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Lightfoot is out, Johnson and Vallas head to runoff

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* Here’s your Chicago election night roundup…

* Tribune | Paul Vallas will face Brandon Johnson to become Chicago’s next mayor: The final matchup was a stunning blow to Lightfoot, who became the first full-term incumbent to fail to win reelection since Jane Byrne lost to Harold Washington in 1983. It also clearly reflected that residents were clamoring for a new direction from City Hall. But what direction that is remains to be seen.

* NYT | How Paul Vallas Went From Electoral Also-Ran to Chicago Front-Runner: When Paul Vallas ran for mayor of Chicago four years ago, it did not go well. He finished in a distant ninth place, winning only 5 percent of the vote and barely registering as an electoral afterthought.

* Sun-Times | Lightfoot is out, Vallas and Johnson are in — the April runoff: Mayor Lori Lightfoot finished third in Tuesday’s election with 16.89% of the vote, behind former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas at 33.95% and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson with 20.32%.

* Tribune | Former CPS CEO Paul Vallas secures spot in runoff election for Chicago mayor: Lightfoot was squeezed by opposition from both ends of the political spectrum as the more conservative Vallas pushed a law-and-order theme while progressive candidates such as Johnson and García tried to convince voters that Lightfoot brought incomplete answers to the city’s problems and divisiveness.

* Crain’s | Lightfoot era ends as city girds for mayoral war: Johnson, an organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, is expected to come hard at Vallas as too conservative and too Republican-leaning for a mostly minority city — and he did just that in his acceptance speech, saying Vallas “is supported by the Jan. 6 insurrectionists,” “fundamentally opposes abortion” and “ran the teachers’ fund into the ground.”

* WGN | Chicago’s Mayoral Runoff: Paul Vallas vs. Brandon Johnson: Then there were two. With none of the nine candidates running for mayor hitting the 50.1% or more threshold for an outright victory, the election for Chicago mayor moves to a runoff. Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will face off April 4

* WTTW | Vallas and Johnson Headed to Chicago Mayoral Runoff, Lightfoot Denied Second Term: Lightfoot conceded just before 9 p.m. Tuesday, acknowledging she had fallen short in her bid to add one more first to her resume: the first woman to be reelected as Chicago mayor. In 1983, Jane Byrne, the city’s first female mayor, was the last incumbent mayor to lose her bid for reelection.

* Tribune | In 4 years, Lori Lightfoot went from breakout political star to divisive mayor of a Chicago beset by pandemic and crime: Instead, Lightfoot struggled through a storm of skyrocketing crime, the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of personality conflicts that left her labeled as a divisive leader who was unable to build political coalitions or maintain relationships.

* WBEZ | Lori Lightfoot is out. She leaves behind a complex legacy.: The cornerstone of Lightfoot’s legacy will largely be her signature Invest South/West program, which aims to attract private investment with public dollar incentives in 10 key areas that have been underserved for decades — although the program’s accomplishments weren’t immune from criticism.

* Sun-Times | How Lightfoot went from political rock star to rock bottom: Lightfoot was dealt a bad hand: the pandemic, civil unrest triggered by the murder of George Floyd and the violent crime wave after those demonstrations. But bad timing is too simple to explain her stunning political downfall.

* Sun-Times | Crime defines Chicago mayoral race: ‘The No. 1, 2 and 3 issue’: For the first time, voters are electing 66 police district members, three from each of the 22 police districts. These spots have provided something very rare in the city for people interested in politics: an entry-level elected position where every seat is open with no incumbent.

* Chalkbeat | Former schools chief, teachers union organizer headed to runoff: With 98% of precincts reporting as of 10 p.m., U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” García had just under 14% of the vote, businessman Willie Wilson had received 9%, and the remaining candidates each had less than 3% of the vote, according to unofficial results.

* Block Club Chicago | Here’s How Your Neighborhood Voted In the 2023 Chicago Mayoral Election: Vallas — the top vote-getter in the mayor’s race, with nearly 38 percent — saw broad support along the North Side’s lakefront and on the Far Northwest Side. He also found pockets of supporters on the Southwest and Far Southwest sides.

* Block Club | Johnson, Vallas Advance To Mayoral Runoff As Lightfoot Concedes Defeat: During his impassioned speech at his election-night party at the City Hall restaurant in the West Loop, Vallas praised the mayor for calling him. In his speech, he also pushed his law-and-order message while surrounded by friends, a family that included four police officers and a backdrop that interspersed his name with the words “public safety first.”

