How the next mayor will change CPS, why young people aren’t voting and more in your Chicago news roundup

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about an eight-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

— Matt Moore (@MattKenMoore)

Weather 🌤️

This afternoon will be mostly cloudy with a high near 41 degrees. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low near 24. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a chance of rain and a high near 53.

Top story

Dollars vs. decentralization: Johnson’s and Vallas’ vastly different fixes for CPS

Chicago Public Schools’ next chapter hangs on the result of the April 4 mayoral runoff election between two candidates boasting unusually strong ties to public education — and diametrically opposed ideas for schools.

Paul Vallas plans drastic changes to CPS’ structure, bolstering principals and local leaders’ power over spending and programming — and even the ability to let a charter school take over their campus. He would prioritize standardized testing and make it easier to hold students back a grade so they don’t graduate without necessary reading and math skills.

“We should be running districts of schools, not school districts,” Vallas said. “I really believe in radical decentralization.”

Brandon Johnson would rather the school district’s central office end per-pupil funding and guarantee a baseline of resources for every school — such as art teachers, social workers and librarians. This would reduce the role enrollment plays in whether a school can afford staff and, he says, help ensure every neighborhood can offer a quality education. He would focus on addressing poverty and trauma.

“We need to overhaul the CPS funding formula so that we’re fully funding every single public school,” Johnson said. “That’s the norm, that’s the baseline. Our people deserve that.”

Public education advocates worry Vallas’ plans would create a stratified school system of winners and losers. Budget watchdogs wonder where Johnson will find money to fund his plan.

The next mayor will have to grapple with an expected $600 million deficit, as well as the end of a moratorium on school closings and a new teachers contract. The first school board elections are soon after.

Our Nader Issa and WBEZ’s Sarah Karp break down the candidates’ very different plans for CPS.

More news you need

• A recent poll of likely voters in the mayoral runoff election found that lack of outreach to Latino and Black Chicagoans — along with race and a generation gap between voters — will be key factors in the contest. Mariah Rush explains the poll results.
• During last month’s municipal election, data shows only 3% of ballots cast on Feb. 28 came from voters in the 18-24 age range. In her latest column, our Lynn Sweet looks into why young people in Chicago aren’t voting.
• Corporation Counsel Celia Meza, one of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s closest and most trusted advisers, resigned yesterday, continuing the post-election exodus from the outgoing mayor’s Cabinet. When her resignation takes effect Friday, Meza will join former Police Supt. David Brown in leaving city government before Tuesday’s runoff election.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved selling the overdose antidote drug naloxone over-the-counter, putting it on course to be the first opioid treatment drug sold without a prescription. The spray version of the drug, sold under the name Narcan, will reportedly be available for sale by late summer.
• Tenants being ousted from the Little Village Discount Mall got a last-minute reprieve Monday, as the city announced the property owner had granted them another six weeks to stay. But the extension came too late for many who had already cleaned out their shops. “The city did us wrong in this. They waited until the last moment to tell us,” one vendor said yesterday.
• Bronzeville Lakefront, a $4.3 billion redevelopment of the old Michael Reese Hospital property south of McCormick Place, has been planned for years and will take many more to execute. But it is observing a milestone today with the planned formal launch of construction.
• The James Beard Foundation today announced the finalists for its 2023 restaurant and chef awards. Several Chicago names made the list, including restaurants Obelix and Kasama and chef de cuisine Damarr Brown of Virtue Restaurant & Bar. Miriam Di Nunzio has the full list of finalists.

A bright one ☀️

Elgin artist uses Rosie the Riveter, ‘Si se puede’ to create a mural about achieving dreams

When artist Javier Pretelin Sanchez created a mural in downtown Elgin, he wanted it to be “aesthetically pleasing” but also to say something, “kind of like a storyboard” with a message of hope, personal growth and fulfillment.

“On the left side, it starts out as a little village,” says Sanchez, who’s gone by Azuna for his artwork ever since he was younger and got involved in graffiti art.

The images of the modest buildings against the backdrop of leafy hills is meant to speak in part to the immigrant experience — Sanchez is from Mexico, moving to the United States when he was a boy — and more broadly to humble beginnings. Below are pretty flowers, “a little illustrated message that no matter where you are, there’s always beauty in your surroundings,” says Sanchez, 29.

Provided

Below are pretty flowers, “a little illustrated message that no matter where you are, there’s always beauty in your surroundings,” says Sanchez, 29.

“Then, it goes into the main subject, which is a woman of color, and she’s flexing,” the Elgin resident says. “I wanted to celebrate not only women and empowerment to women but also celebrate women of color and giving kind of like a shoutout.

“I come from a family where my mother was my only parent, so I can see that empowerment, strong women and how important they are.”

We’ve got more with Sanchez and the backstory behind his work.

From the press box

• Championship teams need a quarterback. Incoming president/CEO Kevin Warren believes the Bears have theirs. Warren spoke about that, the stadium project and more while in Arizona for NFL league meetings.
• With one more day until the Cubs’ home opener against the Brewers, Steve Greenberg writes about how Cody Bellinger hopes a fresh start on the North Side will reignite his flagging career.
• The Sox also have a slugger who hasn’t reached his potential in Eloy Jimenez. Will this finally be the year Jimenez puts it all together?

Your daily question☕

How can the city’s mayoral and aldermanic candidates best get young Chicagoans out to vote in the runoff?

Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday we asked you: What’s the biggest difference between Chicagoans and New Yorkers?

Here’s what some of you said…

“As someone who’s from Chicago and loves Chicago but also loves NYC, I can honestly say it boils down to dress code. For instance, in the winter, New Yorkers will wear a hoodie, pea coat and Timbs. In Chicago, it’s a hoodie, pea coat and Jordans. Other than that, we’re pretty similar.” — Lauren Edwards

“New Yorkers say what they think. Chicagoans say what they think you want them to say. Oh, and New Yorkers know what a real bagel looks like.” — Cat Battista

“Chicagoans routinely avoid conflict and complaint at all costs; New Yorkers love conflict and the quick back and forth as part of the fun and sport of everyday living.” — Robert Cohen

“New Yorkers are a smidge more polite.” — Adam A.

“Chicago is New York with cleaner streets and smidge of Midwest hospitality! Chicagoans are too nice for New York, but too mean for California. We’re the sweet spot.” — Hannah Falls-Hand

“Chicagoans can be brusque and tough when it’s called for but our sharp edges are rounded by Midwest values, New Yorkers think loud rude bravado is something to be proud of for its own sake at all times. They’re wrong. And yes I have some great NY/NJ friends.” — Kirk Melhuish

“I’m a native New Yorker living in Chicago over thirty years. The biggest difference is that Chicagoans have a lot more patience. Chicago is a Midwestern city, and we tend to let other people speak instead of speaking over them. Our sidewalk traffic is slower. And we are willing to wait decades for a sports championship.” — Jason Betke

“We put our garbage in cans — not on the sidewalk!” — Dana Smicklas

Thanks for reading the Chicago Sun-Times Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.