* I mean, if it wasn’t obvious on Friday night when the Johnson administration handed the Brighton Park environmental report to reporters before they gave it to the governor’s office, then I’m not sure where you’ve been…

Mayor Brandon Johnson campaigned on a promise to be the likable consensus-builder that Lori Lightfoot wasn’t.

He touted lessons learned as one of 10 siblings in a home with one bathroom, along with his previous work as a paid organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union. Listening, negotiating and collaborating is part of his DNA.

And yet, Johnson’s relationship with Gov. J.B. Pritzker is off to a rocky start not all that different from the tension between Lightfoot and Pritzker that worsened during the pandemic and became a hallmark of her single term.

The full story by Fran Spielman and Tina Sfondeles is definitely worth a read. I learned some things. The end graf is brutal…

“The governor has spent a lot of time, effort and money on national politics … The folks in the Pritzker administration don’t want to be embarrassed by a city that doesn’t really seem to have a plan,” Giangreco said. “All [Johnson] seems to say is, ‘I need Washington or Springfield to fix this for me.’”

That last sentence in particular is a sharp insight.

Some Chicago mayors have at times considered themselves more important than the state’s governors, and some actually were. But instead of consolidating support after the election, this mayor has allowed circumstances to alienate much of the city, including at least parts of his progressive base. Pritzker, on the other hand, has consolidated power with the two legislative leaders, taken control of the state party, has a net worth in the billions and is undoubtedly far more popular in Chicago than the mayor. There’s just not much Johnson can do to him at this point which won’t badly backfire.

Whatever the case, the fighting isn’t good in the long term, so this really needs to end soon.

*** UPDATE *** Gov. Pritzker was asked about this today…

We have a good relationship with one another. And I know the media would like to, every time there’s a governor and a mayor of Chicago, when you occasionally have things you’re working out together. They want to turn it into ‘They hate each other.’

Now there have been mayors and governors in the past that don’t like each other. But the truth is that we get along an we have a lot to accomplish. Chicago is an important economic driver for the country, not to mention for the state of Illinois. And I’ve really made it my mission - I’ve had now three mayors that I’ve worked with - I’ve made it my mission to make sure that the relationship is good. Even when you disagree occasionally on something, you just need to work it out. And whenever we have disagreed, we have worked it out. So I feel really good about the relationship and about the future working together. We do share one overriding concern together and that’s lifting up the working people of our state, making sure that people are doing well, that families are thriving, making the investments that are necessary for that. S that’s a great common ground to work from.