On Tuesday, voters will head to the polls to cast their vote for one of nine Chicago mayoral candidates, with the race for the city's next mayor still very much unpredictable.
The list is lengthy and the race is close, but for those looking for information before they vote - including endorsements, where they stand on major issues and more - we've got you covered.
The first round of the election is slated for Feb. 28. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote in that election, then the top-two candidates would advance to a run-off, scheduled for April 4.
MORE: Latest Chicago Mayoral Poll Shows Vallas in Lead, 3 Candidates Vying For Second Place
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
Who Are the Candidates for Mayor?
Note: rather than listing the candidates in alphabetical order, we have listed them in the order in which they would currently appear on the Feb. 28 ballot.
Ja’Mal Green
Local
A community activist, Green has gained public attention for his work supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, and he also has founded several community organizations, including the Small Business Repair Program and My turn to Own. He has also focused his efforts largely on addressing the problem of violence in the city.
You can learn more about Green on his Twitter account.
Ald. Sophia King
King has represented Chicago’s fourth ward since April 2016, having lived in the area for 30 years. Her campaign has had a heavy focus on transparency in government, on the city’s handling of violent crime, and on education, with tabs dedicated to those topics on her campaign website.
Notable endorsements: Ald. David Moore
State Rep. Kam Buckner
Buckner was raised in Roseland and Washington Heights, and his current house district represents parts of Bronzeville, Gold Coast, Hyde Park, River North, South Shore and Woodlawn, among others. His platform includes what he calls a “4-Star Plan,” focusing on safety and justice, education, economic opportunity, and stabilizing the city’s finances.
You can read more about his campaign on his website.
Notable endorsements: Commuters Take Action
Dr. Willie Wilson
Wilson, who has owned a series of McDonald’s franchises and various companies, has a long history of running for office in Chicago, with mayoral runs in 2015 and 2019 and a run for Senate in 2020. Wilson is running on a platform to “Recover, Restore and Rebuild” the city, and has pointed to his efforts to donate free fuel and masks to underserved communities as examples of how he’d begin to tackle issues in the city.
You can read more about Wilson on his campaign website.
Notable endorsements: Ald. Raymond Lopez, Polish-American Congress’ Illinois Division
Brandon Johnson
A Cook County commissioner, Johnson was launched into the race with some powerful endorsements from the Chicago Teachers Union and the American Federation of Teachers. Johnson lives in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, and previously worked as a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools system before being elected to the Cook County Board.
You can read more about Johnson on his Twitter account.
Notable endorsements: Ald. Pat Dowell, Ald. Daniel LaSpata, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Ald. Rossana Rodríguez-Sanchez, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Ald. Jeanette Taylor, U.S. Reps. Jonathan Jackson and Delia Ramirez, State Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, State Rep. Lakesia Collins, State Rep. Mary Flowers, State Rep. Will Guzzardi, Rep. Lilian Jimenez, Cook County Commissioners Stanley Moore and Josina Morita, American Federation of Teachers, Chicago Teachers Union, Illinois Federation of Teachers, SEIU Local 73, SEIU Healthcare, United Working Families
Paul Vallas
Vallas is the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, and has also run in several statewide races, losing the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 2002 and losing the 2014 governor’s race as Pat Quinn’s running mate. Vallas has cited his experiences in running large school districts as he’s hit the campaign trail, and has pledged to make massive changes to the city’s finances, address issues of public safety and to integrate parents more effectively into the educational system.
You can read more about Vallas on his campaign website.
Notable endorsements: Ald. Brian Hopkins, Ald. Anthony Napolitano, Ald. Tom Tunney, Chicago Chapter FOP, International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 2, Chicago Tribune, Gazette Chicago
Mayor Lori Lightfoot
Lightfoot was elected mayor in 2019, winning a runoff against Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to replace Rahm Emanuel in office. Before her tenure as mayor, she served in a variety of positions, including as president of the Chicago Police Board. She has promised to work toward expanding economic opportunity across the city and to continue her work in bolstering education, police reform and neighborhood development if elected to a second term.
You can visit the mayor’s campaign website here.
