Cook County Board Commissioner Brandon Johnson defeated Paul Vallas to become the next mayor of Chicago.

Why it matters: The win signals a leftward shift in city politics, where a progressive political movement has been gaining strength among voters in recent years.

• It also reflects the power of the Chicago Teachers Union, whose early support for Johnson catapulted the former teacher and union organizer from an unknown candidate to mayor-elect.

What he's saying: "Today, we celebrate the revival and the resurrection of the city of Chicago," Johnson said during his victory speech Tuesday.

• "Tonight is a gateway to a new future for our city, a city where you can thrive regardless of who you love, or how much money you have in your bank account."

Backstory: In addition to the CTU, Johnson won backing from other powerful unions and national progressive politicians like U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. He even got an endorsement from Chicago indie rock band Wilco.

• His campaign focused on a new tax plan, bringing more equity to neighborhoods and targeting the root causes of crime.

The other side: Vallas ran a campaign focused on using police to combat the city's high violent crime rate. He championed charter schools, while Johnson emphasized investing in neighborhood schools.

• During the divisive campaign, Vallas' critics accused him of being aligned with conservative Republicans.

Between the lines: The runoff pitted opposite ends of Chicago's Democratic Party against each other. While some older voters dropped out after the February election, thousands of young people jumped in and made their voices heard.

What they're saying: "It's time for all Chicagoans to put aside their differences," Vallas said in his concession speech last night.

• "The only pathway forward in our great city is together."

What's ahead: Johnson's administration will have to face looming fiscal cliffs confronting the CTA and CPS, among other areas.

• He'll have to work with a police force whose union leader warned of "blood in the streets" and mass resignations if he was elected.
• And he'll work with a City Council that just voted to take away some political power from the new mayor.

The bottom line: "To the Chicagoans who did not vote for me," Johnson said, "I value you and I'll be the mayor for you too."

Paul Vallas strongholds on the far Northwest and Southwest sides delivered the city's heaviest voter turnout, with especially strong showings during early voting.

• But Election Day activity saw a surge of voting along the lakefront and in progressive North Side wards that cover Edgewater, Andersonville, Uptown, Lakeview, Logan Square and Lincoln Square — wards that went for Brandon Johnson.
• Johnson also cleaned up in several South and especially West side wards, picking up voters who chose Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chuy Garcia in February.

By age: Young people also came out in force Tuesday, boosting turnout by more than 17,000 voters among 25- to 34-year-olds over their February numbers.

• 18- to 24-year-olds added more than 5,000 voters to their February totals.
• 35- to 44-year-olds added more than 7,000 voters.
• Meanwhile, turnout among voters older than 44 dropped from February to April.

Highs and lows: The 19th Ward (Beverly/Mount Greenwood) turned out 55% of its registered voters, while the 16th Ward, which includes Englewood, turned out just 19% of its voters.

The big picture: About a third of Chicago voters (35.1%, or 558,547 voters) cast ballots by Tuesday night, which put the runoff turnout slightly ahead of the February vote.

🗳 Naperville has a new mayor. Scott Wehrli defeated Benny White and Tiffany Stephens. (Tribune)

💼 In Joliet, incumbent Mayor Bob O'Dekirk was ousted by businessman Terry D'Arcy. (Shaw Local)

📚 In the contentious school board race in Wheaton, most of the incumbents won, fending off challenges from the "parental rights" slate of conservative candidates. (Shaw Local)

You called it. Readers chose Johnson over Vallas (53% to 47%) in our very informal Axios exit poll yesterday.

Voting methods: A plurality of poll takers (40%) said they voted by mail, followed closely by early voters (35.3%) and Election Day traditionalists (24.7%).

The issues: Like many Chicagoans, a plurality of our respondents picked safety as their top issue (48%).

• Economy and schools tied for second at 15%.
• And transportation and housing followed with single-digit percentages.
• April is Earth Month, so we won't tell the planet that only 2% picked environmental issues.

Adding it up: You were almost evenly split on who had better ads.

The good news: Only 8.6% of you said the mayoral race has marred your relationships with family or friends.

• More than 90% suggested your relationships are just fine despite the divisive race.
• But are they really? Some of us are still mad at our mom.

💼 Check out the fresh open positions in the city.

1. Director, Product Management - Operating Room at Medline Industries.
2. In-House Senior Legal Counsel at Roland Berger.
3. VP; Client Services at Catalyx.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Post a job.

Chicago's City Council will look much different in 2023 than it did in 2019.

Why it matters: The newly independent council will feature several new faces after an unprecedented number of alderpeople didn't seek reelection this year.

Context: In the February election, 14 races didn't get more than 50% of the vote, so the top two vote-getters battled it out in the runoff.

Of note: These are the vote totals at the end of election night. There are still thousands of mail-in ballots to be counted.

Six incumbents headlined the runoff election. Here's how some of them fared:

11th Ward: Incumbent Nicole Lee defeated police officer Anthony Ciaravino to represent the first Asian American-majority ward in Chicago history. Lee was appointed by Lightfoot last year and was supported by former Mayor Richard M. Daley and the 11th Ward Democrats.

43rd Ward: Incumbent Timmy Knudsen and Brian Comer are separated by about 500 votes as of election night. Knudsen has declared victory. He was appointed by Lightfoot to replace longtime Ald. Michele Smith, who endorsed him in the runoff.

45th Ward: Incumbent Jim Gardiner bested lawyer Megan Mathias in the race to represent the Northwest Side ward. Gardiner was within a handful of votes of winning outright in February, but as the mail-in ballots trickled in, he lost ground and was forced into a runoff.

• Yes, but: Not this time. Gardiner won with 55% of the vote.

More runoff results

This morning, Chicago Streets & Sanitation trucks will begin the process of taking down the thousands of political signs scattered across the sidewalks and medians of Chicago. So if you want to get one for posterity, you'd better act fast.

Here are some quick ideas on what you could do with them:

• Let's face it, we are only decades away from everything being digital. So hold onto that Vallas sign to show your great-grandkids or sell on eBay.
• Maybe you have an upcoming march, and you need thicker material for your next clever protest sign. What rhymes with "Stormy"?
• They could be used to keep the draft from coming through in the frunchroom.
• Or if all else fails, you could just hold onto them for when your favorite candidate ultimately runs again.

What would you use the signs for? Reply and let us know.