Lightfoot steps up attack on Johnson as some polls suggest he’s on the rise

For the second day in a row, Mayor Lori Lightfoot took off her gloves against Brandon Johnson as Cook County Commissioner and Chicago Teachers Union organizers attempted to raise $800 million in taxes, kill jobs and force businesses out of Chicago. accused of plotting.

Lightfoot, the last of five mayoral candidates to address Westside’s ‘Leaders Network’ on Tuesday, was also the most positive.

She attacked Johnson over his tax-heavy plans to spend $1 billion in new spending on public schools, transportation, housing, health care, and job creation.

With hundreds of thousands of dollars poured into the $3.1 million campaign fund from affiliates of the Teachers’ Union and the International Union of Service Workers, Johnson has flooded the airwaves with feel-good commercials introducing himself to voters. increase.

Johnson won the support of 11% of voters. Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ/Telemundo Chicago/NBC5 poll It was released last week and follows U.S. Congressman Jesus “Chui” Garcia, former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Valas, Lightfoot and businessman Willie Wilson.

But several internal campaigns and polls show Johnson is on the rise and poses a legitimate threat to oust Lightfoot from the runoff. – that’s why she’s under attack.

“If he says, ‘I’m going to do all these investments,’ ask him how he’s going to pay. … Because all he wants to do is collect $800 million in taxes. Let’s hear what it really means: His plan is to tax anyone making $100,000 or more a year, which means 8,400 teachers, or 37% of the teachers working at CPS. It’s going to cost police, fire and others,” Lightfoot said.

“But what he plans to do is not just kick companies out of town, but impose a series of corporate taxes on what happens when they leave. They have those jobs. What he’s trying to do will drive people down the line of unemployment.

“People he says he wants to help will lose their jobs. They will lose their profits. Not good, Brandon is bad for Chicago.”

One woman in the audience at the Columbus Park Refectory at 5701 West Jackson Blvd. objected to the mayor’s sharp attack.

“No. That’s not right. He didn’t say anything negative about you,” the woman said.

Lightfoot stood his ground while describing Johnson as a “nice guy” and “a very eloquent speaker”.

“I’m sorry if the truth hurts, madam, but I must stand here with a conscience and tell the truth,” said the mayor.

“There are a lot of people in this race. More black people. …they promise the sun, moon and stars. I heard [Johnson] “If you vote for me, you’ll still have a black woman in charge thanks to my wife…but here’s the point.

“Notice that the long-elected people who have come before you have said, ‘I have an answer’ about the change in election year. Compare the record of achievement of this community and that of this entire city to any of those, frankly, all of them combined.”

She added: And if you vote for me, over the last four years, through the most difficult times our city has ever experienced, the foundation that we have built upon, The West Side rises again. ”

Johnson was the first candidate to speak with The Readers Network.

He didn’t mention his plans to “make suburbs, airlines and the ultra-rich pay their fair share” to generate $800 million in new revenue.

Instead, he talked about the underlying philosophy behind the plan. It was formulated while teaching at Jenner Elementary School near Cabrini Green.

“For too many families in the city of Chicago, we wake up every morning to hunt down the economy behind us while everything in front of us is collapsing. That’s why I’m running for mayor of Chicago.” “It’s long enough to disrupt and disrupt the narrative of these two cities to usher in a better, stronger and safer Chicago,” Johnson said.

Johnson described himself as “the only candidate in this race who literally built the entire budget around Black people.”

Cook County Commission “President [Toni] Prekwinkle looked at our budget for black lives and guided how it has invested hundreds of millions of dollars across Cook County,” he said.

Johnson’s $800 million tax plan originally included a “Metra City surcharge” to raise $40 million “from the suburbs.” After stirring up a storm of controversy, the tax was subsequently dropped.

Plans still include: a $100 million “mansion tax” on high-end home sales. Reinstatement of employee tax. Raises $98 million by “making big airlines pay for air pollution”. Taxes financial transactions at a rate of $1 or $2 per “securities contract.” Raise Chicago’s hotel tax, already the highest in the nation, to generate $30 million. And it generated $100 million by imposing “new royalties on high-end commercial districts frequented by the wealthy, suburbs, tourists and business travelers.”

contribution: Pat Nabon