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That toddlin’ town roundup
Monday, Mar 20, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Chalkbeat…
That’s just a taste. Click here for more. * Wall Street Journal editorial board…
That is true. The fave/unfave split in January was 57-40. The most recent poll had it at 48-46. But Paul Vallas’ fave/unfave rating also took a hit with that same pollster. Vallas’ rating went from 46-31 in January to 47-47 in March. Brandon Johnson’s was 35-20 in January and 51-40 in March. Both saw increases in their unfavorable rating, but Johnson also saw a big spike in his favorability as more people came to know him. But we can expect lots more intense hits on Johnson in the coming weeks. * Here’s Greg Hinz…
Not mentioned in the piece is that, on Friday, INCS Action Independent Committee (charter schools) reported spending $258,000 on cable TV ads against Brandon Johnson. Two days earlier, INCS Action spent $359,000 on digital media against Johnson. More to come, I’m told. The group reported an $800,000 contribution from Wheels, Inc. executive chairman James Frank last week. Johnson has reported $723,879.56 in contributions since a week ago Sunday. Vallas has reported $1,668,050 in the same time period. …Adding… Greg Goldner’s Priorities Chicago PAC just reported spending $320,000 on TV ads against Johnson. * Meanwhile, here’s a press release…
* Two more alds for Johnson…
* Crain’s…
Your thoughts on that? * Isabel’s roundup… * Sun-Times | Chicago’s mayoral candidates have radically different approaches to fixing public schools. Here’s why.: Vallas built a long career on pledges he could give children a better education by reforming low-performing schools in dramatic and controversial ways. Johnson has spent his time organizing around better support for students and targeting the conditions around them in neighborhoods, decrying drastic reforms as disruptive to relationships kids need to succeed. * CBS Chicago | Vallas, Johnson keep busy on campaign trail ahead of early voting in mayoral race: South and West side community leaders met with both candidates for mayor on Sunday about their plans to rebuild neighborhoods. United Power for Action and Justice hosted a forum Sunday afternoon, asking Johnson and Vallas to commit to affordable housing and reclaim vacant lots. * Sun-Times | Chicago’s longtime chief labor negotiator sizes up Paul Vallas, Brandon Johnson: Jim Franczek, the city’s chief labor negotiator, doesn’t see it that way — and he’s in a unique position to know. Franczek called Vallas the “clear choice” and Johnson and his ties to the CTU a grave concern. * Block Club | Paul Vallas Endorsed By Slate Of Northwest Side Alderpeople: Alds. Samantha Nugent (39th), Nick Sposato (38th) and Ald. Felix Cardona (31st) have endorsed Vallas since he made the April 4 runoff. Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) has not made a public endorsement but told attendees at a February 45th Ward candidate forum that people “should strongly consider Vallas.” * WTTW | Chances Lightfoot Will Convince Lame Duck City Council to Pass ComEd Deal Fade: Instead, alderpeople balked at the mayor’s demand and sent the proposal to the Rules Committee, where controversial legislative proposals frequently go to die. Lightfoot’s allies, led by Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward), the chair of the powerful Finance Committee, tried to schedule a hearing on the proposal, only to have that effort deluged by a wave of criticism. That last-ditch hearing never took place. * CBS Chicago | Pilsen and Little Village activists want mayoral candidates to make environmental issues a priority: The Southwest Environmental Alliance, which gathered at Lincoln United Methodist church on Sunday, called on mayoral candidates Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson to take more action against developers like Sims Metal Management, MAT Asphalt, and Hilco for what they call violence against the environment. * Block Club | Ald. Timmy Knudsen Nabs Endorsements From 5 Retired Alderpeople, Former Rival In 43rd Ward Runoff: Former Ald. Michele Smith and former candidate Wendi Taylor Nations previously blasted Knudsen but are now backing him over Brian Comer. Comer accused Knudsen of sending a “misleading” poll about him. * Crain’s | New questions for Uptown aldermanic candidate over IRS lien: Angela Clay, the 46th Ward aldermanic hopeful who failed to disclose she operated a company that received nearly $42,000 in federal COVID-relief funds, also has something else in her financial record she hasn’t talked about: an outstanding $18,450 IRS