Chicago City Wire

Chicago Mayoral candidate Willie Wilson is pushing his "hardship plan" as a way to help people avoid getting their power or heat cut off.

"For every piece of new business here that comes into the city of Chicago, we should take 2%, 3%, 5% of new business revenue and use that and call it a 'Hardship Program' to help people to pay their gas, the light bill, save their homes," Wilson said.

According to Fox32, both ComEd and Nicor gas are leading the country in shutting off utilities for people who fail to pay their bills. Combined, both companies cancelled service for at least 224,000 customer in 2022. Both companies increased their cancellation rates from the year before.

The other mayoral candidates are incumbent Lori Lightfoot, Kambium Buckner, Jesus Garcia, Ja’Mal Green, Brandon Johnson, Sophia King, Roderick Sawyer, Paul Vallas and Wilson.

Wilson, a local businessman, has made philanthropy a big part of his platform, frequently staging cash giveaways and other charity events across the city as part of his campaign.

Ballotpedia noted that Lightfoot, Garcia, Johnson and Vallas have done well in polls and had high media attention. Lightfoot won the 2019 mayoral election after defeating 14 candidates during that year’s general election, then defeating candidate Toni Preckwinkle during the April 2 runoff.

According to Crain's Chicago Business, the 74-year-old Wilson built his personal fortune by first owning a chain of McDonald's restaurants and later by selling the eateries to build a business selling plastic gloves to the fast-food giant. He named the new business after his son, Omar, who was murdered at age 20 inside Wilson’s suburban home in 1995, following what Wilson believes was an argument over drugs.