Chicago mayoral candidates made final appearances to churches, diners, house parties, and rallies, aiming to make it past Tuesday and to the anticipated April 4 runoff.
Mayoral candidates Lori Lightfoot, clockwise from top left, Paul Vallas, Brandon Johnson and Jesús “Chuy” García, meet with voters over the weekend before Election Day on Feb. 28, 2023.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, second from right, talks with attendees at a fundraiser for the Black Fire Brigade at Q's Lounge on Feb. 26, 2023, in the Ashburn neighborhood of Chicago. “And I was like, ‘Well, hold on a second, I need Nick Ward to support me because we’re about to pass a budget that’s gonna tax the rich!’” Johnson told the crowd, drawing laughter and applause. “So just take that and shove it, whoever you are, random fake account.”
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, meanwhile, held a rally for supporters in Little Village, visited a Mexican birria restaurant on the Southeast Side and spoke to reporters outside the Kit Kat Lounge in Uptown as music from a drag brunch floated outside. Her supporters there told a mix of stories emphasizing her toughness but also her softer side.
When it was Lightfoot’s turn to speak, the mayor similarly took blistering shots at Johnson and Vallas, again calling them “false prophets.” “And then there’s Paul Vallas. Oh no, I got to talk about Mr. Vallas for a minute,” Lightfoot said, as the crowd perked up. “... That Twitter account, first, it was: ‘The intern did it. That must have been what happened.’ And then last night he said, ‘Oh no, no, no, no. I was hacked.’ By who, the Russians, Paul? Come on now. You got to own this.”Johnson spent Sunday morning hitting a string of Black churches on the West Side. One notable house of worship was the Greater St.
Chicago mayoral candidate Jesús “Chuy” García has fun with a group of kids while campaigning at La Antigua sports bar and grill in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on Feb. 25, 2023. Johnson spoke for several minutes, outlining a series of progressive goals including treatment-not-trauma policies and proposals to help fund support for the homeless. He defended his platform from Lightfoot, who has said he’s out of Chicago’s political mainstream.
While Johnson had an energetic showing there, he had a far less successful event at the swanky Park Supper Club restaurant and lounge in Washington Park, where only five supporters showed up to see Johnson at a get-out-the-vote rally in the afternoon. The candidate ultimately canceled at the last minute, with his campaign citing that he had too many overlapping events.
Wilson is a proven vote-getter in the Black community, though it’s unclear whether he can replicate his 2015 and 2019 successes. He worked to shore up his Black support on Saturday when he rolled up to a West Side rally, where flamboyant former state Sen. “Hollywood” Rickey Hendon introduced him as “the next mayor of the city of Chicago!”
As he spoke, Pastor Calvin Williams said he recalled Wilson from his time owning a McDonald’s nearby, where he would work the register and sweep floors. “He went in there and he worked,” Williams said, as a woman chimed in, “He’d feed anybody who came in hungry.” While Buckner mostly listened, he also explained things he would do including unlocking city funding for trauma and fighting violence at the community level rather than the city level.
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