* Block Club Chicago | Mayor Lori Lightfoot Loses Reelection Bid, First One-Term Mayor In 40 Years: Lightfoot’s historic loss marks the first time since Jane Byrne’s loss to Harold Washington in 1983 that the city has not elected a sitting mayor who ran for reelection.

* Sun-Times | City Council poised for big changes with multiple races up for grabs: At least 10 races for alderperson appear headed for runoffs in April — but uncounted mail-in ballots remain a wild card in many of the contests.

* Tribune | In City Council races, most incumbent Chicago aldermen are holding on to their seats or advancing to runoffs: At the same time, many incumbents who were thought to be in competitive races ended up winning outright or surviving to advance to an April 4 runoff. Citywide, about 175 candidates were running for four-year terms on the City Council and the $142,000 salaries that come with the responsibility of being perhaps the elected officials Chicagoans complain to the most.

* WTTW | Control of Chicago City Council Up for Grabs as Aldermanic Runoffs Loom: The most high-profile head-to-head race Tuesday took place in the 25th Ward, which includes Pilsen, one of the city’s hottest real estate markets. Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez’ bid for a second term faced a stiff challenge from Aida Flores, a Chicago Public Schools principal.

* Block Club | Ald. Timmy Knudsen Headed To Runoff With Brian Comer In 43rd Ward Race: With all 23 precincts reporting Tuesday night, Knudsen held about 27 percent of the vote to Comer’s 24 percent.

* Tribune | What is a runoff election and why does Chicago have one?: Chicago used to have municipal primaries and general elections just like we see every two years for either statewide (governor, attorney general, etc.) or national (president) campaigns for office. But that all changed in 1999 when a new state law went into effect that not only created the two-round structure for Chicago races, it also made municipal elections in Illinois nonpartisan. That’s right, even though every candidate running for mayor since has tried to wear their Democratic Party bona fides like a badge of honor, none of them were officially running as Democrats.

* Block Club | Ald. Daniel La Spata Could Be Headed For Runoff Against Sam Royko In Tight 1st Ward Race: La Spata had 49.1 percent of the vote Tuesday night, with votes in one precinct still left to be counted. His closest challenger is West Town attorney Sam Royko.

* Sun-Times | 43rd Ward appears headed for a runoff, while 1st Ward Ald. La Spata’s lead may not be enough to avoid a second round there too: A cheery crowd of La Spata supporters gathered at Subterranean in West Town, dancing to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” and applauding positive results for mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson — who’s backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, like La Spata is.

* Tribune | Incumbent Daniel La Spata nears outright victory but might face Sam Royko in runoff, while Proco ‘Joe’ Moreno falls short: Former Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno was attempting a political comeback following a series of scandals, but was trailing behind La Spata, Royko and community organizer Stephen “Andy” Schneider Tuesday night. Moreno’s campaign declined to comment Tuesday.

* Block Club | Ald. Jim Gardiner Takes Big Lead In 45th Ward Race, But Still Too Close To Call: Gardiner has 48.8 percent of the vote and needs more than 50 percent to avoid a runoff, though votes in two precincts still need to be counted. Megan Mathias is his closest challenger.

* WTTW | Indicted Ald. Carrie Austin Resigns from City Council After 29 Years in Office: Austin had been the second-longest serving member of the City Council, earning more than $142,000 annually. In July 2021, Austin was charged with accepting bribes from a developer, including bathroom tile and a sump pump, and lying to FBI agents.

* Block Club | Bennett Lawson Elected 44th Ward Alderman After Running Unopposed To Succeed His Boss, Tom Tunney: Lawson was unchallenged in the race after his sole competitor, certified paralegal Nathan Bean, was knocked off the ballot in January due to a technicality.

* Tribune | Seat held by Ald. Ed Burke since 1969 won by Jeylu Gutierrez: With all precincts reporting, Gutierrez had 65% of the vote, according to unofficial results, and declared victory Tuesday night. Raul Reyes had 35%.

* Sun-Times | Southwest Side incumbents appear to win handily — including one who rebuked Madigan: The contests in the 13th, 14th and 23rd wards were framed by the aggressive work in recent years of the office of U.S. Attorney John Lausch, which secured expansive racketeering indictments against Madigan and Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th).

