate and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas speaks to reporters outside the Thompson Center on Wednesday." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1221613/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5339x2996+0+282/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F9oCeBFKUiSOtm2lwqwDfCcufUtA%3D%2F0x0%3A5339x3559%2F5339x3559%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282670x1780%3A2671x1781%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24471976%2FVALLAS_030223_07.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bf3b550/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5339x2996+0+282/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F9oCeBFKUiSOtm2lwqwDfCcufUtA%3D%2F0x0%3A5339x3559%2F5339x3559%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282670x1780%3A2671x1781%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24471976%2FVALLAS_030223_07.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Chicago mayoral candidate and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas speaks to reporters outside the Thompson Center on Wednesday.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>His looming matchup with Johnson presents perhaps the most polarizing runoff imaginable from the initial nine-person mayoral field. Vallas is backed by the far-right Fraternal Order of Police, and Johnson was carried to victory with the far-left heft of the Chicago Teachers Union. </p><p>Vallas has long been painted as a villain by the CTU, which points to his expansion of charter schools as former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s CPS chief as “laying the groundwork” for neighborhood school closings under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. </p><p>Johnson is a member of the CTU.</p><p>But even some of the more moderate candidates in the first round of this year’s mayoral contest slammed Vallas’ CPS tenure, which saw the district stop fully funding teachers pensions, causing fiscal damage that critics say is still strapping city schools to this day.</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/3/1/23621056/vallas-johnson-campaigns-runoff-lightfoot-april-garcia-hispanic-black-lakefront-progressive-crime" target="_blank" >Runoff routes: Vallas and Johnson to map different roads to the mayor’s office</a>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/1/23620809/chicago-city-council-race-election-lightfoot-lee-ciaravino-knudsen" target="_blank" >14 runoffs — maybe more — likely in City Council races </a>
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<p>All that came before the late-breaking controversies hitting Vallas’ campaign in the weeks leading up to the election. Those included questions over whether his Bridgeport apartment was enough for him to be considered a Chicago resident while his wife lives in the southwest suburbs — and whether his campaign’s social media “likes” of offensive, racist posts were really the result of hackers, as the candidate has maintained. </p><p>Vallas went on the offensive Wednesday, saying Johnson has “got a lot of questions to answer, too.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas speaks to reporters Wednesday afternoon." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/14ddf44/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4562x2560+0+241/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FA7s-6oMW49Grl3-MIa-KkTO_RTc%3D%2F0x0%3A4562x3041%2F4562x3041%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282281x1521%3A2282x1522%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24471986%2FVALLAS_030223_06.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5144e8e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4562x2560+0+241/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FA7s-6oMW49Grl3-MIa-KkTO_RTc%3D%2F0x0%3A4562x3041%2F4562x3041%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282281x1521%3A2282x1522%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24471986%2FVALLAS_030223_06.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas speaks to reporters Wednesday afternoon.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>“Individuals who really have no track record, or are trying to hide their track record, are generally going to get nasty. But Brandon still has to explain his so-called ‘tax-the-rich’ plan, that doesn’t look like a tax-the-rich plan to me,” Vallas said, arguing his opponent’s ideas would put the squeeze on small business owners and a hotel industry still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. </p><p>“And Brandon is going to have to answer for his long advocacy for defunding police, or the statements that he’s made … basically justifying the rioters downtown who almost destroyed the central business district,” Vallas said, noting that Johnson didn’t win “a single Black ward” Tuesday night. </p><p>In many of those wards, Johnson was also often outperformed by Wilson, the candidate who took 9.5% of the citywide vote and who said during numerous forums that police should be able to hunt criminals down “like a rabbit.”</p><p>“He [Wilson] is not exactly considered to be a far left liberal, and so at the end of the day, I anticipate I’m going to do really well,” Vallas said.<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/3/1/23621231/paul-vallas-chicago-mayor-runoff-brandon-johnsonMitchell Armentrout2023-02-28T22:36:23.372-06:002023-02-28T22:36:24-06:00North Side Chicago ward races: 43rd poised for runoff while La Spata leads in 1st
