Chicago's mayor said rioters 'shouldn't be demonized' and refused to give bad ... trends now
Chicago's 57th mayor was sworn in Monday after a disastrous four years of Lori Lightfoot - but questions remain as to the backstory behind the newly tapped head of The Windy City.
Brought up in a suburban home a stone's throw from the city's center, Brandon Johnson has defied all odds by rising through its ranks to become its top official - all while campaigning on promises to build 'a better, stronger, safer Chicago'.
An ex-teacher who spent the past four years as a Cook County commissioner, the 47-year-old has instead aired his vision of a place where 'all residents can live and work free from the threat of violence,' but may lack the experience to make that happen.
By his own admission, while employed by Chicago's public school system, Johnson did not have the heart to give any of students a failing grade - and due to a self-professed disbelief in standardized exams, never offered test prep.
Last week, the new mayor - after making history as the first person to unseat a presiding mayor in the Dem-led city since 1983 - offered further insight as to his character, when he insisted the city should not 'demonize' teens for organizing an inner-city event that turned hopelessly violent and left multiple minors shot.
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Brandon Johnson, 57, is an ex-teacher who spent the past four years as a Cook County commissioner, and has instead aired his vision of a place where 'all residents can live and work free from the threat of violence,' However, he may lack the experience to make that happen
By his own admission in 2018, while employed by Chicago's public school system, Johnson did not have the heart to give any of students a failing grade - and due to a self-professed disbelief in standardized exams, never offered test prep
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Perhaps most notably, though, is the political newcomer's past support for Defund the Police, a movement that - at least partially - played a part in his predecessor's failure to garner enough votes to keep her post.
At first, after emerging out of the gate as a relative unknown in a mass of competitive candidates, Johnson raised eyebrows with a lofty plan to reallocate law enforcement funds to other services in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
Months before, Lightfoot performed an abrupt about-face on that policy amid increasing crime - after slashing the force's budget by $59million as one of her first moves as mayor.
The Lightfoot-led plan - ironically - was dubbed 'refund the police,' and saw the sum reabsorbed into the city's budget.
However, that course of actions has fallen flat in addressing the city's ongoing crime epidemic - a task that has emerged as one of the most pressing for Johnson as he plans his initial moves now that he is in office.
To do this, he touted different, but still radical approach that includes reimagining the role of policing in Chicago, while taxing the rich and local businesses and diverting more investments toward social services such as housing and education.
Those promises apparent galvanized the city’s political left, and led him to an upset win over Lightfoot - whose repeated failures divided support from her own party - and more moderate Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas.
The labor-friendly approach
