Chicago Democratic mayor says he’ll run for reelection

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) announced Sunday he is running for reelection, more than three years after he ascended to the office.

“My name is Brandon Johnson, and I am running for reelection in the greatest fricking city in the world, Chicago,” an impassioned Johnson said at a rally, to cheers of “four more years” from attendees.

Johnson, formerly on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, outlasted a crowded field, which included then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D), in the nonpartisan mayoral race in 2023.

Voters in the Windy City will head to the polls in February, with a runoff in April if no candidate receives majority support.

The first-term mayor, a staunch progressive, touted his work as mayor on Sunday. The 50-year-old said his “North Star” is working for “the many, and not the few.”

Johnson added, “Real transformation has never come from the top down but from the bottom up.”

Salaries for private industry workers increased by 3.9 percent in the Chicago metro area in June, ahead of the national average of 3.3 percent, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Reports of certain violent crimes have also decreased during Johnson’s tenure. The murder rate, up slightly from last year, is down 33 percent from 2023, according to data from the Chicago Police Department (CPD).

Sexual assaults, robberies and burglaries are down by 10 percent, 53 percent and 25 percent relative to 2023, respectively, while thefts are up by 3 percent, per the CPD data.

But earlier this year, Fitch Ratings downgraded Chicago’s credit rating after Johnson and the city council battled until the 11th hour over a spending plan last December. The impasse stemmed from Johnson’s preference to reinstitute the employer head tax .

Last year, Johnson battled with the Trump administration over its surge of federal immigration officers to Chicago. A recent study from the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute found that the roughly two-month operation cost local businesses more than $1.2 billion last year.

Johnson will have to beat multiple challengers to clinch a second term. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias (D), Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza (D) and Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) are among a crowded group vying for Johnson’s office.