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<img class="Image" alt="Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), pictured at a May 2022 City Hall news conference, held a large lead Tuesday night to retain his seat — but could still face a runoff depending on the return of outstanding mail ballots." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1599dce/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5218x2928+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FXoULsLx4f0Leat9vWB9q68ESdhg%3D%2F0x0%3A5218x3479%2F5218x3479%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282689x1210%3A2690x1211%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24469246%2FSHUTOFFS_051122_01.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a927cc6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5218x2928+0+0/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FXoULsLx4f0Leat9vWB9q68ESdhg%3D%2F0x0%3A5218x3479%2F5218x3479%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282689x1210%3A2690x1211%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24469246%2FSHUTOFFS_051122_01.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), pictured at a May 2022 City Hall news conference, held a large lead Tuesday night to retain his seat — but could still face a runoff depending on the return of outstanding mail ballots.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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<p>Ald. Daniel La Spata was maintaining a wide lead in the 1st Ward race Tuesday night but it wasn’t clear if the far left City Council member would be able to prevent a runoff election.</p><p>And another North Side incumbent — Ald. Timmy Knudsen, appointed to the 43rd Ward post last year by outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot — also appeared headed to a second round of voting. </p><p>They were the exceptions on a night that otherwise went largely in the favor of sitting City Council members on the North and Northwest sides. </p><p>La Spata led with 49.2% of the vote with 96% of precincts reporting, but there were more than 4,400 mail ballots that could still make their way in.</p><p>Running a distant second was attorney Sam Royko, son of the legendary Chicago columnist Mike Royko, who had 23.8% of the vote. Preservationist Stephen “Andy” Schneider had 19.3%. </p><p>Disgraced ex-Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno’s political comeback attempt fell well short as he trailed with 7.7% of the vote. </p><p>A cheery crowd of La Spata supporters gathered at Subterranean in West Town, dancing to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” and applauding positive results for mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson — who’s backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, like La Spata is. </p><p>The incumbent told supporters that whether or not he nets the overall majority to win outright, “we’re gonna find those votes, and I’m going to continue serving and being your alderman in the 1st Ward.”</p><p>“We’re doing big things and there’s really big things to come,” La Spata said. “But we also proved that we can take on all of the hate and anger and malice and violence and noise, and still run a really winning campaign.” </p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
<div class="RelatedList-title">Related</div>
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<a class="Link" href="https://elections.suntimes.com/live-election-results/" target="_blank" >Chicago Elections 2023: Live Results</a>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/2/27/23617301/mayor-election-chicago-mail-ballots-polling-places-runoff-candidates-city-council-police-districts" target="_blank" >With the Chicago mayoral race in voters’ hands, the outcome might not be known for days</a>
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<p>In the affluent 43rd Ward, Knudsen held 27% of the vote with all precincts reporting but nearly 3,700 mail ballots outstanding. Sheffield Neighborhood Association president Brian C. Comer trailed with 24.3% of the vote. </p><p>On the outside looking in was retired attorney Rebecca Janowitz, who ran one of the most expensive aldermanic races in Chicago history with $750,000 of her own fortune. She had 19.5%. </p><p>Marketing executive Wendi Taylor Nations had 13.3%, followed by the Fraternal Order of Police-endorsed Steve Botsford with 9.2% and entrepreneur Steve McClellan with 6.6%. </p><p>A few dozen Knudsen supporters packed the second floor of Blue Door Farm Stand in Lincoln Park, an intimate setting with a small food buffet in the center and an open bar in the corner.</p><p>Saying he anticipated a runoff with Comer, Knudsen said “we are going to keep knocking doors, making calls.</p><p>“What we’ve created is so positive, so good and important. Youngest person on City Council right now,” Knudsen said to applause. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="43rd Ward Ald. Timmy Knudsen exits the Old Town Triangle Association after voting in Chicago, Tuesday, February 28, 2023." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/814e7f8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3027x1699+0+351/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F99tWEMZstqn8GoCnuVBO9SqMsvk%3D%2F0x0%3A3027x2400%2F3027x2400%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281514x1200%3A1515x1201%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24469461%2FELECTIONFEB_2.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9ec9184/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3027x1699+0+351/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F99tWEMZstqn8GoCnuVBO9SqMsvk%3D%2F0x0%3A3027x2400%2F3027x2400%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281514x1200%3A1515x1201%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24469461%2FELECTIONFEB_2.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>43rd Ward Ald. Timmy Knudsen exits the Old Town Triangle Association after voting in Chicago, Tuesday, February 28, 2023.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>At his own celebration, Comer said he was “excited” to be “one step closer to bringing independence and a collaborative voice back to the aldermanic seat.”