Chicago City Wire

Former Candidate for Mayor of Chicago William "Dock" Walls, a mentee of former Mayor Harold Washington lambasts Gov. J.B. Pritzker for not keeping his word.

Pritzker is not fully giving attention to the needs of Illinoisans and has not lived up to his promises, according to Walls.

"J.B. Pritzker is an example of that kind of politician who can always only serve one time," Walls said on Brunch Bunch on AM 1390. "He’s done all that he could possibly do. He hasn’t kept a lot of promises. He’s got a super majority in the bicameral House and Senate, and he has not delivered the kinds of things that we really need. Our lives have not gotten better, even though Covid was an interrupter. But despite that, he should have been able to go in and plan infrastructure without putting a tax on poor people. We can’t afford more taxes. So he’s not creative when it comes to that. He throws more money at the problem, but we end up paying that money. So I have a problem with that.”

According to Ebony, Walls is a well-known Chicago activist who ran for mayor for the fourth time in 2019. He also ran in 2007, 2011, and 2015. He worked for Mayor Harold Washington in the 1980s, and he was the political director for Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC).

Brian Mullins is part of a group that is starting the Black Voter Project which says independence around issues is needed in the black community because it tends to vote only Democrat. Mullins told South Cooks News: "The goal is to organize the black voter block in the state of Illinois. So it's a specific media-targeted door-to-door survey and data-driven effort to engage the black electorate in issues relating to the black community. Not Democratic, not Republican, not Independent, specifically not libertarian, but start with the issues so that we can then push people to the right candidate, not a party." 

Mullins said that they decided to undertake this project after witnessing all-around destruction in communities, most of it caused by specific policies. 

Mullins says that most conversations that take place in the black community happen between the black elite and the Democrats, which leaves out 90% of the community. He added the Black vote controls who is elected in Illinois, and he hopes his project will inform Back voters about the best candidate on the matters they care about.

Walls joined the Brunch Bunch on AM 1390, and he said that elections are the only way to hold politicians accountable, and he implored listeners to participate in elections to do so. He says that extremists are controlling politics right now and that the people in the middle are just lost in the shuffle. Walls made the point that if a party can rely on your vote every election, they will just walk all over you and give you nothing in return. Walls then endorsed Stephanie Trussel, who is Darren Bailey's running mate. He said she is "an outstanding human being." Walls also commended Bailey for picking a running mate that has a different constituency base than he does, and he was hopeful for change if Bailey and Trussel were elected. Walls also endorsed Jeff Coleman, who is running for State Rep. in the 29th district, which is the South suburbs. Walls said that Coleman's heart is in the right place and that he is a man of principle who has always fought to make a difference.