* Austin Talks | Incumbents in the 29th and 37th wards beat off challengers: In the newly created 15th Police District Council, candidates Karen Winters (22.6%) and Deondre Rutues (16.3%) appeared to have won seats on the new body, while just a few dozen votes separated Oddis “OJ” Johnson (14.3%) and Darius Newsome (14.2%). They were vying for the third and final seat on the Police District Council; all three members will serve a four-year term, earning $500 a month.

* Block Club | South Side Pastors Head To Runoff In 6th Ward Race To Replace Ald. Roderick Sawyer: With 26 of 27 precincts reporting Tuesday night, Hall had received 24 percent of the vote to Wooten’s 23 percent

* Block Club | Ald. Marty Quinn Eases To Commanding Win In Southwest Side’s 13th Ward: With all precincts reporting Tuesday night, the incumbent held nearly 88 percent of the vote to challenger Paul Bruton’s 12 percent, sealing Quinn’s fourth term.

* Block Club | Desmon Yancy, Martina ‘Tina’ Hone Defeat 9 Other Candidates To Advance To Runoff In 5th Ward Race: Yancy held 26 percent of the vote to Hone’s 18 percent. The 5th Ward includes parts of Hyde Park, Woodlawn and South Shore.

* Block Club | Ald. Chris Taliferro Could Narrowly Avoid Runoff In 29th Ward Race: With 21 of 24 precincts reporting Tuesday night, Taliaferro has just over 51 percent of the vote. He needs to secure at least 50 percent to avoid a runoff.

* Sun-Times | Former prosecutor Bill Conway wins aldermanic race in newly drawn Fulton Market, West Loop ward: Less than two hours after polls closed, the former Cook County prosecutor told a cheering crowd at Carnivale that his first course of action would “really be to make sure our police officers have the resources they need to fight crime and what I can get out of my aldermanic budget to do that.”

* Tribune | Some failed Chicago mayoral candidates will return to current positions, while others contemplate what’s next: By keeping his seat in the legislature, Buckner will be able to remain politically active on major issues as he has in the past on subjects ranging from criminal justice reform, an elected Chicago school board and allowing student athletes to earn money for the use of their name, image and likeness.

* Sun-Times | Chicago elections see sluggish turnout: When polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, turnout stood at 32.1% with 507,852 ballots cast out of 1,581,564 registered voters. Early votes were driven by those 65 and older, but middle-aged voters closed with the highest turnout. People ages 18 to 34 only accounted for 17% of votes.

* Sun-Times | It’s easier when you pick your voters: Chicago’s gerrymandered ward map is the forgotten participant in Tuesday’s City Council elections.

* Sun-Times | Mayor Lori Lightfoot was in a fight she couldn’t have won: Lightfoot needed the majority of Black voters who showed up at the polls to cast a ballot for her in Tuesday’s race. But with so many Black challengers in the race, that wouldn’t happen. A low voter turnout didn’t help.

* Sun-Times | New faces from South Side head to City Council runoffs, while three incumbents hold on: Incumbents Michelle Harris (8th), Anthony Beale (9th) and Jeanette Taylor (20th) had comfortable leads Tuesday evening. With a wide field of candidates, at least some races are expected to be headed to the April 4 runoff.

* Sun-Times | Gardiner, Villegas headed to runoff as incumbents (mostly) cruise in Northwest Side wards: His first term also saw Gardiner read an apology from the City Council floor after leaked text messages showed him referring to some peers and constituents in crude, misogynistic terms. Texts that seemed to indicate he intended to withhold city services from ward residents he deemed enemies drew FBI attention, and his ward superintendent was indicted for allegedly selling a machine gun to an undercover ATF agent on city time.

* Sun-Times | 11th Ward Ald. Nicole Lee heads toward runoff: Early results showed both had attracted about 30% of the vote each. The next closest candidate was Chicago firefighter Don Don with 20%. Ambria Taylor, a teacher, had 13%. Chicago Public Schools civics teacher Froylan “Froy” Jiminez, business owner Elvira “Vida” Jiminez and attorney Steve Demitro had less than 3% each.

* WBEZ | Teens step in to make sure Chicagoans can vote today: Of Chicago’s roughly 6,600 election judges working on Tuesday, 13% will be high school students.