Notable endorsements: Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., Ald. James Cappleman, Ald. Jason Ervin, Ald. Michelle Harris, Ald. Roberto Maldonado, Ald. Emma Mitts, Ald. Chris Taliaferro, Ald. Scott Waguespack, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Robin Kelly, State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, State Reps. Kelly Cassidy and Camille Lilly, American Postal Workers Union Local 1, IATSE Local 762, LGBTQ Victory Fund, Local 11 Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, Plumbers Local Union 130 UA, EMILY's List
Ald. Roderick Sawyer
Sawyer comes from a family of political leaders, with his father Eugene serving as Chicago’s mayor after the death of Harold Washington. He was elected to the City Council in 2011 and represents the 6th Ward on the city’s Far South Side. He currently serves as the chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus, and serves on a variety of committees, including education and child development, as well as the rules and ethics committee.
You can read more about Sawyer on his aldermanic page.
Rep. Jesús ‘Chuy’ García
García lost a head-to-head runoff against Emanuel in the 2015 mayoral race, and was elected to Congress for the first time in 2019. He has also served in the Illinois Senate and on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, and gained local fame for supporting Bernie Sanders in the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Notable endorsements: Former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Mike Quigley, Ald. Felix Cardona Jr., Ald. Michael Rodriguez, Ald. Susan Sadlowski-Garza, Ald. Andre Vasquez, Ald. Gilbert Villegas, State Sen. Ram Villivalam, Illinois House Democratic Leader Robyn Gabel, Gasworkers Local 18007, IUOE Local 150, Teamsters Local 727, United Farm Workers
Note: Frederick Collins and Johnny Logalbo fell short of the required number of valid voter signatures, and were removed from the ballot by the Chicago Board of Elections.
Where Does Each Candidate Stand in the Polls?
The latest polls show Vallas as the frontrunner, with his opponents battling for a second spot in the anticipated runoff election.
Recent polls reveal Johnson is surging and trailing Vallas, however.
According to one of the most recent polls, Vallas is in the lead at 24%, Lightfoot is in second with 18% followed by Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García with 16% and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson at 15%.
David Axelrod, a Democratic political strategist and former senior advisor under President Barack Obama, said "it would be, at once, shocking, but not thoroughly surprising" if Lightfoot didn't make the runoff.
As Axelrod sees it, don't discount the incumbent, but at the same time, it's clear Lightfoot is vulnerable.
The current polling is similar to results seen earlier this month, though the number of undecided voters and Johnson's late rise could make a big impact come Election Day.
An independent poll commissioned by Telemundo Chicago, NBC 5, the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ showed earlier this month that the Chicago mayor's race would end in a three-way tie, with no clear path for Lightfoot to win in a runoff election.
According to the poll's findings, however,18% of those interviewed said they were undecided when asked which candidate would get their vote.
What Does Each Candidate Have to Say on Major Issues?
During a mayoral forum last week, hosted by NBC 5 in partnership with the Business Leadership Council, WVON, the Chicago Urban League and NABJ Chicago, each of the nine candidates were asked what they would to make Chicagoans feel safer.
Their responses are listed below:
Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson
"...The safest cities in America all have one thing in common, they invest in people. My public safety plan is the most comprehensive plan where we promote within the police department for additional detectives. We're going to spend and make sure the consent decree is executed with expediency. We're also going to double the amount of young people that we're going to hire all over the city of Chicago because there is a direct correlation between hiring young people and violence reduction. We're also going to pass Treatment Not Trauma. Over 40% of the violence that happens in the city of Chicago happens in 6% of the entire city of Chicago. We know what the proclivities are, so we're going to do what works. We're going to take it serious, we're going to be smart about it."
Paul Vallas
"First of all, I'm going to replace Brown and his leadership team, and I'm going to push the police officers down to community-based policing. At the end of the day, beat integrity is critical. You need to have police officers who know the community.. I'm going to de-privatize the police and CTA. You can use that money and hire another hundred officers.
So the bottom line is, there's no substitution for making sure that you don't have 400,000 high priority 911 calls not responded to in a timely manner because you don't have cars available. That said and done, I'm also going to do what I did when I ran the Chicago Public Schools. I'm going to open the campuses for the dinner hour, over the weekend, over the holidays, bring community-based organizations on to the campuses so we can offer activities for the kids, literally year-round work study opportunities. I'm going to focus on reentry, returning populations, Returning to Crusader, returning citizens, because there are no programs to bring them back in your life."
