Chicago City Wire

The candidates in Chicago's mayoral runoff participated in a debate on March 8, during which they answered questions on a range of topics including policing, education and taxes.

Both Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson agreed that public safety was the city's most pressing issue, affecting neighborhoods, public transportation and downtown businesses; a WLS report said. But they offered different solutions to address the problem

"This is why I said from the beginning no matter who wins, even Lightfoot, Paul Vallas was going to be an underdog," Dan Proft, co-host of Chicago's Morning Answer, said during the March 9 show. "People are not, people that are center right, are not fully appreciating the landscape on which Paul Vallas is operating and how he is playing into Brandon Johnson's hands with his pandering on these matters."

During the debate, Johnson repeatedly attacked Vallas on the issues of abortion access, the teaching of Black history in schools and property taxes, accusing him of being a Republican on multiple occasions; the WLS report said. But Vallas, who previously headed Chicago Public Schools, also criticized Johnson, a member of the Chicago Teachers Union, targeting Johnson over school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both Vallas and Johnson addressed concerns about potential undue influence, WLS said. Johnson is backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, while Vallas is supported by the Fraternal Order of Police.

Vallas has proposed several measures to tackle public safety issues in Chicago, including deploying more police officers on CTA platforms and trains, implementing a witness protection program, and assigning more officers to patrol neighborhoods; a recent WLS report said. But Johnson questioned the effectiveness of Vallas' strategy of community policing.

Johnson has suggested promoting 200 officers to detectives as a quick solution, the WLS report said. But he emphasized that the key to addressing public safety issues in impoverished areas is not just to increase the number of police officers, but to invest in those areas.

Johnson is trailing behind Vallas in recent polls.