Paul Vallas. Courtesy of Vallas for Mayor
In the WSJ, Jason L. Riley gives credit to mayoral candidate Paul Vallas for connecting the dots. Mr. Vallas understands that people who get a decent education are less likely to become violent criminals.
“Public safety is the overriding issue,” Mr. Vallas said in a speech earlier this month. “But we will not have true public safety in this city until the schools become part of the public-safety solution.”
The mayoral race is a win/win for Chicago’s party of choice since 1931. Paul Vallas, who is white, and Brandon Johnson, who is black, are Democrats. Party affiliation is about the only thing the candidates have in common. In our nation’s 3rd largest city, voters have a clear choice: Mr. Vallas is backed by the police union. Mr. Johnson, a progressive, is backed by the teachers union.
Mr. Vallas has run hard on restoring public safety in a city that saw crime continue to rise in 2022 and that has long been the poster child for big-city mayhem. He also wants to expand school choice for low-income families. Mr. Johnson opposes the creation of additional charter schools and has called for cutting the police budget.
Polling shows that the race is tight, and it’s not due to Mr. Johnson’s skillful messaging. Mr. Johnson currently works as an organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, which has spent millions of dollars supporting his candidacy. With the CTU in his corner, he can’t be counted out. Teachers unions know how to get people to the polls on Election Day like no other special interest group in politics. Even with public sentiment largely on his side, Mr. Vallas has his work cut out.
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