* This is from Paul Vallas’ speech at a March 14, 2021 campaign rally for some suburban school district candidates demanding that schools be reopened. It’s the rally where he says Awake Illinois’ Shannon Adcock should run for governor. We ran the Facebook video through Otter and then cleaned it up the best we could, but please pardon all transcription errors. Anyway, if you thought Mayor Lightfoot could be bluntly confrontational, check this out..

First of all, it’s such an honor to have been invited to this event and to see this great turn out so give yourselves a round of applause. After listening to Shannon Adcock’s speech, I think she should run for governor.

The only way your children stop becoming hostages is if you have a voice on the school board. The April 6th election is critical. You got to get representatives. Even if you don’t get control of a board, if you have a voice on that board, they can force it or have transparency. They can force that board to answer questions. And it’s important that you all support yourself and close ranks around social media because they will attack you and they will demagogue you.

This is not about bashing teachers. There have been four teachers in my household. There have been six first responders, there have been six veterans. This is not about attacking teachers. They want you to think about attacking teachers. This is about attacking the union leaders.

On the other hand if you’re a teacher, and you are silent, then you are complicit by your silence.

At the end of the day, if you are silent then you’re part of the problem. […]

The only way we free the hostages is by getting people elected to the school board, or we advocate for kids. It’s as simple as that. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Close ranks get individuals elected because this will happen again. We know this.

When you can literally say, we don’t want to test this year. When you literally can say, no more accountability. When you can literally short the school day or short even the remote structure. Actually, the unions forced them to go full remote and then complained that a four-hour remote learning day was too long and they needed another hour off. If you do that, and get away and still get paid and still keep bonuses, and still get your pay increases, and still get vacations days, and still get your time off, what’s to prevent you from doing it again?

This is not only about reopening the schools or fully reopening the schools. But this is about making sure that this never happens again.

The city council should not be sitting idle while those things are going on in the schools. 75% of your property taxes are going to schools. What are the council people doing? What are the local mayors doing?

So, repeat after me, Never again! [Crowd chants] Never again! Never again! Never again!

Bring back your schools! God bless.

Darren Bailey also spoke at the event.

* Vallas rolled out more endorsements early this morning…

Probably not a huge surprise to most, but Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 has endorsed Paul Vallas pic.twitter.com/l0CREd84wN

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) March 16, 2023

And… pic.twitter.com/FxwXBceNtU

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) March 16, 2023

* But one of Vallas’ previous endorsers, Ja’mal Green, was unaware of Vallas’ comments on race…

Receipts…

Wirepoints: Yeah, Paul, I often wonder if you’re a Black kid, why wouldn’t you become a criminal if you’re hearing this stuff in school? It’s everybody with white skin is an oppressor, if you have black skin, you’re the oppressed. That makes it pretty easy to justify pretty bad conduct in my opinion.

Vallas: You’re absolutely right. But what you’re also doing, you know, you’re giving people an excuse for bad behavior.

* Meanwhile…

Bernie Sanders endorses Brandon Johnson for Mayor. This is likely to give some energy to Johnson’s campaign — but also encompasses a big part of what is already his base.

— Gregory Pratt (@royalpratt) March 16, 2023

* We’ve known this was happening for a while…

Rep. Jim Clyburn (S.C.), the assistant House Democratic leader, announced Thursday that he is endorsing Brandon Johnson for mayor of Chicago.

Clyburn’s blessing is a major coup for Johnson, a Black and progressive Cook County commissioner, running against Paul Vallas, a white centrist and former CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Specifically, the nod from Clyburn, a staunch moderate with a national profile, stands to help Johnson consolidate the support of Black voters, including those older Black voters who might otherwise be skeptical of Johnson’s left-wing views on policing and taxation.

As we’ve already discussed, Johnson sharply criticized Clyburn over Clyburn’s opposition to defunding the police.

* Isabel’s Chicago roundup…

* Crain’s | More endorsements and big cash roll in to mayoral runoff: Among the contributions reported by Johnson’s campaign Wednesday is $25,000 from SNC Consulting & Management. On the other side of the race, Vallas’ campaign reported a big collection of contributions on Wednesday, totaling over $270,000. That includes $100,000 from Brian Miller, co-founder and managing partner of health care-focused private-equity firm Linden Capital Partners. Miller previously donated $50,000 to the Vallas campaign in February ahead of the first round of voting.

