Lightfoot concedes #ChiMayor23 #Ward09

 For those of you paying attention to the results of yesterday's election race, well this is not breaking news. For those of you who weren't well after the April 4, 2023 runoff we will have a new mayor. The mayoral race has been whittled down to former CPS CEO Paul Vallas and current Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. Incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot was relegated to third place in last night's results.

If you don't believe she conceded video here. Perhaps I expected her to be more combative than she seemed to have been last night. [VIDEO]

I plan to update the 2023 page with current numbers and especially for the mayoral race who will be moving onto the runoff. Final numbers - per the experts - won't be known for at least a couple of weeks as electoral authorities continue to count ballots especially the early votes and mail-in votes.

From the results I've seen last night in Ward 9, it appears Anthony Beale has secured yet another term on the Chicago City Council.

Via ABC 7 Chicago 2023 election results

Tomorrow is Election Day #ChicagoElections #ChiMayor23

 If you have't early voted, tomorrow is the day to cast a vote for Mayor, Clerk, Treasurer, City Council, and those little known & new police district board council.

If you're looking for some last minute stories check out this round by via Capitol Fax.

That toddlin’ town Monday morning roundup https://t.co/EFpBL82gXt

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) February 27, 2023

And how about a video from FOX 32 regarding Tuesday's election. They speak with Max Bever of the Chicago Board of Elections [VIDEO]

WGN: Breaking down Chicago early voting numbers #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] On WGN Weekend Morning News there is a discussion with Steve Valles - co-director of Chicago Votes breaking down early voting numbers. I suppose the news I have seen have discussed to which candidate early voting benefits? Another aspect I've seen out there, is how long until we finally determine who won the 2023 mayoral race or at least who's in the mayoral runoff?

This discussion has been about how to energize young people to vote in this election. Also we hear that this is the first election where Cook County Jail is a polling location. So Chicago Votes has something going on with the inmates there.

Early voting is going on through next Monday and Election Day is next Tuesday February 28th. Have you all early voted yet? Do you plan to wait until Election Day?

So Lightfoot doesn't want people to vote? #ChiMayor23

 So at a rally over the past weekend the Mayor said that you shouldn't vote. Wait did we hear correctly? Well WLS-TV did the story on this. We can listen for ourselves. [VIDEO]

And then this morning some blowback as we've seen on WFLD-TV. So let's put this in text form she stated any votes not for Lightfoot from the South Side is a vote for Garcia and Vallas. And if you want them to determine your fate then don't vote and stay home. It's all about the soundbites. 

She must be worried about those two gents, but not as much about Brandon Johnson whom she has cut ads against. Anyway on to the FOX 32 report [VIDEO]

OK! She misspoke....I suppose I can accept that. Now it's just more evidence that her leadership is very undiplomatic.

One thing is likely talked about. The number of Black candidates in the race could dilute the Black vote and lead to either Congressman Garcia or Vallas to possibly win the mayoral race. Though I'm hoping that Chicagoans will not vote according to their race/ethnicity they vote for the best person to be mayor.

As of today we have a week to go before Election Day. Early voting will continue through next Monday. As you see in the FOX 32 report Mayor Lightfoot and her significant other had voted early on President's Day. Have you voted yet?

Vallas denounces Florida Governor visit to Chicago area promoted by Chicago fraternal order of police #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] Perhaps you may not know Ron DeSantis - he is in his second term as Governor of Florida. He will be in the Chicago area to speak with the Fraternal Order of Police. And now he's another quick bullet point in this race.

The leader of Chicago's FOP is named John Catanzara who's made many appearances on FOX News Channel especially after the issues of 2020. He's made some appearances for mayoral candidate Paul Vallas. And as a result the visit to this state by DeSantis has become a point of contention in this race.

Vallas was forced to quickly denounce DeSantis as you will see in the above story by our local FOX affiliate. You can read more about this from the Sun-Times.

