65 Comments - Hot Taeks - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:44 am: Stay on the sidelines. He owes neither candidate anything. Besides, he can have allies issue shadow endorsements on his behalf. My final prediction: Vallas 55 - Johnson 45 - The Opinions Bureau - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:45 am: I vote stay on the sidelines for now but be open to endorsing Johnson. It’s not clear to me that his support would make the difference in a Johnson victory and his job is to work with whoever is elected mayor, not go down with the ship if it turns out Johnson can’t win. - Stand - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:46 am: Stay away. They appeal to different parts of the democratic electorate. It’s a no-win situation if he endorses. By not endorsing, he can stay above the fray of what could be a divisive race. - DuPage Saint - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:47 am: Stay on the sidelines. He has nothing to gain with an endorsement Besides when the dust settles whoever is mayor will need him and then they can all become friends based upon mutual needs and wants - vern - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:49 am: I voted that he should endorse Johnson. On balance, I think it’s more likely Vallas is a crypto-Republican than Johnson actually defunding the police department. A Mayor Johnson might occasionally attack the Governor from the left, but Vallas will throw Pritzker under the bus on every crime-related issue. Imagine if Vallas had been Mayor during the SAFE-T Act fight. Pritzker really shouldn’t want that voice on the stage as the act gets implemented. - Pot calling kettle - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:51 am: No upside and plenty of downside to endorsing either. - levivotedforjudy - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:51 am: JB gets nada from endorsing either one. He just got re-elected and has no need to give up any political capital. He will have to work with one of them. Say that, focus on Budget Session and wait a little over a month to see what happened. - Montrose - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:53 am: I am owning my vote is what I want him to do, but not necessarily what I think he will do. I want him to endorse Johnson. That boost would be tremendous for his campaign. Pritzker did both endorse and donate to several aldermanic candidates, like Rosanna Rodriguez-Sanchez, who are declared Democratic Socialists, so it is not like he is scared to associate himself with a candidate who runs further to the left. Add in having people like Rep. Cassidy endorsing Johnson with a strong statement about the threats to the LGBTQ+ community that Vallas poses, Pritzker can make a pretty convincing and reasonable argument for getting behind Johnson. - Amalia - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:53 am: steer clear. the defund statements will get replayed even if Johnson does some explaining. And Vallas is, as many here have pointed out, seemingly a shape shifter, wiling to say whatever to whomever including people his mentors would not have gone near. - JoanP - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:53 am: I voted “stay on the sidelines”. Would I like him to endorse my preferred candidate? Sure, but he has to work with the next mayor, whoever that turns out to be. For the governor, I don’t see any upside to an endorsement and the race is going to be so ugly that there’s a definite downside. - Honeybear - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:55 am: I find Vallas’ deep connection to Rauner profoundly disturbing. I think Pritzker won’t mind Vallas as he’s kept an insane amount of Raunerite management in place in state government. - regular democrat - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:57 am: I voted for him to endorse Vallas. When the smoke clears and the rhetoric dies down I believe he and Vallas have a lot more in common when it comes to growing the economy. - Three Dimensional Checkers - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:58 am: Stay away. He will have to work with either. This April election is also not an endorsement of either for voters. It is just saying they think that one is better than the other. If the Gov. cared about a candidate, he should have endorsed before March. - The Doc - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:58 am: I guess the Democrats truly are a “big tent” party? Stay on the sidelines, JBP. Being tied to either of these candidates has more downside risk than sitting this one out. - JB13 - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:58 am: Stay out. The Democratic Party is going to war over this prize. There is nothing but downsides to an endorsement. Endorse Vallas and lose your progressive cred. There is no Republican in the race, so progressives have to invent one. I know Republicans would choose Vallas. But there are also a large number of Republicans who voted for Biden and Pritzker, because the alternative was awful. Someone who wants to be the national left-wing standard bearer can’t be hitched to Vallas - especially if he loses. Endorse Johnson and kiss any presidential aspirations goodbye (*unless your opponent is Trump himself.) You can’t say you don’t believe in “Defund the Police” and then endorse Johnson. That’s a national non-starter. