By the time many of you read this Brandon Johnson’s title will be cut in half and instead of mayor-elect, the 47-year-old former Cook County Commissioner will simply be Mayor Johnson. And now Chicagoans of every ilk will be waiting to see how many of the myriad campaign promises Johnson made will begin to take shape. Every informed observer will attest to the reality that many of those pledges will be derailed for the foreseeable future due to the migrant crisis and the dent it is making in the city’s budget. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot offered that Chicago has spent $20 million in migrant related costs since last August. The suddenness of this issue puts it on par with the COVID 19 pandemic in as so many elements of it were beyond city control.
Johnson’s transition team is in place and he is beginning to assemble his cabinet-the men and women who will be charged with carrying out his vision. To date, he has received two thumbs up for his chief of staff and deputy chief of staff selections. He reached into the retirement well to bring on a seasoned city hall notable-the smartest move he could make.
Fighting distractions
As someone who has never spent time in the mayor’s chair, Johnson will be inundated with unfamiliar requests for meetings from every corner of the city. As much as he might want to comply with all, it is not possible. Every member of his city hall team and kitchen cabinet will need to be uber vigilant and only allow those ideas with merit to make it to the mayor’s desk.
Understandably, those without an economic development proposal or a plan to change the city in a big way also will want access to the new, young mayor. Johnson should make every effort to accommodate them. It would take some keen logistical planning but it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the administration could establish a program that would give every day interested citizens a chance to spend 10 uninterrupted minutes with the mayor-at least twice a month.
His post-inauguration open house at city hall was a throng of well-wishers and curiosity seekers. As in all post-campaign scenarios everyone glad handing the victor wasn’t on his or her side during the campaign. However, that doesn’t make their voices any less credible.
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) used their fine-tuned ground game and deep pockets to propel Johnson into office. He will need to temper their expectations about how large a role they will have in his administration-especially from an official perspective. That won’t stop them though from trying to influence policy. All parties must recognize he didn’t come into office with a mandate so all views carry approximate equal weight.
Key among the distractions Johnson must deal with is a city council which is in the state of flux, and likely to continue that way throughout the next four years. An unprecedented number of new aldermen are joining the legislative ranks, and it remains to be seen who compatible they will be with the old guard. They will vie with incumbents for committee chairmanships and appointments. There also is a fissure between some long-serving council members. Johnson has weighed in on what he believes the structure should be. However, there is likely to be strong push back as a large contingent of the alderman are hellbent on autonomy from the mayor. We shouldn’t expect a fast or early resolution to this issue.
Although there is a commission in place to recommend to the new mayor who should be the next superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, Johnson undoubtedly will be faced with a crush non-official suggestions. Already, one person lobbying for the job has a petition drive to be appointed. Given the myriad of public safety issues -murders, carjackings, and shootings-Johnson’s selection for superintendent will come under intense scrutiny, beyond what usually goes with the selection. There is little doubt it will be a CPD insider. Both former mayors Rahm Emanuel or Lightfoot’s decisions to import a superintendents from other parts of the country underwhelmed Chicagoans. In the case of David Brown, who migrated here from Texas, it led to a vote of no-confidence by the CPD rank and file.
The department will get more than its usual outsized attention if Johnson moves forward with his plan to halve the CPD’s budget and shift about $1 billion to several social service programs, particularly those aimed at reducing violence. The police union endorsed Johnson’s runoff opponent. We are likely to see some sort of CPD work related backlash if the mayor actually makes the draconian budget cut. Some city council members are likely to protest such a move as well.
It’s all about the money
The political mantra “money is the mother’s milk of politics” can be carried over into the municipal budget. There is always money there. The question that arises is if there is enough. Johnson takes office with a budget deficit, of well over $100 million He proposed a number of tax increases to reduce that number. While they look good on paper, at least half of the increases require approval by the state legislature. With elections scheduled for next year it will be tough to get state representatives and senators to put their jobs on the line by agreeing to raise taxes.
The mayor is apparently placing all of his chips on these proposed increases as no alternative plan has been floated.
He has been repeatedly criticized for not placing enough budget-minded people, along with some with municipal finance experience on his transition team. That approach equates to him getting a layman’s versus an financial expert’s persepective on how the city’s books really look.
Johnson was touted and campaigned as “a progressive.” Over the years the meaning of that adjective has become fuzzy. The mayor now has the opportunity to present a clear vision of what it means and if it is beneficial to the city.