NBC Chicago: What Chicago's mayoral candidates say about ending cash bail #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] This was an issue that came up last year during the gubernatorial election in 2022 with the ongoing controversy over this state's Safe-T Act.

So we see all candidates who were part of the NBC 5 Chicago Mayoral Debate take a position on the issue of ending cash bail.

If you missed this debate you can check it out here through NBC Chicago which took place Monday night.

Rainbow Push Mayoral Candidate Forum #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] This forum was streamed on YouTube Saturday morning. You will see Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. speak to the audience although you mostly can't hear what he is saying in the beginning. You will also see the absence of Mayor Lightfoot though the other eight seven candidates for mayor were on the stage this morning.

CORRECTION 10:23 PM - another no show to this event was Willie Wilson.

And I must add Jesse Jackson retweeted this post. I had no idea he even uses twitter.

CBS 2: Crime take center stage at WTTW's 2023 Mayoral Forum #ChiMayor2023

 

[VIDEO] This aired earlier this week two days before the recent FOX 32 forum on Thursday night. This quick clip is probably a taste of what you will see later on. The bickering between candidates especially the shots Willie Wilson took at the Mayor. One notable absense, Congressman Chuy Garcia had been in Washington, DC for President Joe Biden's state of the union address.

If you didn't see the WTTW forum check it out below. [VIDEO]

Capitol Fax: Where does Paul Vallas really live #ChiMayor23

 I'd say this is more significant in this mayoral race than Paul Vallas' positions on abortion or even whether or not he's a Republican as opposed to being a Democrat. As Rich Miller says in this morning's post on his blog, "Vallas has been registered to vote in Chicago since 2018. These candidate residency requirements are not difficult to skirt. But he has some more explaining to do."

Where does Paul Vallas really live? https://t.co/IZG95Xp6aw

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) February 10, 2023

I suppose the question is from what I have already read, he moved into an apartment in Bridgeport perhaps about a year before running for mayor. The story is that his residence is in Palos Heights, Illinois although his wife currently resides in Palos Heights to care for her parents and mother-in-law.

Come to think of it, after his service as a congressman and White House chief-of-staff in Washington, DC didn't Rahm Emanuel have to face questions about his residency. Although in his case the home he owned in the city was rented out so that was the story back then. Many tried to keep him from even being on the ballot because of this back then.

Did anyone check on this before Vallas turned in his petitions?

FOX 32 Mayoral Forum #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] There have been other mayoral forums this week which I have yet to share with you, however, this was the one that occurred on Thursday. All nine mayoral candidates including the incumbent Lori Lightfoot facing off against Mike Flannery and Scott Schneider. The duration is over an hour.

I must say there have been a number of mayoral forums which involve the incumbent. I feel as if that's a first, however, I'm starting to wonder if this shows how weak Mayor Lightfoot is. Did Rahm Emanuel face this much pressure in 2015 as he sought re-election?

The Mayor on crime #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] I wanted to share this ad you probably have seen somewhere - perhaps on TV or perhaps while watching YouTube. This ad touting Mayor Lori Lightfoot's accomplishments on policing and crime. I can believe that she has been taking a beating on the crime issue at least since 2020.

I like to save videos like this to a playlist, however, I can't save this one because this ad has been set to content made for kids. Interesting....

Then I found this article from April 2020 - at the time David Brown had just become police superintendent - via Block Club Chicago. I didn't know this, however, some detective areas had been closed down. In 2020 two of those areas that had been shut down had been re-opened.

That structure was slashed to three Areas — referred to as Areas North, South and Central — under Emanuel.

But Lightfoot revamped the former map, adding back Areas at 5101 S. Wentworth Ave. and 3151 W. Harrison Ave. All five of the old Areas return to their former names: Areas 1-5.

The three Police Areas were “too big” and weren’t “functionally working … as effectively as [they] could be,” Lightfoot said.

The restructuring had been in the works for months. The city rehabbed the two re-opened Area buildings that were closed and redrew their boundaries as part of the project.

