Chicago Mayor Johnson seeks to turn a new page in progressive politics
The Chicago mayoral election is less than six months away, with over a dozen candidates in the race. The real question on everyone's mind is: will Mayor Brandon Johnson run for reelection?
He has yet to announce. However, his political organization invited supporters to a "special announcement" on Sunday, Sept. 13.
In his first sit-down interview since the announcement, Johnson offered a strong hint about his plans.
"I'm going to address the people of Chicago around my future and the future of our city," Mayor Johnson told CBS Chicago Political Reporter Chris Tye on "The Angle," referring to Sept. 13.
The Angle Insiders have no doubt about the mayor's plans.
"He's running," said political consultant Delmarie Cobb.
"Unless he's the best actor I've ever seen, he's running," said Pat Brady, former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party.
Speaking with Tye, Johnson reflected on his term, touting his progressive program of investments in affordable housing, youth programs, and mental health facilities, as well as increased tourism and historic lows in violence.
"I made a commitment to build the safest, most affordable big city in America, and we're doing that," he said.
Historic homicide drop
Johnson emphasized that under his administration, the city has seen a historic, multi-year downward trend in citywide gun violence and violent crime. July 2026 marked the lowest number of homicides in any July in over 50 years.
"There's no administration in modern history that can say they have overseen the city at a time in which our economy is growing, and violence is going down," he said.
Meanwhile, homicides remain heavily concentrated in specific communities on the South and West Sides.
Just last weekend, the city saw its worst mass shooting of the year, killing one person and injuring 14 in Washington Park.
Johnson called the shooting an "act of terror" that created a "great deal of trauma." City leaders have opened an emergency assistance center for those affected.
"The data, as we've reported extensively, shows 60-year, record-low numbers," Tye said. "How do you square the idea that the data is there, but a lot of people don't feel safe?"
"It's going to take time for things to adjust," Johnson said. "It's not just about the absence of violence; it's about the presence of violence. Material conditions have to change. That's why I talk about safe and affordable."
One study found that localized economic stability can take several years to build trust within communities and scale effectively. The study indicated that long-term investments addressing root causes, such as investments in public education, can take up to 10 years and have what's called a "time release" effect.
Investment vs. polling
Johnson emphasized that he has focused his investments in the same neighborhoods where violence persists — areas that have been disenfranchised for decades.
"You're not going to undo 40 years of disinvestment in three and a half, but we certainly are moving in the right direction," Johnson said.
The mayor has helped invest in neighborhood and community projects, revitalized commercial corridors on the South and West Sides, and launched opportunity funds for small businesses.
"We're seeing pockets of the city of Chicago reemerge," Johnson said.
The Johnson administration noted that it has invested $2 billion into the West Side and has driven $2.6 billion in South Side investment, including youth employment and opening mental health clinics. The mayor also helped open the first hospital on the South Side in over 100 years in the form of a $300 million replacement for Advocate Trinity Hospital.
Johnson said that Chicago hotels also have 90% occupancy, that O'Hare International Airport is the busiest airport, and that the "Magnificent Mile is back."
"Is it frustrating that your poll numbers aren't better, given that?" Tye asked.
A University of Chicago poll found that 13.6% of Chicagoans want him to run for re-election.
Johnson called the numbers "noise," instead focusing on the stories Chicagoans tell him.
"I met with someone the other day who spends $1,800 a month on rent, and he and his wife barely have enough money for their two daughters at the end of the month. That's what my focus has been on," he said.
Digging into why poll numbers might not reflect his accomplishments, Tye brought that question to Angle Insiders after the interview with Johnson.
Cobb argued that change is felt within the communities getting investment. Chicago has only had four Black mayors in its history. Harold Washington, the first, was the only one to win a second term, but he died suddenly in office about five months into that term in November 1987.
"I often talk about when Rahm Emanuel was mayor, his measurement of success was the number of cranes in the city of Chicago. The cranes weren't in Black and Brown communities, in poor communities," Cobb said. "What you have now are groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings in Black and Brown communities almost every week," she said.
Brady pushed back and asked, "Do you think that's cutting through?" He cited polling showing that even among Black and Brown voters, Johnson's approval was low.
Cobb disagreed.
"You can't really determine that because those poll numbers are not always accurate, especially when it comes to the Black community," she said.
Brady argued that the mayor's polling numbers reflect his governmental relationships.
"In my opinion, once you get beyond the campaign, you've got to govern, you've got to build alliances at city council, you've got to get your budget through, and it's not all about progressive programs," he said.
Johnson told Tye that those progressive programs are not just working but outperforming what the administration initially projected. According to the city's 2026 Mid-Year Budget Report, several structural, progressive revenue measures have "exceeded expectations," including the online sports wagering and the social media amusement tax.
The mayor also criticized the alderpeople who created last year's budget despite his objections, and in the past has frequently called them "corporate-aligned."
Progressive politics
Many of Mayor Johnson's progressive wins came to fruition with the help of the City Council's Democratic Socialist Caucus, a six-member bloc that helped expand paid leave for city workers and advance the phaseout of the tipped minimum wage.
But the mayor has also seen some of his progressive proposals fail. At the start of Johnson's term, his two biggest progressive initiatives, Bring Chicago Home and the Head Tax, were both defeated.
Bring Chicago Home, a referendum to raise taxes on the sales of million-dollar properties to help fund efforts to fight homelessness, was struck down by voters by 52.7% in 2024.
A coalition of real estate and business groups sought unsuccessfully to block the question from the ballot, claiming it is unconstitutional, but it was allowed to remain after the Illinois Supreme Court declined to take up a lower court ruling in favor of the referendum.
Johnson emphasized his successes, particularly when it came to the budget.
"Listen, 98% of my budget was actually implemented. In most scenarios, if someone receives a 98% we usually call that an A," Johnson said. "Having a debate over 1.667% of the budget, I'm not saying that it's a worthwhile time. What I am saying, though, is at least we know that the structural changes that I put into place, they have worked."
Mayor Johnson announced his 2027 budget proposal on the same day as his interview with CBS News Chicago.
An expected $1.2 billion deficit was actually $800 million.
"So, $400 million better than we thought we were going to be," Tye said. "But there are questions about what you're going to pitch to get us where we need to go. Are you going to bring back the corporate head tax concept or the Bring Chicago Home concept?"
"Are there conversations still to be had about progressive revenue? Absolutely, but that also includes the state of Illinois. We're not the only body of government that's dealing with these material challenges," he said. "It's going to take all of us: Democrats fighting for working people, challenging big corporations and the ultra-rich to finally pay their fair share in taxes."
Brady called the head tax a "job killer."
"We need more taxpayers, not more taxes," Brady argued.
In the interview with Tye, Johnson pointed out that Chicago has been the top destination for corporate headquarters relocations for 13 years in a row.
Cobb noted that Chicago had a head tax for nearly 40 years.
"There was a reason you can't take $50 million out of a budget every year and then not find a place to increase the money to replace that money that you took out," Cobb said.
What's next?
"This is not the conversation that you were having 10 years ago. We were talking about cuts, closures, consolidations, efficiencies, austere budgets that have been brought to us by neoliberals that led to the massive school closures, the closing of public mental health clinics, the shuttering of public housing. We have clearly turned the page," Johnson said.
"And what's the next page look like?" Tye asked.
"I'm focused on governing, and on the 13th, we'll address the people of Chicago," he said.
Until then, Chicago voters are left waiting.
