In light of the fact that early voting has already begun in Chicago, the candidates vying to replace the current mayor are stepping up their assaults against both the incumbent and one another.
Former Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas has demanded that the current Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, reveal additional evidence regarding the unethical effort that her campaign made to recruit children and instructors in the city’s public schools.
“This is typical deceitful behaviour from Lori Lightfoot. The people of Chicago can no longer put up with this situation, “remarked Kam Buckner, a candidate for mayor of Chicago and Illinois state representative for the 26th district.
Brandon Johnson, a candidate for the Cook County Board of Commissioners and a seasoned worker for the Chicago Teachers Union, defended his proposal to defund the police on Good Day Chicago on Friday morning. He suggested instead that the money be transferred to social services.
Typical Lori Lightfoot Chicanery’: Attacks On Chicago Mayor Intensify As Early Voting Opens
Chicago’s mayoral candidates are stepping up their assaults on the incumbent and on one another before early voting begins.
Ex-City Schools CEO Paul Vallas has requested that Mayor Lori Lighfoot reveal additional details about her unethical campaign to recruit CPS staff and faculty members.
“This is classic Lori Lightfoot shenanigans. People in Chicago have had it up to here with this “state representative Kam Buckner of Illinois’s 26th district and mayoral contender.
Brandon Johnson, a candidate for Cook County Board and a former employee of the Chicago Teachers Union, defended his proposal to defund the police and redirect those funds to social services on Good Day Chicago on Friday morning.
“Do we all agree on what a defund actually looks like? Because we cut back on education funding. The funding for mental health centres has been cut. We have cut back on funding for safe and dependable transportation. My title should be “investor in chief” if there must be one “The words of Johnson.
For the record, per-student public funding in Chicago’s public schools is at an all-time high.
This Monday, Johnson announced that, if elected mayor, he will attempt to implement a new income tax in Chicago, one of many proposed taxes that would be directed at those whom Johnson and the teachers’ union refer to as “the wealthy.”
Everyone with an annual income of above $100,000 would be subject to the income tax.
Kam Buckner, a state legislator, disagrees vehemently.
“In my neighbourhood, there are households with an annual income of $100,000. However, this does not make them wealthy. They’re not the super-rich or anything like that “What Buckner had to say.
In addition, Buckner shot down Johnson’s proposal to impose a 40% premium on Metra riders travelling between Chicago and the suburbs.
Buckner pointed out that it would affect thousands of Chicagoans who travel to the suburbs to work in low and middle-wage jobs.
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Lori Lightfoot Faces A Crisis Of Credibility In Chicago
After running an excellent campaign that revolved around the concerns of police accountability and reform, Lori Lightfoot was able to secure an improbable and historic triumph in the form of a landslide election victory to become the first Black female mayor of Chicago.
The city’s troubled police department has a long history of racist and violent policing in Black and brown communities. Local activists have criticised Lightfoot for failing to bring
meaningful change to the city’s embattled police department in the several roles she held overseeing police in the years prior to taking office as mayor in May 2019. Lightfoot took office as mayor in May 2019.
“They have been saying for years that Chicago is not ready for reform. So, brace yourselves… because the time for reform has come “she urged the people of Chicago during her inaugural address.
But now that she is two years into her term, at a time when Chicago is bracing for a turbulent summer as crime levels spike, critics say that Lightfoot has not only failed to live up to the promises that she made during her campaign, but that she is also facing a crisis of credibility that she may not be able to overcome.
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“A Complete Lack Of Will”
The killing of an unarmed Black man by a police officer in Minneapolis a year ago sparked protests and renewed calls for police reform. However, journalist and head of the non-profit Invisible Institute Jamie Kalven said that in 2014, when Black youngster Laquan McDonald was shot and killed, Chicago “had its George Floyd moment.”
Lightfoot’s campaign was built on the idea that police reform was the most pressing issue facing the community.
After McDonald’s shooting, which spurred a federal civil rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department, Lightfoot had served as president of the Chicago Police Board and oversaw the Police Accountability Task Force. Before deciding to run for mayor of the city, she had never before sought public office.
She “came office with a strong mandate to make substantial reforms,” Kalven added, but “she’s made good on nearly none of those pledges.” Worse, she has “squandered the power she entered office with,” leading to, in my opinion, a crisis of credibility.
For Tracy Siska, executive director of the Chicago Justice Project, Lightfoot’s actions “definitely don’t fit the rhetoric of her candidature,” as quoted in Newsweek. “She has excellent oratory skills, but her behaviour belies her words. My guess is that there’s simply no motivation to try.”
The recent identification of racism by Lightfoot as a public health concern was cited by Siska. He exclaimed, “Great.” “It is time to follow up on this. To fix this, the city’s budget, grants, and other financial mechanisms will need to be drastically restructured. This won’t be taking place.”
Another example, according to Siska, is Lightfoot’s announcement last month that the only one-on-one interviews she would grant on her two-year anniversary in office would be to journalists of colour.
We’d really have something if it was followed up with concrete steps, he said. “Almost felt Trump-like in terms of just changing the subject,” Kalven said of the move.
Siska also mentioned the news that more than 400 teachers would be let go by the Chicago Public Schools. “We have a problem with racism, but we want to reduce funding for schools that primarily serve students of colour. A perfect example of hypocrisy “the man declared.