</p><p>In the race to replace outgoing 46th Ward Ald. James Cappleman, community organizer Angela Clay, backed by the CTU, led with 35.1% of the vote and all precincts reporting. About 3,800 mail ballots could still come in, though. </p><p>In line for the runoff was business executive Kim Walz, a former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley who was backed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other heavyweight Illinois Democrats. Walz was carrying 26.1% of the vote. </p><p>In the six-person race in the 46th, the other candidates in double digits were Marianne Lalonde, an energy efficiency consultant reprising her 2019 race that forced Cappleman into a runoff. She had 17.2% over former federal prosecutor Patrick Nagle at 12%. </p><p>In the 10-candidate scramble to replace outgoing 48th Ward Ald. Harry Osterman, affordable housing developer Joe Dunne appeared headed to a runoff with community organizer Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth. </p><p>Dunne had 27.4% of the vote with all precincts reporting and nearly 3,500 mail ballots outstanding. Manaa-Hoppenworth, vying to become the city’s first Filipina alderperson, had 21.5%. </p><p>The CTU-backed arts administrator Nick Ward had 18.5%. The only other candidate in double digits, Isaac Freilich Jones, was netting 10.2%. </p><p>Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez led in her bid for a second term in the 33rd Ward, with 53.1% of the vote and all precincts reporting. </p><p>But with nearly 2,300 outstanding mail ballots, a runoff wasn’t out of the question against zoning project coordinator Samie Martinez, who was endorsed by U.S. Rep Jesus “Chuy” Garcia as well as the FOP. Martinez had 35.5% of the vote. </p><p>Another 33rd Ward candidate, finance worker Laith Shaaban, garnered 11.3%. </p><p>Three other North Side council members appeared headed to comfortable victories with all precincts reporting. </p><p>Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) led with almost 78% of the vote, Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) had almost 73% and Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th) had about 68%. <br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/2/28/23618782/chicago-ward-election-alder-city-council-north-side-race-1st-43rd-33rd-40th-48th-46th-49th-50thMitchell ArmentroutKade HeatherClaudia Morell | WBEZ2023-02-26T21:24:19.441-06:002023-02-27T13:43:21-06:00Chicago mayor’s race: Candidates cover ground on final Sunday before election
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Chicago mayoral candidate, entrepreneur Willie Wilson, greets a supporter Sunday during a campaign stop at Friendly Temple COGIC Church on the South Side. He donated $10,000 to the church and urged congregants to vote.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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<div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Elections 2023 products</div>
<div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><p><i>View our complete Voter Guide which includes a mayoral questionnaire, candidate quiz, details on every City Council candidate, ballot info and more: </i><a class="Link" href="http://elections.suntimes.com" target="_blank" ><i><b>elections.suntimes.com</b></i></a><i><b> </b></i><br></p></div>
</div><p>With the clock winding down on Chicago’s municipal election, the field of nine mayoral candidates fanned out across the city Sunday to deliver some of their final pitches to win over undecided voters and to push those who have made up their minds to follow through with a ballot. </p><p>The late-stage political ground game before the polls close Tuesday sent fifth floor City Hall hopefuls to bistros, bars, bungalows, bus stops and beyond — but not before church. Nearly every candidate started their run into the home stretch at a house of worship. </p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-floatRight>
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<div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><p><i>Lea este artículo en español en </i><a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/la-voz/" target="_blank" ><i>La Voz Chicago</i></a><i>.</i></p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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</div><p>That was true of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose political prayers for a second term could depend on winning over voters in majority-Black wards on the South and West sides. </p><p>Lightfoot visited two churches before speaking to dozens of supporters at Q’s Lounge in the Ashburn neighborhood, where the mayor shimmied to a live soul band, stopped for dozens of photos with supporters — and warned them against falling for “false prophets” on the campaign trail.</p><p>“They’re gonna tell you what you want to hear, but when you hear them, you ask yourself: What have they actually done?” Lightfoot said, saving her sharpest barbs for fellow perceived front-runners Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. </p><p>“What have they actually done in all their time as politicians in office to lift up the fortunes of people who look like us?” asked Lightfoot, who finds herself in a different electoral situation compared to her surprise trip to the runoff four years ago. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Mayor Lori Lightfoot listens to a band perform during a campaign stop Sunday afternoon at Q’s Lounge in Ashburn on the South Side." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c8dd91e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5610x3148+0+297/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2Fgi41jX4u-FCoBi5L5GZLJ35Ftfk%3D%2F0x0%3A5610x3742%2F5610x3742%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282805x1871%3A2806x1872%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463437%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_35.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d43b3c1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5610x3148+0+297/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2Fgi41jX4u-FCoBi5L5GZLJ35Ftfk%3D%2F0x0%3A5610x3742%2F5610x3742%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282805x1871%3A2806x1872%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463437%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_35.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Mayor Lori Lightfoot listens to a soul band perform during a campaign stop Sunday afternoon at Q’s Lounge in Ashburn on the South Side.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div>