With the changes, parts of the city hit hard by crime now no longer have to share resources and officers with as many other neighborhoods.

For example, the newly created Area 4 will focus solely on crime in the 10th, 11th and 15th police districts, which are in parts of the West Side that struggle with gun violence.

Now, detectives working out of the Police Areas will be closer to the neighborhoods where they work, which means it will be easier for them to work with witnesses and victims and they’ll be able to get to crime scenes quicker, Lightfoot said. She said it also means detectives will be able to collaborate more often with officers.

 Anyone out there thinks this reorganization has been helpful?

Meanwhile almost three years later during the mayoral race, it seems the latest news about David Brown is that he is on the verge of leaving. Lightfoot running for re-election had pledged to keep Brown as Superintendent if she wins another term. Polls seem to suggest it's not likely that she will win another term, however, if she does time to start looking again for another police chief.

WBEZ: Polls have Vallas, Lightfoot, and Garcia in a deadheat #ChiMayor23

Vallas, Mayor Lightfoot, Garcia via Sun-Times

Via WBEZ Chicago:

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s reelection battle is clouded in uncertainty, her chances of beating either U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García or former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas in a run-off appearing slim — and her prospects for even making it to the April election up in the air.

With the election less than three weeks away, three out of five voters disapprove of the job the mayor has done in her first term, more than half hold an unfavorable opinion of her and 71% think the city is on the wrong track.

Those are among the key findings of a WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times/Telemundo Chicago/NBC5 Poll conducted last week.

All falling within the poll’s margin of error, Lightfoot, García and Vallas were essentially locked in a statistical dead heat when respondents were asked whom they would vote for if the Feb. 28 election were held today.

García led with 20%, followed by Vallas with 18% and Lightfoot with 17%. Businessman Willie Wilson trailed closely with 12% and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson with 11%. Just 2% said they’d vote for activist Ja’Mal Green, and 1% chose either Ald. Sophia King, 4th Ward, or state Rep. Kam Buckner. Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th Ward, drew no support. Another 18% said they were still undecided.

h/t CapFax Isabel Morning Briefing - wait are those morning shorts making a comeback!  

Please don't forget early voting is ongoing now through Election Day on February 28, 2023.

Capitol Fax: Garcia to run TV ad quoting Vallas calling himself a Republican and saying “Fundamentally, I oppose abortion” #ChicagoElections

 Earlier in the year I had found a flyer possibly from Lori Lightfoot that accused Willie Wilson of being a Republican. However, we live in Chicago and this city is a Democratic city. For some perhaps uniformed voters it probably will cause many of them to veer away from the longtime city businessman and philathropist.

And then you get something like an ad from Congressman Chuy Garcia who is certainly favored to defeat incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot in this year's mayoral race. I'll share the video though I want to suggest reading up on the ad itself at CapFax before watching it. 

Basically in the ad below Garcia's campaign is taking aim at how former CPS CEO Paul Vallas identifies himself. Is he a Republican? I he pro-life? Well calling Vallas a Republican is a very easy swipe, however, the abortion issue will probably get someone's attention. However, I just wonder how relevant the abortion issue is to Chicago voters? [VIDEO]

The next question is whether or not the abortion issue is more relevant than the issue of crime or even education?

WGN: Recap of the Chicago Mayoral Forum

 

[VIDEO] Basic roundup in case you all don't have time to watch the hour and half debate that aired this evening on WGN. It's safe to say crime was a major issue in this debate with all candidates except the Mayor herself wanting to fire current Police Superintendent David Brown.

Here's the full debate below [VIDEO]

Capitol Fax: Chicago and crime #ChicagoElections

 The mayoral candidates in Chicago and hopefully those who want to join the City Council have crime on their minds right now. On the CapFax we hear about some historical states with regards to crime. Will these stats be on your mind when you vote next month?