lien against her. * Sun-Times | Villegas fights to hold onto ward called both ‘snake’ and ‘noodle’ against challenge from CTU-backed Torres Whitt: The newly redrawn ward stretches from Sayre Avenue in the Northwest Side’s Montclare neighborhood across parts of the West Side to Wood Street in West Town. Along the way, the ward that was described as a “pool noodle” picks up parts of Ukrainian Village, Humboldt Park, Dunning and Belmont Cragin. * Tribune | The 11th Ward’s complex history is ever-present in latest campaign for alderman: Mayor Lori Lightfoot a year ago appointed Ald. Nicole Lee, a Chinese American with deep roots in the Asian community, to replace Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson after he was convicted on federal tax-related charges. The political shift was reaffirmed when the council OK’d new ward maps that brought both Chinatown and Bridgeport fully into the 11th to make it the first ward in city history with a majority Asian population. * Block Club | Ald. Nicole Lee Faces Police Officer Anthony Ciaravino For 11th Ward Seat — And Both Support Vallas For Mayor: The 11th Ward — which includes Chinatown, Bridgeport, Armour Square and Canaryville — has long been influential in city politics; five mayors have come from the community, including Richard M. Daley and his father, Richard J. Daley. Lee’s family has connections with the powerful Daleys, who backed her in the February election, while this is Ciaravino’s first bid for public office. * Sun-Times | Chicago’s next mayor has water problems to fix: Chicago has at least 387,000 lead service lines, the most of any city in the country. But to date, only 280 lines have been replaced. There is no argument anymore about whether they need to be replaced — we know there is no safe level of lead in drinking water. Replacement comes down to prioritization and leadership. State law gives the city a 50-year timeline to finish the job, which is a nonstarter. * WTTW | The Little-Known Social Worker and Writer Who Embodied Chicago’s Role as a “Cauldron” for Social Movements: Mary Field Parton was a “progressive crusader” and avant-garde writer who embodied the progressive politics and social values of the early 20th century in Chicago. She’s the subject of a book called Mary Field Parton and the Pursuit of a Progressive Society by historian Mark McGarvie, who also recently taught a class on her at the Newberry Library, where he is a scholar-in-residence. * Bloomberg | Chicago, Atlanta, NYC: Biden Faces Early Test on Convention Site: “It’s a close political call,” said David Axelrod who worked as a top strategist for former President Barack Obama. “They are not just looking for a great convention town. They are looking for a town that is also going to offer them the most political benefit.”
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- Montrose - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 11:59 am:
I just don’t see Lightfoot endorsing. She can’t go Vallas given how many of her backers (Personal PAC, Equality IL, Rep. Cassidy, Connors-Irvin, Ald. Irvin) have gone with Johnson, and she won’t go with Johnson because she cannot swallow her pride enough to do that.
- Big Dipper - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:14 pm:
==Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) has not made a public endorsement but told attendees at a February 45th Ward candidate forum that people “should strongly consider Vallas.”==
Sure sounds like an endorsement if he doesn’t want them to consider the other guy.
- Steve - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:21 pm:
‘He would increase taxes on hotels’
The tax is so high : if you cut it at from this level you might bring in more revenue than what it is bringing in now. The high hotel tax is one of the reasons some conventions have gone elsewhere.
- low level - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:21 pm:
If Lightfoot endorses, the first thing that happens is your opponent sends a mailer with your picture w her. Her approval / disapproval is like 20/80 or something along those lines? You really want that endorsement?
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:23 pm:
Lightfoot thinks CTU had it out for her from the beginning. I would be very surprised if she endorsed Johnson now.
- Early voter - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:26 pm:
Big Dipper, he said to strongly consider Vallas, he did not say to not consider the “other guy”. Also, when he made that statement in February, there was not just a “other guy”, there was multiple candidates including the incumbent who is not a “guy”.
