Mayoral campaigns race to finish line
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All the mayoral candidates participate in a forum hosted by WGN News in January. Photo: Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Today is the final day of mayoral campaigning before Election Day arrives tomorrow.
Why it matters: The race features no clear front-runner, which has made it one of the more exciting mayoral elections in memory.
State of play: Candidates need more than 50% of the vote, or the top two will advance to a runoff — which most experts are expecting.
Let's break down the leading candidates and how their campaigns have played out:
Lori Lightfoot
Lightfoot isn't leading in any polls, unusual for an incumbent.
Wins: Lightfoot's Invest South/West initiative to give more resources to Black and brown communities has become a centerpiece of her campaign.
- This, plus the endorsements of Black church leaders, will give her a leg up in courting the Black community vote.
Challenges: Other candidates, including Willie Wilson, are courting the same voting bloc.
- Lightfoot also relied heavily on lakefront liberals and progressives last election, voters who may be looking elsewhere this time due to public safety concerns.
Controversies: Campaign emails enlisting CPS kids, telling Black voters not to vote unless it's for her, and finger-pointing over a pension board decision to limit an officer's long-term disability coverage after a career-ending bout with COVID-19.
Brandon Johnson
The West Side Cook County Commissioner is surging in polls as the progressive candidate.
Wins: The powerful Chicago Teachers Union backs Johnson, a former teacher. He also received a big endorsement from Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), a Lightfoot ally.
Challenges: Johnson is vying for the same progressive voters as García.
Controversies: Some factions within CTU suggest that the union broke rules by funneling union money to his campaign without notifying rank-and-file members.
Paul Vallas
The familiar candidate has run a campaign focusing mainly on public safety.
Wins: Endorsements from the FOP and from Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) give him a huge lift in wards with public sector workers and first responders.
Challenges: He says he's a Democrat, but he's having to justify moves that have aligned him with conservative and right-wing ideology.
Controversies: Where he lives and what he likes on social media.
Jesús "Chuy" García
Garcia is the only Latino candidate running and has experience pushing former Mayor Rahm Emanuel into a runoff in 2015.
Wins: Former Gov. Pat Quinn and Rep. Mike Quigley have endorsed him. He's also the candidate closest to former Mayor Harold Washington.
Challenges: García is vying for the same progressive voters as Johnson.
Controversies: Campaign contributions from Sam Bankman-Fried and the mention of his name in recordings being used in the federal indictment of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.