The following are claims found directly on Brandon Johnson’s official campaign web site, brandonforchicago.com. As you can see below, a lot of his claims strain the boundaries of reality.
| The Myth… | … The Reality |
|---|---|
| “Funded by the people.” “Brandon stands for the people, not entrenched special interests and political insiders.” | Brandon Johnson’s campaign is 94% financed by four unions: AFT, CTU, IFT, and SEIU. (Source: IL State Board of Elections). If that’s not the very definition of ‘entrenched special interests’ then what is? |
| Johnson will ‘stop raising property taxes’ | There’s a good reason why Lori Lightfoot (or any previous mayor in modern history) couldn’t achieve this: property taxes are the lever most easily pulled by a sitting mayor to fund the budget. That budget has been in crisis mode since before Richard J Daley left office. The actual steps necessary to correct it will be deeply unpopular and with far-reaching impact. This is a position that has been repeatedly verified by practically every media outlet and government watchdog out there, as well as economic experts far and wide. The age-old Socialist tactic of soaking the rich has never solved this problem anywhere it’s been tried, and yet they keep trying it anyway. This is because it doesn’t address the root of the problem, only the symptoms. |
| Johnson will ‘Audit Lightfoot’s Inefficient Spending to Save Half a Billion’ | That’s a pretty bold claim for a candidate that also promises to deliver transparency to the budget process. How does he know he can save half a billion dollars if the audit hasn’t actually been done? Johnson is hardly the first politician to employ this trick, but seeing how it accounts for half the revenue he claims he can reinvest back into the budget, it demands more scrutiny. |
| Johnson will cut ‘top-heavy administration to achieve a nationally recommended 10:1 worker to supervisor ratio’ | How many jobs do you really think a candidate that is bankrolled 94% by just four unions is going to cut? |
| “We need to work together to increase school funding and institute a fairer school funding formula.” | The current funding model is already heavily tilted in the city’s favor. CPS already spends more per pupil than many successful suburban school systems. What’s more, over 40% of that funding comes from state and federal resources while those other school systems are lucky to get a mere 15%. The rest of the cost is covered by the local citizens. (Source: IL Report Card) What’s actually lacking is school performance. Student proficiency rates in Chicago schools are abysmal. Can Johnson really be counted on to hold schools accountable for student proficiency, considering he’s being bankrolled by their union? |
| “As mayor, Brandon will work to make the wealthy pay their fair share and get our city’s budget priorities in order, just as he did as a teacher, organizer and Cook County commissioner.” | Johnson refers to his past experience, but his resume is in fact quite short. has zero executive-level experience and barely over a single term as one of 17 county commissioners. He has no actual examples of doing any sort of budget prioritization, and certainly has not actually been accountable for one. |
| “Brandon will transform Chicago into a national model for gender equity and reproductive rights, champion LGBTQ rights as human rights, and be a visible and vocal ally to creating safety and equal opportunity for the LGBTQ community.” | While there’s nothing to suggest that Johnson would try to harm Chicago’s LGBTQ community, he has no track record of helping it either. His campaign web site doesn’t list any specific solutions or proposals, just vague talking points. This is in contrast to Paul Vallas, who does have a verifiable history of helping the community. |