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 11:59 am: Jesse White endorsing Vallas makes staying on the sidelines all but a certain, smart decision. I do think of White had not endorsed at all, sooner or later Pritzker would need to say… “something”… The most popular POLITICIAN in all of Illinois has endorsed. Those following White truly might not have the impact had *White* sat it out. Now, if we’re merely talking $$$$$$… well, daylight is burning, caps are lifted, hours are precious. No need to insert himself. Stay on the sidelines. - DHS Drone - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:00 pm: Voted Johnson. I see Brandon as being much closer to what JB would want to see for the city than Paul. - Change Agent - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:02 pm: Pritzker can’t say he’s progressive and then not make an endorsement. “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Excitable Boy - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:04 pm: Endorse Johnson. Vallas has actively built relationships with the most vile right wing nut jobs in our state, and he supports their causes. Johnson may have supported one policy that makes people squeamish, but he and Pritzker fundamentally agree on much more than Pritzker and Vallas. - Grandson of Man - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:06 pm: Stay on the sidelines. Many people did not vote for Johnson or Vallas. They represent a large part of the electorate. JB is doing great focusing on state government and owes his opponents nothing. - Montrose - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:12 pm: Also, I wish this poll had ranked choice voting. /s - Wensicia - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:18 pm: I think it’s too early for the governor to commit to either candidate. Also, he doesn’t owe either candidate an endorsement. - Candy Dogood - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:21 pm: Brandon Johnson probably needs to do an entire policy speech on “defund the police” and maybe try to frame it as in an ideal world there would be no crime and we’d never need to fund the police. It’s a political goal to defund the police because as a society our goal should be crime free — and to get there by addressing the roots of the problem not by throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at a system that only responds after the crime has occur. Especially given the history that the Chicago police has in committing in crimes, including in targeting black civil rights activists. I don’t know if the framing would work, but he needs to get it away from the simple notion of cutting 100% of police funding right now. People should be fed up at their tax dollars equipping, enabling, and defending a police force that murders their children and targets their leaders. It’s channeling that energy into something productive, and to do that he needs to do a much better job of defining what “defund the police” means otherwise his opponents will do it for him. - Tood Aloo - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:22 pm: Sidelines. JB doesn’t need a super progressive mayor when he is trying to manage a state with finite financial resources. If Johnson becomes mayor, JB will become the fall guy for every missed opportunity to support and fund extreme progressive programs. JB will have an easier time working with a more moderate mayor. Much like how madigan worked better under Republican governors, except without Madigan’s massive corruption. - Bob Cobb - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:25 pm: I voted stay on the sidelines because ensorsing either will cause issues for his presidential ambitions. It’s smarter to work with whoever gets elected and hope for a non-trash candidate in 2027. - Techie - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:25 pm: Saw video on Twitter yesterday of Vallas saying he is a Republican. I’m just waiting for the Johnson campaign to run ads featuring that video full blast. To the post, Pritzker is ideologically closer to Johnson, but really doesn’t stand much to gain from making an endorsement. I’d note that long-term, Johnson is right that we might not need as many police resources if we can prevent people from wanting to commit crimes in the first place by investing in them. BUT in the short term, before we get to such a place, we do still need to deal with crime as it is today. I’m not sure why that isn’t a more common position. - RNUG - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:27 pm: Stay on the sidelines … especially if JB has presidential aspirations. There is zero upside to endorsing either one, especially because he will have to work with whoever wins. And a lot of future downside / oppo research clips depending on which way things go. Better to sit it out. - Pius - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:28 pm: Stay away from both. Too much baggage on both. - H-W - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:29 pm: I voted “Stay on the sidelines.” I should qualify my response by saying I am very distant from Chicago and Chicago politics. But as an Illinoisan, I see little to gain from a Governor interjecting themself into local politics, large or small. Doing so can only be assured of creating division, by alienating some potential voters. This is particularly true in the contemporary social milieu in which we live. - Perrid - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:30 pm: Why lay down with dogs and get fleas? Stay out of