* From the bird app…

posted by Isabel Miller
Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:21 am

Comments

1. Probably the highest contrast runoff combination possible. It’s gonna be an interesting…

   Comment by Nick Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:34 am

2. The “lakefront liberals” closer to downtown voted for Rauner in 2014 (against Vallas as LG, natch), so this isn’t exactly new:

   https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/november-2014/where-bruce-rauner-won-in-chicago/

   ==Yep, Bruce Rauner won the 42nd Ward, which covers Streeterville, River North, the Loop, and parts of the Near West Side. Not by much, but he did it…And he just barely lost the 43rd Ward (which includes Lincoln Park), by a mere 0.7 percent.==

   Comment by 48th Ward Heel Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:36 am

3. Just for openers, and it should be noted.

   Lori Lightfoot’s concession speech was extremely gracious, heartfelt, thoughtful, and “how it’s done” when you lose an election, or in this case, lose an opportunity in a runoff.

   That said,

   So much of the analysis of her tenure, the campaign, her style, her quotes…

   She never governed like Candidate Lightfoot and never sounded like the defeated Mayor Lightfoot.

   Combative stylings in a “small town” like Chicago is worse than junior high, as the anger and enemies pile up against someone far quicker than the effort needed to make friends and build bridges, things necessary in a small town governing.

   That concession speech showed she learned a lesson, it was just too late

   Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:37 am

4. Chuy’s campaign was a joke. loved the shot at Proco Joe Moreno…

   Comment by Chumbolone Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:37 am

5. It’d be funny if the anti-Lightfoot Vallas crowd wound up with Johnson as mayor, but I think it’s more likely the reverse: “Lakefront Liberals” turn out not to be Lakefront DSA’ers and a good chunk of Chuy voters don’t opt for Johnson (either voting for Vallas or staying home).

   Comment by lake county democrat Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:37 am

6. I do fear this’ll be much nastier than the Governor’s race, attack ad-wise. Surrogates are going to make this straight-up racial in nature, if not the campaigns themselves hinting at it. Congratulations on being mostly-spared by the ads, downstaters.

   Comment by The Truth Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:37 am

7. Ms Cherone’s first tweet reads like a response to Mr. Bowen’s tweet about progressive “bullying.”

   – MrJM

   Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:40 am

8. “Today is about Vallas getting Wilson on his side and the CTU/progressive world bullying Chuy into supporting Johnson.” Tom Bowen, you know that the progressives who supported Chuy are reading what you said, right? And, yeah, it would be fantastic to have Wilson next to Vallas so they could talk about hunt them down like rabbits and we could all re watch the vid of that San Antonio shooting. jeez.

   Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:41 am

9. One interesting dynamic to watch: it’d be very dangerous for Vallas to get pegged as a de facto Republican, and it’s not entirely who he is, anyway. I want to see how he maneuvers around that.

   Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:42 am

10. “Racial in nature”? Brandon Johnson’s strong showing is due to white voters. Those voters aren’t going to abandon him because they didn’t realize they were voting for a Black man.

    Comment by Early voter Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:46 am

11. I think its time to prepare for a Mayor Vallas. He’s in pole position right now.

    I think the campaign to call him a Republican is dumb and hasn’t worked. Brandon Johnson has tacked to the right by becoming a liberal saying Paul Vallas supported January 6th. That is possibly the dumbest attack line ever.

    Comment by Hot Taeks Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:49 am

12. ===prepare for a Mayor Vallas===

    65+% didn’t chose Vallas

    Vallas has some work to do, how low Vallas’ ceiling will be is the biggest question to building to 50% +1

    I’m preparing to be inundated with divisive campaigning while in same breaths “reaching across” to build.

    Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 10:54 am

13. ==I think the campaign to call him a Republican is dumb and hasn’t worked.==

    Has it not?

    ==Brandon Johnson has tacked to the right by becoming a liberal==

    Do what now?

    ==a liberal saying Paul Vallas supported January 6th==

    Is that the definition of “liberal”?

    ==That is possibly the dumbest attack line ever.==

    Is it? The November results indicate that Trump-ist election denial is a very risky position.

    Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:01 am

14. Brandon Johnson won the battle but may lose the war. What got him to the run-off will work against him in a one-on-one. Brandon Johnson as cook county commissioner was the sponsor of a resolution. That would defund the police …
    “shall redirect money from the failed and racist systems of policing, criminalization, and incarceration that have not kept our communities safe, and will instead invest that money in public services not administered by law.”