* Sun-Times | City Council OKs more video surveillance — and more automated tickets: A new batch of cameras will be mounted on CTA buses and other public transit vehicles. Drivers caught impeding traffic flow in bus and bike lanes and loading zones will be fined automatically after one warning.

* ABC Chicago | 25th Ward alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez’s press conference crashed by defeated opponent: A supporter of Aida Flores pulled the microphone away and handed it over to Flores, who then made unfounded claims of voter suppression. Election results show that Sigcho-Lopez defeated Flores with 53% of the vote. Immigrant rights activist Elvira Arellano tried to shout down Flores, eventually grabbing the microphone back.

* WBEZ | The new board of Chicago’s main union for cops has 27 elected members, but just one African American: Since 2014, Black officers have run for the Fraternal Order of Police board 28 times but have failed to win except for once, WBEZ has found.

* Sun-Times | Chicago-area expressway shootings increasingly caused by road rage, state police say: In 2022, road rage was reported in about 40% of the 140 Chicago-area expressway shootings handled by Illinois State Police. That is up from 12% in 2021, ISP says.

* WGN | Chicago’s top cop checks out early: WGN Investigates has learned Chicago’s top cop checked-out earlier than his announced exit, originally scheduled for Thursday. Sources say Brown cleaned-out his corner office and is leaving town without the usual pomp and circumstance usually afforded a police leader. He declined all interview requests.

* WTTW | What Will Policing, Public Safety Look Like Under Chicago’s Next Mayor?: “The bottom line is — I’ve talked about it over and over again in columns, etc. — is to restore proactive policing and proactive policing that is consistent with the consent decree, and I’ve said that over and over and over again,” Vallas said. It’s a sentiment that one former officer agrees with. Peter Koconis is a retired police sergeant who served as a special assistant to Chicago police Superintendent Jody Weiss. “When I came out and I worked on the tactical team, we were proactive,” Koconis said. “Now, when I had a tactical team and a gang team in my last assignment, we were more reactive, and I think that hurts you in a way.”

* Fox News | As crime ravages Chicago, pastor puts faith in pro-police candidate to turn it around: “Paul Vallas will be better for the city of Chicago,” Pastor Corey Brooks told Fox News. “We need someone who’s going to focus not just on the crime on the South Side and West Side, but also someone who can build back the relationships with businesses on the Magnificent Mile and on State Street.”

* Block Club | City Council Accepts $20 Million From State To Support Migrants After Fierce Pushback From South Side Leaders: The $20 million appropriation from the state of Illinois will be used to help migrants who have been bused to Chicago mostly from Texas. Council members voted 32-15 to accept the funding. Ald. Gil Villegas (36th) was out of the chamber during the vote but later said he supports accepting the money.

* Fox Chicago | Tensions flare at Chicago City Council meeting over Lightfoot’s handling of migrant crisis: “The administration dropped the ball with telling folks where these camps will be. And so now that they’re closing, we’re getting more people in the community. So the one in Maria Hadden’s community closed, and those migrants were sent to of course Wadsworth which is a closed school. So with all due respect, there should have been a conversation with us. As a matter of fact, this was a conversation I asked for back in October and I’m confused how we’re here again trying to pass something without having a conversation,” said 20th Ward Alderwoman Jeannette Taylor.

* WGN | Little Village discount mall vendors plan caravan to avoid eviction: The 25th alderman plans to lead a group of vendors to Novak Construction, demanding a new agreement is made to avoid them from being evicted from the discount mall. Sources told WGN there will be 70 vehicles apart of the caravan and it will include street vendors as well as those who rent from the discount mall in Little Village.

* WGN | Is decision day finally near for third Chicago airport?: “You never say never,” Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant told WGN Investigates. “I think the numbers and the interest should play a role. We don’t want to start along this road and realize there’s no need for it.”

* Sun-Times | Northwestern begins transplant trial for stage 4 lung cancer patients who have run out of traditional treatment options: The trial is called DREAM, for double lung replacement and multidisciplinary care, and is aimed at some of the most “hopeless patients,” the hospital says.