it. - Demoralized - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:31 pm: Stay out of it. I don’t see anything good from endorsing one of them. - R.J. - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:33 pm: Pritzker should stay on the sidelines in a very ugly runoff. As someone who voted for Chuy and is leaning Vallas this time, I find Johnson to be using way more inflammatory rhetoric than Vallas, along with Johnson supporters like Robert Peters and Carlos Ramirez Rosa (who are spending an impressive amount of their time as Twitter reply guys). The main question for undecided voters: is Vallas’ flirtation with the right bad enough that he deserves the vitriol coming from Johnson and his supporters, as seen here? https://twitter.com/byaliceyin/status/1631447617979678721?cxt=HHwWgoCwtd-9iKQtAAAA I think you could argue both sides — that Johnson is being way over the top, but Vallas not having good explanations for his right-wing associations brought it on himself. - Anon324 - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:34 pm: Sidelines. He has absolutely nothing to gain from supporting either of them, and a lot to lose. - Levois - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:36 pm: Sidelines. There isn’t an upside to him getting involved with this. As someone said, have allies make the endorsements. I’m glad it’s out there that he opposes defunding police. - JS Mill - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:40 pm: Stay out, @GOM said it well and I agree. Both are flawed candidates on important issues. - Pundent - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:44 pm: I believe that Pritzker should, and likely will, stay on the sidelines. This race could very well be a blood bath and I’m not entirely sure who will come out on top. It could very well underscore divisions that exist within the city and Pritzker has little to gain in taking sides on what I expect to be a close race. - N’ville - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:45 pm: He can’t endorse Vallas because he’s committed the cardinal sin of speaking with, being seen with and God forbid, agreeing with a Republican. We certainly can’t tolerate someone who listens to both sides of an argument, can we? - Lincoln Lad - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:46 pm: Stay on the sidelines… like most voters likely will. I support JB, but his endorsement wouldn’t sway me on this one. I can’t support either candidate. How’d we end up here? - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:47 pm: ===Vallas because he’s committed the cardinal sin of speaking with, being seen with and God forbid=== Racist thinkers? The intolerant? Good try to paint it as this “Pritzker ain’t”… - Jibba - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 12:59 pm: Sidelines. The governor is not required to weigh in on every race in the state. Having said that, if the choice is a terrible person or a person with terrible policies, my vote would become more clear. - The Truth - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:01 pm: Sidelines. Also I wish to amend my prediction of “Johnson by 8″ to “I truly have no idea what’s going to happen now”. - SWSider - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:09 pm: If JPB doesn’t mind someone who attends Awake Ilinois rallies running the largest portion of his state. Now, why he would be okay with this, I’m not sure I could explain. - Early voter - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:11 pm: If Chicago had ranked choice voting, Lori Lightfoot could have been reelected by uniting both the Johnson and Vallas factions of the party. - Jerry - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:13 pm: Voted no. Like others have said, he has to work with either on. There are bigger fish to fry. Oh, the only people who talk about Defunding the Police are Republicans. I dont know WHY they want to do this. Democrats would like smarter policing. No need to bring an M-7632758 tank to a domestic disturbance call or someone walking in middle of the street. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:14 pm: ===If=== We’re beyond “if” There’s no if. - Roman - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:14 pm: Stay on the sidelines. Both candidates have oppo books as thick as a brick thanks to their mutual tendency to talk, talk, and talk some more. Endorse either one of them and Pritzker risks assuming guilt by association. - SouthSideGT - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:19 pm: Voted JB. Voted Brandon. JB should grab some pine on this one. No upside for him. He is doing a good job and is perceived as doing a good job. No reason to rock the boat. He could work with Vallas or Brandon. And either one would work with him. My two cents. FWIW. - Friendly Bob Adams - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:32 pm: Saw a new ad for Vallas which includes the pledge that he will “hold the police accountable”. Whoever came up with that should get a bump in their next paycheck. It sounds good but means nothing. The best kind of political speech. - Garfield Ridge Guy - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:32 pm: Something like 74% of Chicagoans didn’t vote at all. It’d be very heartening for me to see Pritzker generically push for an effort to get people to vote at all, as it cannot be a good thing that so few Chicagoans choose to play a role in the election. Better yet, I’d love to