CHICAGO — Brandon Johnson, a union organizer and former public school teacher, was sworn in as Chicago’s 57th mayor on Monday, inheriting a deeply divided city of more than 2.5 million people in the midst of a crime wave and an immigration crisis.
By his own admission, Johnson is the product of a politically aggressive teachers union that had tried but failed to get one of its own into office. More than 93% of Johnson’s campaign contributions came from about 20 unions.
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Teachers unions ultimately poured nearly $5.6 million into his campaign, far eclipsing the amount spent on previous candidates, according to Illinois Policy.
Hundreds of people flocked to the Credit Union 1 Arena on Monday to watch Johnson’s swearing-in, including city leaders, state officials, and 1,300 students.
Johnson took the oath standing next to his wife, Stacie, and their three children, following Grammy-winning singer Karen Clark Sheard’s rendition of The Impossible Dream.
The overarching theme of the new mayor’s inauguration speech was that he would represent all Chicagoans and try to bring a divided city back together.
“We have so much in common, y’all,” he said. “We really do.”
Johnson acknowledged Chicagoans who did not feel safe in their city and admitted there were not enough resources going toward mental health or education.
He also spoke about the state of emergency declared in the city over thousands of illegal immigrants being bused to Chicago by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX).
“We don’t want our story to be told that we were unable to house or provide safe harbor for those who are seeking refuge here,” he said to an eruption of applause. “There is enough room for everybody in the city of Chicago, whether you are seeking asylum or you are looking for fully funded neighborhoods.”
Johnson also addressed the aldermen standing behind him who clashed with his predecessor, Lori Lightfoot.
“The people of Chicago are counting on us to work together,” he said. “We won’t always agree, but I don’t ever question your motives or your commitment, and I will always do my part to find common ground.”
When Johnson first got into the mayoral race, he polled at a paltry 2%, with the other candidates writing him off early. His win sent shockwaves through the city and ushered in a new era for Chicago politics — one Johnson, arguably the most liberal mayor yet, said he’s ready to face head-on.
Johnson, who was sworn in alongside members of the Chicago City Council, City Clerk Anna Valencia, and City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, ran a pro-worker, “tax-the-ultra-rich” campaign. He must now walk a tightrope of keeping the promises he made to voters while not alienating the city’s business leaders.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), who sat next to Johnson, called his victory against Paul Vallas, a well-financed, tough-on-crime centrist, part of a “sea change” in Midwestern politics.
Ahead of taking the oath of office, Johnson met with students and community organizers at Michele Clark Magnet High School who wished him well. At 2 p.m. Central time, Johnson and first lady Stacie Rencher-Johnson will hold a meet-and-greet event at City Hall that will be open to the public. He’ll round out the evening by attending the People’s Ball at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Once the pomp and circumstance subside, Johnson will have the daunting task of governing a struggling city.
Among his first tasks as mayor will be working with aldermen who are already skeptical of his intentions, preparing the city to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and appointing a Chicago police superintendent. The city has been struggling for years with how to get a handle on rampant crime. Over the past weekend, at least 25 people were shot in Chicago, six fatally, according to police.
Johnson’s lengthy to-do list also includes a focus on affordable housing, economic inequality, and education.
The problems plaguing Chicagoans are not new, but they are his for at least the next four years as residents look to him and his administration for answers.
Ahead of Monday’s inauguration, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served from 2011 to 2019 and is now the U.S. ambassador to Japan, tweeted a message from Tokyo wishing Johnson good luck: “From a past mayor to our new mayor, I want to congratulate Brandon Johnson on his accomplishment today, and wish him and his family the very best for what he will accomplish for all of us over the next four years.”
Emanuel, who also served as White House chief of staff under former President Barack Obama, called being mayor of America’s third-largest city “the job of a lifetime.”
“I can tell you that firsthand,” he said. “It’s your time, and it’s your turn to carry forth the mantle of leadership,” he said.
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Over the weekend, Lightfoot, the first Chicago mayor in four decades not to win reelection, signed a string of executive orders that covered everything from cementing immigrant rights to the city’s pension funds.
Lightfoot’s move was unusual for an outgoing mayor and broke with what her predecessor Emanuel did when he left office four years ago. Lightfoot’s orders were designed to make sure her core policy priorities would stay in effect long after she handed over the keys to the office.
Among them is a requirement to establish a “pension advance fund” from the 2022 and 2023 budget surpluses that can only be used for advance pension payments through 2026. It’s unclear how Johnson will respond to the restriction, given his promises on the campaign trail to invest in progressive causes, the Chicago Tribune reported. As mayor, Johnson can undo Lightfoot’s order, but it puts him in a bind after Lightfoot heralded the measure as fiscally responsible for the city.
Another eleventh-hour order established a “youth commission,” made up of 32 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19, who will serve a one-year term and advise the city on topics affecting them. The order came on the heels of the so-called “Teen Takeover” in which minors clashed with police in downtown Chicago, breaking windows, torching vehicles, fighting, shooting guns, and beating bystanders. Lightfoot took heat after she claimed journalists had blown the situation out of proportion.
“The vast majority of the young people who came downtown came downtown because it was a great … opportunity to enjoy the city,” she said. “There are a few that came with different intentions. They have and they will be dealt with.”
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Johnson was also slammed for his take on the “Teen Takeover,” telling the public not to “demonize” those involved.
“It is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities,” he said following the event.