</div><p>Then a relative unknown emerging from a field of 14, Lightfoot went on to sweep Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle citywide. </p><p>But with several polls showing her in a statistical dead heat that could prevent the incumbent from even advancing to the April runoff, she remained on the attack Sunday as much as she ever did during her first run. </p><p>“Don’t tell me, Paul Vallas, that you have an answer to solve this [crime] problem, because you don’t have an answer,” Lightfoot said. “You don’t have any experience, but you’re good at stoking people’s fears.”</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
<div class="RelatedList-title">Related</div>
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<a class="Link" href="https://elections.suntimes.com/" target="_blank" >2023 Voter Guide</a>
</li>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2023/2/24/23610899/chicago-mayoral-election-campaign-lightfoot-vallas-johnson-garcia-strategy-runoff" target="_blank" >Here’s how the 4 mayoral front-runners plan to make the runoff</a>
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<a class="Link" href="https://elections.suntimes.com/quiz/" target="_blank" >Take the Chicago Mayoral Candidate Quiz</a>
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<p>As for Johnson, the Cook County Board member and Chicago Teachers Union organizer, Lightfoot dismissed him as a “nice guy, talks a good game — you can tell he’s a preacher’s son — but his ideas are out of touch with the reality of people in this city.”</p><p>“Brandon Johnson is one of the unrepentant de-funders of the police. He thinks that, in this time, we should have less police on the street taking care of people and keeping them safe,” she said. </p><p>Vallas, the former Chicago Public Schools chief executive, fired back at Lightfoot during a campaign stop with supporters at a Greek restaurant in Lincoln Square.</p><p>“Every problem that the city is facing ... it’s all a product of bad leadership, and bad leadership from the fifth floor,” Vallas said. “And it didn’t begin with this mayor. But it certainly has gotten worse,” he said.</p><p>“The only thing that this great city ... lacks is quality leadership — quality leadership on the fifth floor. It is my intention to bring back quality leadership,” he said.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidate former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas speaks to supporters during a campaign stop Sunday afternoon at a Lincoln Square neighborhood restaurant on the North Side." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7119bb3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4896x2748+0+258/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FRMxYxH2I8bTlL_XIjNN6LxpuLpc%3D%2F0x0%3A4896x3264%2F4896x3264%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282448x1632%3A2449x1633%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463441%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_23.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e3d4c67/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4896x2748+0+258/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FRMxYxH2I8bTlL_XIjNN6LxpuLpc%3D%2F0x0%3A4896x3264%2F4896x3264%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282448x1632%3A2449x1633%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463441%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_23.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas speaks to supporters during a campaign stop Sunday afternoon at a Greek restaurant in Lincoln Square on the North Side.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Vallas did not address the most recent controversy dogging his campaign — that his Twitter account allegedly has “liked” racist posts over the last few years, as documented by the Chicago Tribune — something his campaign chalked up to “hackers.”</p><p>“There’s nothing to clear up,” Vallas told reporters at Barba Yianni Grecian Taverna, 4761 N. Lincoln Ave., as a protester chanted outside.</p><p>“I’ve run an issue-oriented campaign, and I’ve avoided being detracted by petty attacks and things like that,” Vallas said, urging voters to “avoid the noise.”</p><p>“My wife said the other day when I was complaining: I said, ‘You know, I’m getting tweaked here, people are attacking me here, attacking me there.’ She says, ‘You’re in first place. What do you expect?’”</p><p>For his part, Johnson said his campaign has avoided the “divisive, distractive forms of fear,” instead focusing on the “hopes and dreams of people.”</p><p>Before he gave a rousing speech to supporters at a house party in North Lawndale, he said he’s run a “ multiracial, multigenerational” campaign.</p><p>“The structural inequality that Black, Brown, white and Asians want to see dismantled — they see that through our candidacy,” he said.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidate Cook County Board Commissioner Brandon Johnson speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at a house party Sunday afternoon in North Lawndale on the Southwest Side." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e6f5836/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4531x2543+0+240/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F7d3sbOjUxsID5dQM1n1FWMEPPGQ%3D%2F0x0%3A4531x3021%2F4531x3021%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282266x1511%3A2267x1512%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463442%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_32.