Inti Navia 
On February 28th, the run for mayor between nine different candidates came to a close. Kind of.
Between Lori Lightfoot, Ja’mal Green, Jesus Garcia, Sophia King, Roderick Sawyer, Willie Wilson, Kambium Buckner, Brandon Johnson, and Paul Vallas, no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote. What does that mean?
Well, since Vallas received 34 percent of the vote and Johnson got 20 percent, the most out of all the other candidates, a run-off election will have to take place on April 4th. A run-off means that there’s another election, but this time just between Vallas and Johnson. Whoever wins will take office on May 15th.
Out of all the age groups in voter turnout, people between the ages of 18 to 24 were by far the fewest, with only about 10,000 having their voice heard. Now, if you’re 18 or older, you have another chance to choose who leads our city for the next four years.
Here’s a little information about the candidates: Vallas is a white man, who’s labeled as the more right-leaning option by the other candidates, though he’s technically still a democrat. He’s the former chief executive of CPS, and plans to convert failing and un-enrolled schools into Magnet Schools. He’s tough on crime and wants to reinstate the city’s police force to its maximum size.
Johnson, a Black man, wants to explore a different method of getting the city’s crime under control. Rather than hiring more beat cops, he plans on adding two hundred new detectives, improving transit safety, and getting illegal guns off the streets. He has avoided the subject of his safety plan in previous speeches.
Both candidates have far more to them than is stated here, in this article. But please, take the time to do your own research! Vallas and Johnson have very easy access to their issues on their websites. You have time to get early voting in before the April 4th deadline, so go out and have your voice heard. We’re the youth and future of the city, so our votes count.
What do you think of Johnson and Vallas as our mayoral choices? Don’t be afraid to let me know!
By Inti Navia, Senior, ChiArts
All platforms: @intinavia
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