Shoe leather must be the mayor's favorite meal
Maybe it's time for Brandon Johnson to take a vacation
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It is possible that one of the best things about being a union organizer or a school teacher is when you say the wrong thing, even if you say it repeatedly, it doesn’t make the newspapers and television news. That is a reality Mayor Brandon Johnson had prior to being elected this year. Unfortunately, for the first-term mayor, he has turned into a verbal gaffe machine, and the news media can’t ignore.
During a news conference that was unrelated to the Chicago Bears pending move from Soldier Field, Johnson commented on a telephone meeting with Bears President Kevin Warren. In an attempt to be clever, or cute, or something along those lines, the mayor invoked a Black southern colloquialism “yall don’t know nothing about that,” in reference to the 1985 Bears Super Bowl Shuffle. That was followed by the comment “and we want to get shuffling.” Yes, there has been a popular dance using the word shuffle, but the more common use is as a perjorative about how some Black move around whites. It is not a new usage which makes it surprising Johnson would use it.
The mayor’s forte certainly is not extemporaneous speaking. We got a strong hint of that last month when he created a citywide gasp when he compared to the shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo to the ambush and murder of Chicago Police Office Areanah Preston. Specifically, Johnson offered that the pain of both sets of parents were the same-although Officer Preston was murdered in front of her home while unloading groceries. Young Adam was shot by a police officer in a West Side alley at 3 a.m. when the officer said the boy raised a gun. When called out about it, the mayor failed miserably in providing a plausible explanation.
It certainly wasn’t Johnson’s first fumble with words. From the day he was elected the 47-year-ood Elgin native has had to walk back candidate Johnson comments about “defunding the police.” Initially he said he said that and it morphed into a modified version of what he said. No matter what spin he put on it, he didn’t ingratiate himself to the CPD rank-and-file. Ultimately, he said he didn’t say what he meant to say.
The mayor must learn self-discipline when it comes to speaking and repeatedly remind himself that the wrong words or phrases will be fodder for his opponents come re-election time.
What was the point in meeting with the Bears’ CEO?
Mayor Brandon Johnson decided to reach out to the Chicago Bears CEO/President Kevin Warren in what has been described as “get to know one another” phone conversation. The call certainly made it look like the mayor was chasing headlines. It has been reported over the last week that the team also is considering Naperville as a possible site for a new stadium. They made news last year when they purchased the former Arlington Park Raceway and adjacent properties. Bears’ officials confirmed that they were considering those 300-plus acres for a new stadium and entertainment venue.
News of the meeting between the Bears and Naperville mayor apparently spurred Johnson into action. However, the looming question is why. It has been repeated by the previous Chicago mayor and Johnson that they want the team to stay in Chicago. Given the reality that that fact hasn’t changed what could have been the point of the call.
It is not as though Johnson is short on issues that require his immediate attention-namely the migrant issue, the budget, pension deficit, crime, 13 new city council members, and department heads to nominate. The Chicago Bears lease at Soldier Field runs until 2033. A new stadium will take four years to build on the fast track.
If Johnson was on the call as the sole city representative that was a huge mistake. There was nothing he could say to Warren, who has a storied three-decades long history in the National Football League, including being part of a Super Bowl winning team, and was deeply engaged in the building of the Minnesota Vikings new stadium. That facility opened in 2016. Warren also is the highest-ranking Black executive in the NFL.
Johnson could bring little more than hometown enthusiasm to any conversation with Warren at this point.
The mayor would be wise to step back-take a week, maybe two for vacation, and re-evaluate what his priorities are and what needs immediate attention. I doubt if many things 10 years off fit that criterion.