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d2acada/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4531x2543+0+240/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F7d3sbOjUxsID5dQM1n1FWMEPPGQ%3D%2F0x0%3A4531x3021%2F4531x3021%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282266x1511%3A2267x1512%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463442%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_32.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at a house party Sunday afternoon in North Lawndale on the Southwest Side.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Johnson — attacked by opponents for being CTU-funded — embraced his progressive bona fides during his speech.</p><p>“One thing that Lori did get right: Yes, this is a movement full of radicals. When you get a compliment from Lori, you better take it,” he said to applause.</p><p>Asked about how he would address crime, Johnson said he would address the root causes.</p><p>“When people talk about holding criminals ... accountable, what we should start with is how do we hold the systems accountable first,” he said. </p><p>U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia — running among the top four contenders, according to recent polling — spent most of the day canvassing with U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky along the lakefront and North Side, an area Garcia likely needs to make the runoff.</p><p>“We think we have an excellent chance of picking up a lot of votes here — especially undecided voters,” Garcia said outside the Kit Kat Lounge, 3700 N. Halsted St., which was hosting a drag show during his visit.</p><p>Asked if he’s concerned about a low Latino turnout, Garcia said: “It can be improved, but we think a lot of folks will be waiting until Tuesday.”</p><p>Garcia said he thinks his Spanish TV and radio ads could help.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidate U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia greets supporters Sunday afternoon during a campaign stop outside Kit Kat Lounge in Northalsted on the North Side." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b9d80ca/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4656x2613+0+245/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FYr1Ekheoct9eHvhOihBcyt3J9mE%3D%2F0x0%3A4656x3104%2F4656x3104%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282328x1552%3A2329x1553%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463440%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_13.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/06dba99/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4656x2613+0+245/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FYr1Ekheoct9eHvhOihBcyt3J9mE%3D%2F0x0%3A4656x3104%2F4656x3104%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282328x1552%3A2329x1553%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463440%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_13.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia greets supporters Sunday afternoon during a campaign stop outside Kit Kat Lounge on the North Side. He campaigned with U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
</figure>
</div>
</div><p>After giving former Mayor Rahm Emanuel a run for his money in 2015, Garcia said voters “should consider experience” when picking a candidate.</p><p>“To move Chicago forward and to steer the ship and to be inclusive, it’s really critical that someone who’s been in local office and county office, as well as in federal office, bring those skill sets and relationships to work with Chicago,” he said. “I have those relationships.”</p><p>Businessman Willie Wilson spent the days leading up to the election canvassing African American churches.</p><p>“That’s my base,” he said Sunday morning at Friendly Temple Church COGIC, 7745 S. State St., the first of three churches he visited.</p><p>After shaking hands with congregants, he announced a $10,000 donation to the church and held up a check.</p><p>“Even if you don’t vote for me, get out and vote. Too many people have died for our right,” Wilson told the crowd.</p><p>Wilson said his campaign focused mostly on crime, supporting police officers and reducing taxes.</p><p>Asked if he’s considered who he would endorse if he doesn’t make the runoff, Wilson laughed and said, “I’m going to make it to at least the runoff. I’m very positive.”</p><p>Positivity was high, too, at Sunday stops for the four other candidates who are vying for an upset on Tuesday. </p><p>Ald. Sophia King (4th) told a cheering congregation at Bright Star Church in the Bronzeville neighborhood, “There is no better prediction of what somebody is going to do than what they have already done,” highlighting a series of developments she’s helped shepherd in her South Side ward. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Mayoral candidate Ald. Sophia King (4th) speaks during a campaign stop Sunday morning at Bright Star Church in Bronzeville on the South Side." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9c2d786/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4726x2652+0+250/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FXvpOD_pTPMmQeD7gunREKNNRZQw%3D%2F0x0%3A4726x3151%2F4726x3151%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282363x1576%3A2364x1577%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463446%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_17.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b730250/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4726x2652+0+250/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FXvpOD_pTPMmQeD7gunREKNNRZQw%3D%2F0x0%3A4726x3151%2F4726x3151%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282363x1576%3A2364x1577%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463446%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_17.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Ald. Sophia King (4th) speaks during a campaign stop Sunday morning at Bright Star Church in Bronzeville on the South Side.