see Pritzker start a coalition to get Chicago to move its election to the midterms; it’s shameful that, no matter whose fault it is, we have an election date that acts to suppress voting (since we know more people would vote if it were in November). As for which candidate? As others have said, Pritzker has nothing to gain from entering the fray. - Chicago Blue - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:42 pm: @ RJ Vallas’s flirtation with the right? He privatized the entire New Orleans public school system in 2006. There’s no flirting involved, he’s fully in bed with right-wing education cranks. - Rich Miller - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:49 pm: ===I don’t know if the framing would work, but he needs to get it away from the simple notion of cutting 100% of police funding right now.=== Voters don’t do nuance. He said defund over and over and over again. He’s gotta try to change the subject. Not sure he can. - New Day - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:51 pm: JB opposes defunding the police. Brandon Johnson endorses defunding the police. Can’t endorse Brandon Johnson. JB opposes Awake IL and speaks out against the right wing crazies trying to ban books and take the teaching of America’s racist past out of the schools. Can’t endorse Vallas. And thus, I voted that he should stay on the sidelines. - 47th Ward - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:53 pm: ===the entire New Orleans public school system in 2006=== Post-Katrina, most of the city schools needed to be rebuilt or massively renovated. Not sure there was a better approach to be had there. - Steve - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:56 pm: JB should endorse Johnson who is much closer to JB’s progressive vision for Illinois. Taxes have to go up. Brandon Johnson understands this and so does JB. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:56 pm: === ===the entire New Orleans public school system in 2006=== Post-Katrina=== Reminds me of a certain former Tribune Editor of the Editorial page… I don’t “wish” thinking that on anyone, or candidate - Steve - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:02 pm: If JB endorses Vallas, he’s endorsing vouchers. Chicago voters want to spend $9.4 billion with 322,000 pupils. Those are Chicago’s values which Brandon and JB represent. - Techie - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:04 pm: “There is no Republican in the race” Vallas is literally on video saying otherwise. - Amalia - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:06 pm: Vallas rolling out endorsements, traditional wisdom says what is Brandon doing? Traditional wisdom might be missing politics that goes a whole other way. will be interesting to see what that is from BJohnson. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:06 pm: ===Chicago voters want to spend $9.4 billion with 322,000 pupils. Those are Chicago’s values which Brandon and JB represent.=== What are you babbling about? If anything, talking about an elected school board might be a better talking point to “nuance” - Steve - As I recall, you don’t vote. You told me so. I can find it if you’d like… it’s curious your nuanced wonder to endorsements as a non-voter. - Steve - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:18 pm: Taxpayers have every right to comment . They are the ones paying the bills. Anyway, after the next teachers contract we could have $30,000 per pupil at CPS. It’s possible. Eat your heart out New Trier… - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:23 pm: ===Taxpayers=== Taxpayers scream unheard unless Taxpayers use their voice at the ballot box. Otherwise you are essentially on your porch screaming at clouds. Why should Pritzker care to your ask, you don’t vote, lol Back to the QOTD, reading thoughts here to this, it’s seemingly two fronts… those who want any endorsement to *hurt* Pritzker somehow, or “pick a side” folks that have a need to consider where Pritzker is. Both those avenues forget the goal of the exercise… aid the endorsed candidate. I’ll add that lil lesson I’m learning as another reason I’m still a “Sidelines” vote - Rudy’s teeth - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:25 pm: No endorsement from JB. The governor has much to lose and nothing to gain by entering into this fray. The residents of Chicago have a voice and a vote; hopefully, they’ll use both to select a candidate who will provide leadership and direction for the city. - Keyrock - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:47 pm: JB will - and should - duck and cover. As others have mentioned, the oppo book on each is very thick. Endorsing either runs a substantial risk of biting JB during the campaign. That risk is even higher once the winner tries to govern. JB seems to be focused on a possible run for the presidency. The risk of an endorsement hurting him is even higher on the national stage than within Illinois. While there may be some cost to not endorsing, it is far lower than the potential downsides of making an endorsement. - Demoralized - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 3:00 pm: ==Taxpayers have every right to comment == When I read that I know I’m dealing with a grumpy old man shouting from his porch for the kids to get off of his lawn. - Hank Sauer - Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 3:11 pm: I’m with Jesse on this one Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.