Good Monday morning, Illinois. Get out the swimsuits, it’s in the 40s!
Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson are finessing their campaign themes to attract moderates and supporters of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia while not alienating their bases — Vallas at the right of center and Johnson at the left.
“The one who most effectively gets to the middle is going to be successful,” Thomas Bowen, a Democratic strategist who worked on Lightfoot’s campaign, told the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt.
Johnson has secured backing from key North Side elected officials, including state Rep. Kelly Cassidy from the 49th ward and Ald. Andre Vasquez and party leader Maggie O’Keefe from the 40th.
There’s a scramble for Black endorsements: Johnson went to Selma over the weekend for the 58th anniversary march of “Bloody Sunday,” via Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet. Today, Congressman Danny Davis is set to endorse Johnson. Davis backed Lightfoot in the first round.
As expected, Vallas notched the endorsement of Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., who had backed Lightfoot. Gery Chico, who worked in City Hall in the 1990s with Vallas, has endorsed him, too.
The big question: Where will the unions go? Trade unions that had backed Lightfoot have yet to announce which way they’ll endorse, if at all, for the April 4 runoff election. The Chicago Teachers Union is with Johnson. The Fraternal Order of Police is with Vallas. And the Chicago Federation of Labor may not endorse at all.
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No, Lightfoot isn’t blaming racism for her loss: Mayor Lori Lightfoot hasn’t talked about her loss in the mayor’s race , but she’s being trashed by some media folks for a misconstrued comment.
What really happened: A few days before Election Day, Lightfoot was asked by a reporter about a perception that she’s combative. She responded, “I’m a Black woman in America. Of course.” The exchange occurred at an event on the city’s West Side during a discussion about how Black women…
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