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Mitch Armentrout/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>“All boats are rising. Cranes are flying on Michigan Avenue, in Bronzeville, in Hyde Park,” she said. “We can have a community where we come together, where there’s a leader who really brings us together.”</p><p>State Rep. Kam Buckner attended services at the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/5/13/23071243/antioch-missionary-baptist-church-fire-fundraiser-rebuild-englewood" target="_blank" >demolished</a> Antioch Missionary Baptist Church’s temporary Sunday home at Urban Prep Academy in Englewood. </p><p>“We’re expecting between 30-40% turnout, which means they’re still 60-70% of Chicagoans who won’t be making this decision. So what we really have to do is get those folks energized, get them engaged with them and get them out to the polls,” Buckner said. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Mayoral candidate state Rep. Kam Buckner attends a church service Sunday morning by the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church at the Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men in Englewood on the South Side." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a14a09f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FrRP9sn1rbxqZdU2cFfNQnUKQvJE%3D%2F0x0%3A6122x4083%2F6122x4083%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283061x2042%3A3062x2043%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463447%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_03.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/50c76a0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FrRP9sn1rbxqZdU2cFfNQnUKQvJE%3D%2F0x0%3A6122x4083%2F6122x4083%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283061x2042%3A3062x2043%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463447%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_03.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>State Rep. Kam Buckner attends a church service Sunday morning at the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church’s temporary home at the Urban Prep Academy in Englewood on the South Side.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
</figure>
</div>
</div><p>Community activist Ja’Mal Green, commanding a tour bus emblazoned with his face, ferried voters to an early voting site in Austin, where he discussed engaging young voters. Only about 2% of early votes cast so far have come from people 18 to 24, according to the Chicago Board of Elections. </p><p>Green said he expects that to improve, which could work in his favor. </p><p>“I’m speaking in a language everybody can understand, and that’s what’s really reaching the young people —‘Oh, this is somebody that’s like us because he’s speaking like us,’” Green said. </p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Chicago mayoral candidate activist Ja’Mal Green congratulates a voter and greets supporters Sunday afternoon on his campaign bus outside of West Chicago Public Library in Austin on the West Side." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/47cadcb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FVsM6QEK0cQn-nqcruZGfwY1vn40%3D%2F0x0%3A6122x4083%2F6122x4083%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283061x2042%3A3062x2043%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463449%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_25.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/568fe64/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FVsM6QEK0cQn-nqcruZGfwY1vn40%3D%2F0x0%3A6122x4083%2F6122x4083%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283061x2042%3A3062x2043%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463449%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_25.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Activist Ja’Mal Green congratulates a voter and greets supporters Sunday afternoon on his campaign bus outside the West Chicago public library branch in Austin on the West Side.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) read from Psalm 100 at St. Mark A.M.E. Zion Church, the Park Manor house of worship where he was baptized. </p><p>Sawyer said he was seeking “some spiritual, spiritual encouragement” in the place he considers home.</p><p>“I want people to know my truth and not to be swayed by media, not by social media likes — to do research, look into the individual candidate, look at what they’re really about before making a decision,” Sawyer said. “It’s about who’s going to be there for the long haul. … That’s what makes me different.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Mayoral candidate Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) attends a church service Sunday morning at St. Mark AME Zion Church on the South Side." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/93413d1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FKtdYAd2r1KzXpBAI592Xxu9NpPA%3D%2F0x0%3A6122x4083%2F6122x4083%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283061x2042%3A3062x2043%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463448%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_12.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e3f308d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6122x3436+0+324/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FKtdYAd2r1KzXpBAI592Xxu9NpPA%3D%2F0x0%3A6122x4083%2F6122x4083%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283061x2042%3A3062x2043%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24463448%2FFINALCAMPAIGN_022723_12.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) attends a church service Sunday morning at St. Mark AME Zion Church on the South Side, where he was baptized.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2023/2/26/23614822/chicago-mayor-campaign-lightfoot-vallas-garcia-johnson-runoff-election-2023Mitchell ArmentroutDavid Struett