Mayor Lori Lightfoot
"How we have been able to make progress, because we've listened to the community, and specifically in Black and Brown Chicago, we focused on those 15 communities that have historically driven 50% of the violence, and we've seen an enormous reduction - 25 to 50% down in violent by being at the table with the community and ask them what they need and making sure that we provide the resources."
Ald. Roderick Sawyer
"Yes, in order to make residents feel safer, we have to make sure that they're engaged and empowered. One of the things that I'm proud of is that working with the community commissions, which will be voting on February 28. I was author of that ordinance, and I've spent over two administrations working with it, and we're very proud of its upcoming implementation. But we're going to have to do more. We are also going to have to do more on the front end. We want to make sure that we provide opportunities or alternatives before people decide to make that life of crime a career. We have to give them more services. I agree with my colleague, Mr. Vallas, as stated earlier about using the school's resources and resources not just for children - resources for adults as well, because they're going to need the additional training and job placement skills that we all are going to need."
Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García
"To make people safer in Chicago, I would first of all appoint a new superintendent who understands the urgency of building trust with community residents and Chicago police officers. That means officers walking the beat, getting to know people and exchanging ideas and learning what people think about them and vice versa. Two, I would invest heavily in violence prevention programs. Why? I've done that work, I know that it produces results. Chicago has some of the best organizations that do that type of prevention, that would lower crime citywide. Three, I would invest in mental health and crisis response teams so that officers aren't responding to every mental health situation, every domestic violence or other disputes that can be settled by people who are trained in this area. Finally, implementation of the consent decree is the key to modernizing the police department."
Ja'Mal Green
"We are actually dealing with this each and every day. My friends are constantly being killed in our neighborhoods. I'm constantly seeing high rates of poverty in these neighborhoods. This is what my experiences are each and every day, and I'm the only one on this stage who has actually experienced dealing with at-risk youth who are going through these problems. We got to make sure we are investing into these young people and investing into these neighborhoods. We got 50,000 manufacturing jobs right now in the city of Chicago that are open, and we don't got a pipeline. We should have trade and tech hubs all throughout our schools so that we have a pipeline to great middle class jobs. We have to invest in young people, invest in the neighborhoods, create homeowners, reopen up the mental health facilities, have social workers respond to 40% of mental health calls and on and on."
Ald. Sophia King
"So I've been keeping it 100 and doing this for the last couple of years, where I've got two police districts - one downtown, one on the South Side. You see the disparities...so we don't need to defund the police or demoralize the police. We can uplift them and hold them accountable. We can put them in all of our communities so that they're there during the good times. We can also put money into violence intervention. This administration missed that $85 million we could have had on the streets. Less than 5 million that we know made it to the streets. We could also have alternative responses to police for mental health insecurities for homeless insecurities, which make over 50% of our calls. These are lived experiences. This defund law and order is not working, we can get safety by doing both."
State Rep. Kam Buckner
"The question asked about what did we need to do to make people feel safer. I'm going to push back on that, we've got to make people actually be safer in this city, and I put forth a plan to do that. Listen, we have to close the gap on our clearance rate, we have to make sure we reduce the number of violent crimes in this city. We have to wrap our arms around our young people because the truth of the matter is that the folks that are getting caught up in the cycle of violence are getting younger and younger, 11, 12 or 13 years old. We have had no plan for them. We have to also do things we can from a policy standpoint like treatment not trauma, like the peacebook ordinance, this is how we create true public safety. True public safety isn't CPD, it's CPS, it's housing, it's mental health."
Willie Wilson
"We got to do something different. I'm going to roll out my safety plan tomorrow... We have to back up our police officers. Those police officer men and women are from our community regardless of what color you might be, they are from our community. We got to make sure the neighborhood feels comfortable. I've talked to hundreds, if not thousands of police officers in the last four or five months, and I will tell you something - I will not defund the police. I will stand behind them..."
The candidates were also each asked about a bill passed by the Illinois General Assembly that would eliminate cash bail, a piece of legislation that is currently on hold as court challenges to the bill move their way through the court system.
See their responses here.
For more on how each candidate feels on other issues surrounding the city click here.
Top races, voting FAQ and more. Get everything you need before Election Day with our Voters Guide.
