Mayor Johnson, Chicago needs you to get more hits, not misses

When Chicago elects its mayors, there are the highest of hopes — at the outset, at least — that the person who occupies City Hall’s Fifth Floor will be a reasonably successful municipal executive.

Yet, Chicagoans know leading the nation’s third-largest city is a tough job. It’s expected mayors will always let the people down sooner or later, on something. The trick is to make it later, after he or she has delivered some real good.

But Mayor Brandon Johnson seems intent on skipping the first part — providing tangible benefit — and heading straight for the letdown. Too often, there’s been a new misstep as the mayor and his administration bungle a high-stakes issue, such as the migrant crisis — luckily those “winterized tents” never materialized — and overpaying for a ShotSpotter contract extension.

Chicagoans have noticed, as evidenced by Johnson’s low public approval ratings.

Last week came another telling sign, when Johnson’s chief of staff, Richard Guidice, a City Hall veteran and a much-needed steady hand in an administration of progressives with little executive experience, abruptly announced his resignation to take another job outside city government in April.

Losing a chief of staff before you finish your first year in office is a textbook example of “not a good look.”

Then there’s Johnson’s decision to promote Department of Buildings deputy Marlene Hopkins, who oversaw the planning that eventually led to the botched implosion of an abandoned coal plant in 2020, leaving Little Village coated in a cloud of potentially toxic dust.

Johnson appointed Hopkins last week to head the entire department, issuing a statement saying Hopkins is “the ideal choice to lead the Department of Buildings as we work towards a safer, more prosperous Chicago for all.” Maybe. But a report from former Inspector General Joe Ferguson recommended Hopkins be disciplined for her role in the dust storm debacle.

Talking points aren’t enough

The failure of the Bring Chicago Home referendum was undoubtedly last week’s biggest blow. The measure, championed by Johnson when he campaigned for mayor, was supposed to raise an estimated $100 million annually to address homelessness by raising the city’s real estate transfer tax on properties that sell for $1 million or more.

Johnson said after Election Day he “wanted to campaign more. ... I’m a gamer. Heck yeah, I wanted to be out there. … I wanted the ball.”

Johnson had the ball, but he and the campaign dropped it. Voters needed to see a plan, with charts and budgets showing how the money would be spent. Critics needed evidence the increased tax wouldn’t lead to higher rents or hurt commercial property owners and multi-family housing developers.

Instead, the public mostly received vague, gold-plated words about helping the unhoused. But as one voter told the Sun-Times, “How will you use that money? What are you actually going to do to help homelessness? Will the city create more housing? Help people with jobs? It just seems like it’s all talking points.”

One political insider made this sensible point to us: Johnson “needs to start expanding his adviser circle, both inside and outside of government, with those who are experienced at governing. None of these folks... have any real experience running executive offices.”

Governing isn’t just managing day-to-day operations at agencies and departments. It’s also how government works in tandem with outside institutions to address broader issues like crime, economic development and the like. The Johnson administration has to remember that City Hall exists to serve and work with all of the city, including people and institutions outside the far-left progressive bubble.

Chicagoans don’t need perfection. But the city does need a smart, balanced approach to running the city.

Mayor Richard M. Daley left Chicago with that accursed parking meter deal, but also gifted us the spectacular Millennium Park. Mayor Lori Lightfoot, for all her combative turns, nicely guided the city through the COVID-19 crisis and took the first real stab at equitable development with her Invest South/West program.

We all depend on government to keep the streets safe, garbage picked up and streetlights on. Chicagoans also want bigger wins — better schools, housing and parks, thriving neighborhoods, a vibrant downtown — the list goes on.

No mayor can do it all. But Chicagoans deserve more successes and fewer blunders.

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