Chicago and crime https://t.co/6bDLNNjbjP

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) January 25, 2023

When your city is turning into a ghost town? #ChicagoElections

 

[VIDEO] I suppose this is a quick meme about Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the state of Chicago. The Mayor says the business climate of the city is great, yet we hear about the city losing businesses.

The most recent news is the Old Navy on State & Randolph is closing. I remember that it was home to a Borders Books up until the company went bankrupt in the early 2010s. And Old Navy used the have the store one block south on State & Washington which was briefly a Gap and now is home to another retailer Primark.

And now Old Navy is leaving State Street entirely. Worse still there are a number of empty storefronts along State Street. Just look further south beyond Monroe Street at least. I was shocked to see after the riots downtown in 2020 - after George Floyd's death - that a Foot Locker store closer to the DePaul University Campus near Adams & State had closed down.

The issue is crime. It's shocking to see police with their flashing blue lights sitting on the streets in and near downtown Chicago basically there as a presence. It was true during the unrest of 2020 and it's true even now just go up and down Michigan Avenue at night.

You know I must say I wanted Rahm Emanuel to go in 2019, well he stands down and is replaced by Mayor Lightfoot. Right now, he looks like a better mayor compared to Lightfoot as he is now Ambassador Emanuel in Japan. While it's a bit early to say, how many people could say that about Mayor Lightfoot?

BTW, with the above video I like the Marvel Comics Antman references.

WGN: Chicago mayoral candidates debate with less than month before election day

 

[VIDEO] Nine mayoral candidates debated last night on WLS-TV from Paul Vallas to Ald. Roderick Sawyer to Chuy Garcia to JaMal Green to Brandon Johnson to Willie Wilson to Kam Buckner to the incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot to Ald. Sophia King. In this report from WGN above they discussed issues such as keeping the Bears in the city, the issue of crime especially on CTA, and of course the issue of migrants being sent to Chicago which is a sanctuary city.

I didn't watch last night's debate however WLS-TV shared the live stream on their YouTube channel which I will share below [VIDEO]

I hope you're all staying warm out there... #Chiberia

 Well, I'm glad there wasn't a lot of snow Thursday night. At the same time it was a beast to get around if the streets and expressways weren't clear.

The snow has given way to frigid temperatures as I look on my phone this morning at about 9:30 AM -5°F out there according to my Yahoo weather app. I hope you have heat at home, if not from Mayor Lori Lightfoot on twitter, there are warming centers out there for you.

Winter Storm is coming! DFSS six community service centers operates as warming centers & are open from 9am-5pm. Our Garfield Center is available 24/7 to connect residents to shelter!

Call 3-1-1 to find your nearest warming center & for well being checks! #StayWarmChicago ❄️ pic.twitter.com/Bvszwnll9N

— Chicago Department of Family & Support Services (@ChiFamSupport) December 22, 2022

Of course call 311 if you want more updated information on warming shelters.

Capitol Fax: Chicago poll shows crime and public safety far above any other issues for voters

A poll showing the standing amongst likely voters of the candidates running against incumbent Mayor Lightfoot also who do Chicago's likely voters view the crime issue. Is the crime issue important to them?

Chicago poll shows crime and public safety far above any other issues for voters https://t.co/9iO4jMcAsJ

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) December 13, 2022

Last day of petition filing #Ward09

 Today, Lori Lightfoot has filed her papers to run for a second term as Mayor. [VIDEO]

I'll eventually update the 2023 elections page with all candidates that have filed petitions to run against Mayor Lightfoot for the city's top job. In addition these candidates have filed for Alderman of Ward 9.

• Cleopatra Draper
• Alderman Anthony A. Beale
• Sonya Thompson Dorsey
• Cameron M. Barnes

Also bear in mind these petitions will be challenged so this field or for any office in the city for next year will change and we will know for sure who will be on the ballot in February. Those who were able to file for office have done so.

As a reminder here is the ward 9 map from 2023 onwards