Two candidates representing opposite ends of the Democratic party are on the ballot in the highly-watched Chicago mayoral runoff on Tuesday.
Paul Vallas, the former CEO of the Chicago school system, and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, a former teacher who is heavily backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, were the top two vote-getters in the February general election. Incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot"In general, the race is too close to call," said Dick Simpson, a former Chicago alderman and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Johnson, meanwhile, has received the backing of influential national Democrats like Sens. Bernie Sanders — who held a rally with Johnson last week — and Elizabeth Warren, Jesse Jackson and Rep. Jim Clyburn.
Education has become one of the driving local issues in this race. While Vallas served as CEO of Chicago Public Schools under former Mayor Richard Daley from 1995-2001 and later in similar positions in other cities around the country, he was a strong proponent of charter schools. Vallas has campaigned on adding police officers on patrol and on public transit, Johnson has taken a more progressive route of tackling the root causes of crime.
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