    His self-proclaimed “Investor in Chief” role as a future mayor would be funded by some very unpopular revenue sources. Including a big business head tax, a mansion tax, a jet fuel tax, and the big banks securities and speculation tax.

    Look for some series spend by Vallas on these

    Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:05 am

15. The way Vallas is handling his Twitter account’s racist and homophobic likes should a real problem. His staffers did it, then he was hacked. But somehow he wound up as guest speaker for Awake, where he openly encouraged their leader to run for high public office in Illinois. He gives the appearance of a terrible liar.

    Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:06 am

16. Yeah, I think OW is right: Vallas has a high floor but a low ceiling. I think a lot of people settled on voting for Johnson becasue they absolutely didn’t want a runoff between Vallas and Lightfoot, and he seemed like the strongest alternative.

    I have trouble imagining any of the runners up endorsing Vallas (except perhaps Wilson). Johnson’s path to 50% is longer, but it’s probably the easier one.

    Comment by Benjamin Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:10 am

17. If the battle is… “Defund the Police” vs. “FOP Favorite”… that’s an outcome that can’t be measured, yet.

    Will Catanzara be an issue?

    I dunno. It’s hours after the primary.

    (Tips cap to - Benjamin -)

    Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:14 am

18. sights seen…and heard…last night. the tv said that at Vallas’ election night event, Former SA Anita Alvarez and former Chi police chief Garry McCarthy. Seen on the tv behind Brandon Johnson Alder Matt Martin of N. Side 47th Ward and Alder Pat Dowell S. Side 3rd Ward. Interesting.

    Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:14 am

19. == What got him to the run-off will work against him in a one-on-one.==

    Eh, same thing for Vallas, though. Appealling to the conservatives is a great strategy to get 1/3 of the vote, which is all he needed, but it’s a lot harder to get to 50%+1. The questions are who can pivot from where they’re at now, who can force their opponent to fail to pivot, and who can vote their plusses in April.

    Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:16 am

20. ==I have trouble imagining any of the runners up endorsing Vallas (except perhaps Wilson)==

    And given the racial dynamics of the runoff, Wilson’s endorsement hardly guarantees all of his votes.

    Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:18 am

21. Fun fact: The historical average temperature for April 4 is nearly identical to yesterday’s weather, i.e. Sunny and 54°

    – MrJM

    Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:29 am

22. If Brandon Johnson wins, he would likely be the most liberal big city mayor ever elected (help me if I’m missing someone obvious). He made a definite political misstep with his initial tax plan (looking at the map, a lot of his base would get hit by the 3.5% tax for incomes over $100K - and yes I know that he walked that back, but you don’t get redos in politics).

    Comment by Chicagonk Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:36 am

23. Time for Darren Bailey to keep Chicago out of his mouth. During his failed campaign for governor, Bailey labeled the city a hellhole and disparaged the city at every opportunity.

    Now that the election for mayor is in the forefront, Bailey grabs coattails and offers commentary on the race for mayor. Anything to stay relevant and speak into a microphone. No one cares what Bailey has to say about the election. Time to go away.

    Comment by Rudy’s teeth Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:39 am

24. “If Brandon Johnson wins, he would likely be the most liberal big city mayor ever elected (help me if I’m missing someone obvious)”

    Johnson would need to dethrone Boston’s Michelle Wu.

    – MrJM

    Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:44 am

25. Don’t many of you think that LL is secretly relieved that this is over and that she is completely OK with the outcome? I certainly do. She has not been having a good time as mayor and her demeanor and frequent mistakes and mis-steps reflected that.

    Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 11:45 am

26. I’m so depressed that you guys were right about Paul Vallas leading.

    (Not that I didn’t believe you. Just that it’s depressing.)

    Comment by Suburban Mom Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 12:09 pm

27. This has the potential to be one of the most negative campaigns we’ve seen around here in a while.

    Comment by Keyrock Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 12:35 pm

28. I wouldn’t redeem any winning tickets yet. Roughly 65% of the voters cast votes for somebody other than Paul Vallas and roughly 80% for someone other than Brandon Johnson. Claiming that either individual holds an advantage based on those numbers is pure speculation. And if we compare “the field” to the remaining candidates we could conclude that their political leanings are closer to Johnson’s than those of Vallas.

    Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Mar 1, 23 @ 1:51 pm

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