CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — At least five Chicago mayoral candidates filed nominating petitions Monday morning and will wind up in a drawing to determine which candidate gets the top name on the February ballot.
Among the mayoral candidates who were filing at 9 a.m. was Ald. Sophia King (4th), former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, businessman Dr. Willie Wilson, Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson and community activist Ja'Mal Green.
Crime appeared to be the top issue those candidates plan to address. King said she has a plan for dealing with crime.
"Right away, we’re talking about bringing in more officers on Day One, shifting from three shifts to two shifts,” she said. “We’re talking about putting $200 million towards violence intervention."
King added that she would hire more detectives.
Vallas said public safety, schools and city affordability are the top issues, as he sees it.
"Why do I want to be mayor?” Vallas said. “Because this is the city I love, and the city’s in need of new leadership, pure and simple."
When Wilson was asked why he wants to be mayor, he said, "I need something to do. Got to fix the city. Crime is high, real estate taxes. This time I’m not running for a paycheck."
Johnson said he sees himself as the candidate of the progressive movement in Chicago. He said he turned in more than 41,000 petition signatures from all across the city. Johnson called Mayor Lori Lightfoot a disappointment.
"Organizers like myself, public school teachers, public employees, [and] businesses had hope four years ago,” he said. “She snatched that away from them because she broke promises. I don’t break promises. I’m a promise keeper."
Candidate Ja’Mal Green energetically said it was time for a new breed of leadership for the city.
"We need young leaders who are not tainted like the rest of these politicians, who have failed us for so long,” he said. “Most of the people in this race are in elected positions they don’t do good at."
Green said that, if elected, he would ban the Denver boot and eliminate red light cameras.
Lightfoot has not yet submitted her nominating petitions.
The deadline to turn in petitions for mayor, city clerk, city treasurer and city council seats is Nov. 28 at 5 p.m.
The election is Feb. 28, 2023. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, there'll be a run-off election in April.
Related
Related
Related
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!