Chicago mayoral candidates Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson highlighted their campaign strategies Thursday evening in a contentious debate where they were given the opportunity to ask one another a question.
Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson, left, and Paul Vallas shake hands before their debate at ABC-7 studios in downtown Chicago, March 16, 2023.
Vallas then used his turn to ask Johnson about his past support for the “defund the police” movement and his plans to raise taxes such as the hotel tax. Vallas and Johnson also argued over the shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vallas attacked Johnson over the Chicago Teachers Union’s refusal to teach in person.
“The only one up here who has closed schools is my opponent,” Vallas said, before touting new schools built and rising CPS enrollment when he led the school district. “... Have you ever been to New Orleans? Have you ever seen New Orleans after Katrina? Eighty percent of the schools were destroyed.” “The bottom line is my opponent wants to defund the police,” Vallas said in the first negative attack of the night. “He doesn’t want to fill the vacancies. He does not want to bring back retired officers. ... You’ve got to fill the ranks. You’ve got to fill those vacancies and you’ve got to deploy the police into the community so that there are officers there to respond when those 911 calls are made.
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