       

53 Comments - Sue - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:01 pm: As Bernie Sanders is an acknowledged socialist- is anyone surprised at this endorsement. There are folks who might think a socialist running the City would be a positive. But unless you want another Portland perhaps they need to rethink the direction they want to take the City in - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:08 pm: If you like 1990s Chicago, your choice is fairly simple, just don’t complain about… the racist thinkers, conspiracy theorists, and the closed minded school board “Christian” thinking… they are in your fold. If you remove “Paul Vallas” from everything in his campaign and inserted “Richard M. Daley”… It’s eerie, not accidental - northsider (the original) - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:14 pm: ====If you remove “Paul Vallas” from everything in his campaign and inserted “Richard M. Daley”==== Or “If you remove “Paul Vallas” from everything in his campaign and inserted “Bruce Rauner” Vallas’s hatred of the teachers union is as visceral as Rauner’s towards all labor. Do all these unions endorsing Vallas not understand they are next? I - NIU Grad - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:15 pm: Chicago is looking very likely to elect a Republican Mayor. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:19 pm: ===If you remove “Paul Vallas” from everything in his campaign and inserted “Richard M. Daley”…=== That was “Mayor” Lightfoot, not “Candidate, 2019” Lightfoot Vallas goes way back with folks, “40 years”, the difference is Vallas embracing so much of the “Republican Culture War” ideas, but folks like Gery Chico see Vallas as a 1990s retread to Daleyites’ delight - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:25 pm: ===Or “If you remove “Paul Vallas” from everything in his campaign and inserted “Bruce Rauner”=== Apologies, that was suppose to be above. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:25 pm: “It’s everybody with white skin is an oppressor” This is what racists say to immediately block discussion and teaching of racism. It’s meant to shut up and shame the oppressed. Any mention of racism is: you hate all white people. Nope, that won’t fly in Illinois. - Big Dipper - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:26 pm: Wikipedia: “Never again” is a phrase or slogan which is associated with the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. Vallas has even more in common with Catanzara than it originally seemed. - Candy Dogood - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:26 pm: I am having a tough time deciding if Vallas just doesn’t know how to handle his past association with fascist organizations advocating for bigotry or if he doesn’t want to offend people that he believes will help him win reelection. Either way Vallas showed up at some rallies that should be concerning and I remain surprised that some people and organizations are endorsing him without regard to addressing those concerns. Awake Illinois supports a number of things that those labor unions are against on paper, but perhaps that sentiment hasn’t flowed down to their decision makers or they’ve just decided that something is more important than making sure you elect officials that actually believe in basic human rights for everyone. Those unions endorsing Vallas, one way another, are saying that certain rights aren’t very important to them or their members. It’s unfortunate and unnecessary. - R.J. - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:27 pm: *Extremely* surprised by the Clyburn endorsement. Biden has been hammering a national message of “Democrats are terrible on crime and need to shape up,” per his D.C. crime bill action; moderates like Clyburn presumably know that. Bizarre to say the least, but likely to be extremely helpful to Johnson. I’d say Johnson is now favored to win. - Jocko - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:30 pm: Now that Brandon has Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren sewn up who’s left…Greta Thunberg? Sheesh (exclamation point) - Lakeview Lou - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:31 pm: @Sue you do know Bernie was a very successful mayor himself and is one of the most popular politicians in America? Maybe instead of recycling Paul’s failed status quo policies from the 90s we should try some of these Sander policies that have been successful moving a city forward for all. - Anon324 - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:31 pm: Getting some real “Dwight Schrute at the salespeople convention” vibes from that Vallas speech. - Boone's is Back - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:36 pm: Ja’mal Green wins the internet with his endorsement today. “Yes, I knew I was going to get the privileged white northside progressives to be mad at me for my endorsement but newsflash, this is a local race and young black kids are dying. We need tangible resources not rhetoric or black unknown faces who won’t commit to a plan.” https://twitter.com/JaymalGreen/status/1636088299344232453?s=20 - low level - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:38 pm: To a sizeable voting bloc, across many races it seems from the various endorsements, 1990’s Chicago folks really good right now, especially in comparison to the present day. Meanwhile, Vallas keeps getting local support while Johnson brings in national types like Bernie Sanders. When you rely on Bernie Bro Burnout types, count me out. - Sue - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:38 pm: Lakeview- Sanders was mayor of a city like 1/10 the size of Evanston. Do I don’t see the connection. Also- he is the author of the pandemic payments that have led to our record inflation and now banking problems. You want a Sanders type responsible for a City if 3 plus million. God bless - Big Dipper - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:49 pm: ==1990’s Chicago folks really good right now, especially in comparison to the present day.