- 48th Ward Heel - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:29 pm:
“Hmm, you say schools are trapped in a cycle of underfunding and underutilization? Ok, guys, just hear me out on this one: What if we opened a second, administratively separate school in the same building to *compete* with the first one? Sure, we’d be paying for a redundant set of staff for the same shrinking pool of students out of the same already-strained budget, but at least they wouldn’t be union.”
-Education Wizard Paul Vallas
- Sue - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:33 pm:
Johnson should ask another African American candidate how opposing school choice worked out for him in a certain 2018 Florida Gov race. Truth be told Black families as do many Hispanics support school choice.
- Early voter - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:34 pm:
Big Dipper, Lori Lightfoot and Sophia King are not “other guy”. Both were candidates for Mayor in February. Lori Lightfoot, a woman, is the incumbent mayor. Women are eligible to serve as Mayor of Chicago, incase you didn’t realize.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:35 pm:
=== The high hotel tax is one of the reasons some conventions have gone elsewhere.===
Since Covid it’s been slow everywhere.
The recovery of hospitality has more to do with conventions deciding to actually meet post-Covid.
If you have facts or numbers that say otherwise, have at it.
- JoeMaddon - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:37 pm:
**Lightfoot thinks CTU had it out for her from the beginning.**
Thinks? They practically declared war on her the day she won the election.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:38 pm:
To Lightfoot,
“Should Vallas or Johnson want Lightfoot to endorse them?”
I’d raise $5-7K to send Lightfoot on vacation before she endorsed a crew.
Then again, Lightfoot carried the South and West side wards…
There’s no right answer. That’s also a Lightfoot Legacy, no?
Lightfoot’s odd constituency, will they as a group, be swayed in any way Lightfoot is swayed? Dunno.
- the 647 - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:39 pm:
Would the two candidates be “thrilled” with a Lightfoot endorsement? I’d say no. I wouldn’t want such an unpopular mayor supporting me.
- phocion - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:42 pm:
OW, try google. You’re incorrect again. Chicago lags behind other cities in convention business recovery post-Covid. But, it’s not clear that hotel taxes has much if anything to do with Chicago’s failure to recover its convention business.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/economy/chicago-convention-industry-pandemic-recovery-rival-cities
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:51 pm:
=== Chicago lags behind other cities in convention business recovery post-Covid. But, it’s not clear that hotel taxes has much if anything to do with Chicago’s===
If it’s unclear… as you say…
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 12:56 pm:
- phocion -
Is that from.. June, 2022?
- Big Dipper - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 1:01 pm:
==he did not say to not consider the “other guy”==
You do know what an implication is?
- Big Dipper - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 1:04 pm:
And I clearly meant the other guy remaining, but nice try with the false sexism accusation when Gardiner calls women the “c” word.
- The Truth - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 1:08 pm:
I think a Lightfoot endorsement in this race, at this point would actually be a rare case of a negative for either Johnson or Vallas.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 1:13 pm:
Lightfoot is backing the same candidate Pritzker and Biden are backing. I thought that was clear.
- Responsa - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 1:38 pm:
A Lightfoot endorsement would be a Typhoid Mary endorsement for the “lucky” runoff candidate.
- Dotnonymous - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 2:26 pm:
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2017/06/01/new-evidence-that-lead-exposure-increases-crime/
- R.J. - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 2:43 pm:
I have yet to see a good answer from Johnson supporters about the public-safety elephant in the room: Who is going to want to be a police officer under a Johnson admin? Johnson has not hid the fact that he and most of his supporters dislike (you could even say hate) the police. He wants to hire 200 detectives. Who is going to want to be a detective under a police-hating admin?
Lightfoot tried to have a decent relationship with the police while calling out Catanzara’s extremism. No chance that Johnson has that kind of connection, given his past comments.
