CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green’s name will be the first one on the ballot for mayor of Chicago on Feb. 28, but there are a lot of names on the ballot — including incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Green, though, said his experience sets him apart.
Green said he has close connections to the city's most vulnerable communities, places where he’s lived and grown up. The community activist added that he’s out in these neighborhoods every day.
As for the other challengers, Green verbally shrugged. He said it's easy to stand out because he's a non-politician in a race with several politicians who, he added, are no good at the jobs they have now.
As for Green’s campaign promises, one is to improve public safety and reduce violence crime in Chicago. The first section of Green’s Public Safety plan, though, has nothing to do with law enforcement.
Instead, it’s about economic prosperity. He said the only way for the city to be truly safe is for people in the most challenged neighborhoods to have the opportunity to work and thrive.
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“These communities need to be invested in, right? We need an influx of homeowners; we need more affordable housing units,” Green said. “We need to develop on our vacant lots. We need to create jobs. All of these different things are, I think, one of the biggest pieces of public safety, to give people alternatives and to allow people to create generational wealth.”
The former Black Lives Matter activist, though, does have plans for law enforcement. He said the police department needs the technology to catch carjackers and know when there are gunshots in the neighborhood.
He also said the City needs to make being a police officer more attractive to draw more people to the force.
Like some of his rivals, Green said he wants more police who are from the struggling areas they serve.
Green is the guest on WBBM’s “At Issue” program, and you can hear more of his thoughts coming up at 9:30 Sunday night.
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