== Crime was worse in the 90s, but no one blamed Daley for it. Maybe Lori has a point about the race and gender of a leader. - Larry Bowa Jr. - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:49 pm: “On the other hand if you’re a teacher, and you are silent, then you are complicit by your silence.” I love that CPD’s guy said this out loud about another group of employees. - btowntruth from forgottonia - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:52 pm: “After listening to Shannon Adcock’s speech, I think she should run for governor.” No. No no no no no nooooooooooooo no. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:53 pm: ===1990’s Chicago folks really good right now, especially in comparison to the present day.=== Nostalgia is always fraught with rose colored glasses. You also think racial divides in Chicago 1990s are the better choice to the “woke” old angry white that also litter the Vallas coalition? Let’s not pretend Vallas hasn’t courted the worst of what has been sowed as well. It’s a coalition of the blinded, but that’s why coalitions are designed for one aim. - Amalia - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 12:59 pm: What is the Vallas alternative in a pandemic? pre vaccine is he seriously that stupid? does he not see unvaccinated children as potential spreaders of disease? the right wing schools movement is about anti LGBTQ, anti teaching of race in history, and anti vaccine. He’s part of that. and it’s very scary. - Humboldt - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 1:00 pm: To combat the “Johnson has no local support endorsements” listed above, here’s some valuable info: 4 US House reps who have weighed endorsed Johnson, 0 Vallas 6 IL State Senators who have weighed in endorsed Johnson, 0 Vallas 8 IL State Reps who have weighed in endorsed Johnson, 0 Vallas 7 Cook County Board Commissioners & the President have endorsed Johnson, 0 Vallas - btowntruth from forgottonia - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 1:00 pm: OW: It’s appealing to the voters with a “good old days” mindset who believe that the way things “used to be” is how things should be going forward. Mevermind that the “good old days” were never as good as remembered. - JS Mill - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 1:03 pm: =But unless you want another Portland perhaps they need to rethink the direction they want to take the City in= You clearly (like so many on the right) have no clue what socialism is or how it works. =and now banking problems.= Fact check- it was the other socialist Trump that set the stage for this latest issue. - Big Dipper - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 1:22 pm: More Keith Thornton campaign work for Vallas: https://twitter.com/peoplesfabric/status/1636419215845474337?s=20 - Techie - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 1:38 pm: “Lakeview- Sanders was mayor of a city like 1/10 the size of Evanston. Do I don’t see the connection.” And he was a very successful mayor, one who helped secure housing for low-income people while simultaneously growing the city’s economy. “Also- he is the author of the pandemic payments that have led to our record inflation and now banking problems.” Newsflash - the US is far from the only country facing high inflation. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/inflation-by-country/, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/15/in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world-inflation-is-high-and-getting-higher/ But nice try attempting to blame it all on a single US senator. “You want a Sanders type responsible for a City if 3 plus million. God bless” I for one sure do - investing in people, especially those whose needs have been chronically ignored, would be a breath of fresh air. - Gravitas - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 1:59 pm: The last time Clyburn weighed in on a contested election, we got stuck with Joe Biden. Ugh! - 48th Ward Heel - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:00 pm: Pastor Corey Brooks also endorsed Rauner. Nobody cared, but he was rewarded for the effort with a seat on the Tollway Authority. In a civilized country that would have been illegal and/or he’d be paying taxes by now. - Betty Draper’s cigarette - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:13 pm: === There are folks who might think a socialist running the City would be a positive.=== I wouldn’t make an assumption that any candidate running for mayor is a socialist based on Sanders. Why would I? ===But unless you want another Portland=== What? Portland is socialist? - low level - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:36 pm: ==It’s a coalition of the blinded, but that’s why coalitions are designed for one aim.== Blind or not, I’m voting for Vallas. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:39 pm: ===Blind or not, I’m voting for Vallas.=== (Sigh) Ok. It’s not my responsibility to make you feel good about it. - Arsenal - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:39 pm: ==he is the author of the pandemic payments that have led to our record inflation and now banking problems== It’s neither record inflation nor did the pandemic relief payments lead to Peter Theil and his sycophants gassing themselves up into doing a bank run on a group chat. - low level - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:42 pm: ==Ok. It’s not my responsibility to make you feel good about it== How did you ever come up with that? Wait, do I have rose colored glasses or am I blind? - Gravitas - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:43 pm: I think the biggest obstacle that Johnson has to overcome is the ongoing Chicago crime wave. That is a difficult task for a mayoral candidate who is not an incumbent. Brandon Johnson can try to say the right things while campaigning, but it is a tough sell. Every reported crime receiving news coverage seems to reinforce the Vallas lead in the polls. We will find out in sixteen days. