Chicago is a city in crisis as it struggles with wave after wave of violent crime, financial instability, and political turmoil with its embattled leader, Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson fairing no better with his approval rating plummeting to a dismal 14 percent.
In what is a shocking indictment of Johnson’s leadership, nearly 80 percent of Chicago voters appear to have an unfavorable view of their mayor according to a recent Illinois Policy Institute poll.
A staggering 65 percent described their outlook as ‘very unfavorable.’
It is an astonishingly low figure for a man who has only been in office since May 2023 and marks the lowest mayoral approval rating in modern Chicago history.
It is not uncommon for political leaders to experience a decline in public support over time, particularly as they near the end of their term, but Johnson, 48, has endured a torrid tenure as Mayor since his election in 2022 and his near-total collapse in approval this early in his tenure is virtually unheard of.
His unpopularity even surpasses that of the U.S. Congress, which despite years of dysfunction and partisan gridlock still boasts a slightly higher approval rating at 29 percent.
The January poll revealed crime is the top concern for Chicago voters, followed closely by high taxes and mismanagement within city government.
Such issues have defined Johnson’s time in office, and for many, his response has been woefully inadequate.
Johnson’s meteoric rise to power was largely fueled by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), where he previously worked as an organizer.
The union poured millions into his campaign, effectively installing one of their own in the city’s highest office.
While the close relationship managed to secure him strong backing from union loyalists, it appears to have alienated the broader electorate.
The poll revealed that 57 percent of voters are now less likely to support a candidate who takes campaign cash from the CTU, a clear indication that Johnson’s deep ties to the controversial labor organization have become a political liability.
And taxpayers have good reason to be concerned. The CTU has put forward more than 700 new contract demands. If just a fraction are granted it could saddle Chicago Public Schools with a staggering $4 billion deficit by 2029.
Chicago’s projected budget deficit is already a whopping $982.4 million, according to The Civic Federation.
Despite several tactics to save the city from bankruptcy, politicians have failed to get to the root of the issue – increasing pension payments to Chicago’s more than 40,000 public employees.
Under Johnson’s watch, crime has continued to ravage the city, with carjackings, shootings, and rampant theft leaving residents fearful and frustrated.
His reluctance to take a hardline stance against criminal activity has drawn fierce criticism from both citizens and law enforcement officials, further eroding public confidence.
Many of Chicago’s neighborhoods, once vibrant and thriving, have been hollowed out by rising violence and economic instability.
Voters in Chicago, like anywhere else, want to feel safe when they walk down the street.
But Johnson fell into the progressive politician’s trap of going softer on lawbreakers than the public can stomach.
As America grappled with the police killing of George Floyd, Johnson, then Cook County Commissioner, joined others in calls to ‘defund the police.’
He backtracked on this during a mayoral election campaign that pitted him against centrist Democrat Paul Vallas, who vowed to hire more officers amid widespread public safety concerns.
Even so, his mayorship has suffered by a lack of commitment to law and order.
The number of aggravated assaults in Chicago jumped 4 percent to 14,029 between 2023 and 2024, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA).
The numbers of homicides, rapes, and robberies fell slightly, but remains alarmingly high.
Small businesses are shuttering, longtime residents are fleeing, and an increasing number of families are questioning whether the city is still a viable place to build their future.
A lawsuit from last year revealed how from August 2022 to June 2024, over 42,000 migrants entered Chicago, and Johnson spent a staggering $400 million tackling the influx – with a huge percentage going towards private companies.
Fury over Johnson’s approach reached boiling point as residents had an opportunity to make their voices heard directly to the Democrat.
One exasperated woman told him: ‘We’re in a billion-dollar deficit, and you spent half of our money on illegals?’
The lawsuit revealed how the city spent over $400 million on migrants within two years.
According to an investigation from NBC5, the bulk of the money went to private companies that provide services including staffing migrant shelters and creating lease agreements.
A staggering $253 million went to just one company, Kansas-based Favorite Healthcare Staffing, to employ migrant shelters.
And last spring, Johnson revealed that he was seeking $70 million of taxpayer money to help with the budget shortfall caused by the migrants.
Chicago is not the only liberal US city struggling to cope with the influx of immigrants and asylum seekers across the southern border.
But Johnson has struggled especially hard to accommodate the tens of thousands of newcomers who arrived looking for work and schools and without a roof over their heads.
When his administration turned public schools into shelters and doled out apartments to foreigners, residents in the mostly-black affected neighborhoods vented their ire on social media.
In one viral clip, an African-American woman slammed the mayor’s support for asylum seekers, with shelters and $9,000 payouts, saying it was at the expense of the blacks who helped elect him.
‘I don’t understand how they can give these immigrants thousands of dollars in the state of Illinois, but look what they’re doing to our own f******g people,’ said the Chicago woman.
She described seeing ‘Latinos’ arriving in her neighborhood in a ’12-foot box truck,’ using government welfare checks to ‘buy up everything’ and effectively price black residents out.
‘The fact they are here, and our government is giving more to them than to the people who were born here, is really starting to p**s us off,’ she added.
‘Mayor Brandon, we are coming for your a**.’