(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday he looks forward to building a relationship with Brandon Johnson, who won Tuesday’s mayoral election in Chicago.
With thousands of mail-in ballots still to be counted, Johnson is the projected winner in a narrow race by securing 51% of the counted ballots cast, defeating Paul Vallas.
Johnson, who was born and raised in Elgin, started as a teacher at Jenner Academy Elementary and George Westinghouse College Prep in Chicago before becoming a Cook County commissioner in 2018.
Johnson was heavily funded by the Chicago Teachers Union, prompting some members to file an unfair labor practice complaint against CTU alleging it gave dues money to a political action committee, which then contributed it to Johnson’s campaign.
At an event in Champaign Wednesday, Pritzker said he looks forward to working with Johnson.
“We will be meeting, no doubt, over the next couple of weeks as he moves in his transition, to make sure the state of Illinois is doing whatever we can do to be supportive of him,” Pritzker said. “Whether it’s balancing its budget, paying its pensions, all the stuff that sounds boring to everybody and doesn’t get brought up sometimes in the midst of an election campaign.”
Johnson will replace current Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the coming weeks. Lightfoot failed to get enough support in the Feb. 28 primary election to be eligible for Tuesday’s runoff.
Pritzker was asked about his thoughts on Johnson’s character.
“I think there is a lot to admire about him. He is a teacher and I believe he will bring a certain vibrancy to the city,” Pritzker said.
Johnson is one of several progressive lawmakers who have been elected in Illinois and across neighboring states. Pritzker said he notices the change.
“There is a change that’s gone on across the Midwest, I might add, that people who believe in investing in workers, investing in families, investing in young people, who have come to leadership positions,” Pritzker said.
Johnson called his campaign a multi-cultural movement throughout the election cycle and focused on issues such as crime and education, despite promoting defunding the police a few years ago sparking differences with the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police.