- tominator - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 2:45 pm:
Funny thing about that Chuy endorsement. I get all his emails, texts, requests to donate. Sometimes I get two a day. Since he lost I’ve gotten NOTHING. Since he endorsed I’ve still gotten NOTHING. He may have “endorsed” Johnson but he did on a Friday — worst news day to do it. And I bet he doesn’t do a THING to help Johnson.
- Lakeview Fisherman - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 2:46 pm:
Does anyone know if IRS liens, re Angela Clay in the 46th Ward, are filed if the person owning the money doesn’t own any real estate?
Her bio as I understand it has her as a lifelong renter and community activist. That one is just unexpected.
The Crain’s story also has her forming a more recent company in Delaware. Now I know Delaware is often used to form corporations because of their laws, but for some presumably tiny company with little income?
This just doesn’t make sense on the face of it. Maybe it’s all reasonable, but her spokesperson ducking the question doesn’t help.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 2:48 pm:
=== He wants to hire 200 detectives. Who is going to want to be a detective under a police-hating admin?===
We’ll see.
Would it bother folks too much if the Proud Boy types who find their way into law enforcement decide not to be Chicago Cops?
- Arsenal - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 2:51 pm:
==Johnson should ask another African American candidate how opposing school choice worked out for him in a certain 2018 Florida Gov race.==
The fact that Johnson, unlike Gillum, is not under FBI investigation would seem to stretch the outer limits of the usefulness of this comparison, to say nothing of the fact that, generally speaking, Chicago does not vote very much like Florida.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 3:03 pm:
=== Chicago does not vote very much like Florida.===
lol
Ball Game
- Anon324 - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 3:27 pm:
==Who is going to want to be a detective under a police-hating admin?==
I understand your underlying point, but I would imagine that people who want a raise and to get off the street patrol duty on top of it would be interested.
- R.J. - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 3:30 pm:
=== Would it bother folks too much if the Proud Boy types who find their way into law enforcement decide not to be Chicago Cops? ===
Bizarre to dismiss the very real demoralization of thousands of police officers across the U.S. the past few years (unless you think the entire force is made up of Proud Boys). No Chicago police officer, good or bad, will want to serve under a mayor who has a history of expressing hatred towards their profession. See the already alarming number of police officers who have left the force (660 Chicago cops retired in 2021, almost twice as many as in 2018).
Back to the Lightfoot topic, again - Vallas is getting a lot of support from wards that supported Lightfoot, but as others have noted, an endorsement from her (for either candidate) would likely go on a mailer targeting the parts of the city that voted massively against her.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 3:45 pm:
=== R.J.===
You’re speaking for lots and lots of people.
Many assumptions, it’s bizarre to think of there are so many good cops they’ll just quit, if we’re playing dorm room speak for everyone.
- Big Dipper - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 3:50 pm:
== See the already alarming number of police officers who have left the force==
Many being far right types who have fled to suburban police departments. They can have them.
- R.J. - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 4:09 pm:
=== dorm room speak ===
Here’s the WSJ writing about the trend of police quitting, as well as the data on Chicago police numbers, but again, keep downplaying the trend and writing them all off as Proud Boys, then wondering why a candidate as flawed as Vallas even has a chance in this election when he shouldn’t.
https://twitter.com/typesfast/status/1524258460593926145
https://www.wsj.com/articles/police-departments-are-losing-officers-and-struggling-to-replace-them-11643288401
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 4:20 pm:
=== writing them all off as Proud Boys===
And yet CPD won’t remove them, when one is found?
If it’s a national trend, Vallas winning will stop the leakage, I mean, the worst elements (their president) of the FOP is a Vallas ally, no?
- Soccermom - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 4:36 pm:
I’m so old I remember when Greg Goldner was a Democrat.
- Early voter - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 5:33 pm:
Big Dipper, the election took place on February 28. It was not a two person race till after February. “The other guy” you are referring to is Brandon Johnson. Use him name, not “the other guy”.
- Big Dipper - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 5:43 pm:
Early voter, you are incoherent.
- Amalia - Monday, Mar 20, 23 @ 7:25 pm:
Soccermom for the win.