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:43 pm: ===do I have rose colored glasses or am I blind=== Can’t one be blind *and* stylish? :) - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:45 pm: ===How did you ever come up with that?=== I don’t recall me asking you whom you’re voting for. You offering it, “ok” - Early voter - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:46 pm: Using “blinded” as an insult is ableist. It perpetuates the inferiority of people with disabilities. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 2:55 pm: ===ableist=== I disagree, but I’ll change it to “purposeful blind spot”… all can have blind spots - Three Dimensional Checkers - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 3:09 pm: ===More Keith Thornton campaign work for Vallas:=== People’s Fabric lost all credibility in my mind. They spent countless hours trying discredit Ald. Gardiner, and he won in the first round. - Anon324 - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 3:28 pm: ==People’s Fabric lost all credibility in my mind. They spent countless hours trying discredit Ald. Gardiner, and he won in the first round.== The fact people in his ward are willing to overlook boorish behavior isn’t a reflection of People’s Fabric’s credibility, it’s a reflection of the values of the ward voters. And a sad one at that. As it is, Gardiner is in a run-off, so while he had a plurality of votes, he did not “win.” - Sue - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 3:30 pm: Arsenal- don’t venture into areas you obviously don’t know much about. Since 2021 the banks had 5 trillion of new deposits and private equity firms also had huge inflows of cash. Most experts have all said that the pandemic payments were directly the cause of all the money sloshing in the financial system. Silver Lake had record inflows and made the mistake of going into long term but very secure bonds. They couldn’t just sit on the cash as it would adversely affect earnings. When they announced the paper losses on investments caused by increases in interest rates- depositors got spooked and en masse sought to withdraw deposits. No one did anything illegal. It was a classic bank run bug definitely caused by rediculous amounts of money distributed by the Biden administration - Original Rambler - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 3:32 pm: Still can’t believe I have to choose between these two candidates. I remain undecided. - low level - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 3:32 pm: If its a choice between a candidate backed by Jesse White vs one backed by Bernie Sanders, I suspect a majority of Chicagoans will go for Jesse White over Bernie. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 3:35 pm: ===I suspect=== We’ll know soon enough, White is a big endorsement for anyone, I don’t think many are bigger then him in Illinois these days. - Big Dipper - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 4:02 pm: ==They spent countless hours trying discredit Ald. Gardiner, and he won in the first round.== Educating people about a candidate is not a waste. If people vote for him despite knowledge of his bad behavior, that’s on them. Also he did not win the first round, he was kept under 50 plus one and faces a runoff. - Big Dipper - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 4:04 pm: ==Using “blinded” as an insult is ableist== So I guess you object just as strenuously when someone says something is lame, crazy, or fell on deaf ears. - Three Dimensional Checkers - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 4:18 pm: ===Educating people about a candidate is not a waste. If people vote for him despite knowledge of his bad behavior, that’s on them. Also he did not win the first round, he was kept under 50 plus one and faces a runoff.=== Oh, I’m sorry. Mr. Shuh basically has to run the table to beat Gardiner in the runoff considering 48% already voted for Gardiner. Otherwise, come on. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 4:22 pm: ===considering 48% already voted for Gardiner=== Not one honest person thinks an incumbent alderman in a runoff is a good thing. (Tips cap to - Big Dipper -) - Big Dipper - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 4:49 pm: No one named Shuh ran or is running in 45. And the person with the highest number of votes in the first round does not always win the runoff. The majority of people voted for someone other than the incumbent, despite the advantages of incumbency. - cermak_rd - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 4:56 pm: Sue, If you are referring to SVB (Silicon Valley Bank) what got them was poor risk management. The job of bank investors is hard, they are supposed to hedge against the risk of rates going up and buy a combination of short and long term bonds. SVB did not do that because it would hurt their earnings. Which is why I will gladly dance on their grave, even though I am OK with the FDIC fund to fully insure deposits. - Three Dimensional Checkers - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 5:36 pm: ===No one named Shuh ran or is running in 45.=== Suh, but Mathias edged him out with 16%. Take me to typo prison. - Big Dipper - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 6:09 pm: So Suh is not in the runoff either lol. - TinyDancer(FKASue) - Thursday, Mar 16, 23 @ 8:05 pm: Still can’t vote for either. Is it too late to organize a write-in campaign? Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.