Natalia Chi
In a particularly heated forum, Chicago mayoral candidates Paul Ballas and Brandon Johnson repeatedly clashed over economic policies, school closures, and street violence.
Vallas, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, repeatedly spoke out, telling Cook County Commissioner and Chicago Teachers Union organizer Johnson at Saturday’s debate hosted by the Coalition of African American Leaders at Kenwood Academy High School. I told him not to lecture.
One flare-up occurred when Johnson attacked Varras for his past remarks. Vallas hinted that critical race theory in school hurt families and stressed more important subjects.
“Look, I don’t know what’s on Paul’s mind, I don’t know,” said Johnson. That’s a problem when you talk about racial theories that are so critical.”
In one of his strongest rebuttals to Johnson since the runoff period began, Vallas continued to expand black history education in schools as head of the CPS and then keep the schools closed. He responded that he had shifted his focus to criticizing the CTU for its actions. Harmful black and brown students. He cited declining student enrollment and absenteeism.
“Don’t tell me you care about the community,” Valas said, his voice cracking. “The destructive leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union has been a major cause of the devastation that has wrought upon the school district over the last decade, and it has taken its toll on generations.”
Vallas then defended his term by leading troubled school districts, like New Orleans and Haiti after Hurricane Katrina.
“Don’t preach to me about going to the toughest conditions, like a city like New Orleans where public schools are destroyed.” I did.”
Before moving on, the moderators mentioned how far the two candidates were from the first topic. “The questions were about black history and Chicago public schools.”
In a separate exchange spurred by questions about prioritizing city contracts for minority-owned businesses, Johnson launched a ferocious assault on Vallas’ record-breaking school district, which spans four cities, threatening blacks. It called into question the integrity of Valas’ pledge to create a dedicated office.People.
“Now I appreciate Paul’s desire and commitment to the office for black people. I wish he had the same perspective when he was privatizing public schools,” Johnson said under Ballas. said before lamenting the “drain” of black female teachers in
Mr Johnson continues: … He’s sick of the idea that he somehow believes in black economic justice but doesn’t actually want to see black people learn black history. ”
Vallas was energized when he took the mic and addressed opponents about extending COVID-19-related school closures during the CTU’s opposition to a return to in-person learning.
CTU has “the most expensive contract in history” but never added “one minute to a school day,” Vallas said. He said the union “is still on strike” and celebrated the teachers’ strike “along with brothers in other cities who are striking and pushing literally hundreds of thousands of children out of school”. He added that there are
Valas then emphasized his claim that many young people who were murdered “didn’t go to school,” confirming the effect between each word.
“The rate of homicide by students, school-age students, is skyrocketing,” Vallas said, reiterating that almost all of those young people were out of school.
After Mr. Johnson rolled his eyes and turned to the moderator, the discussion proceeded.
Both candidates were asked to name specific disagreements with large labor supporters of the Chicago Teachers’ Union or the Fraternity of Police Lodge 7, who supported Johnson and Barras respectively.
Vallas said he did not agree with the “rhetoric” of the police union, led by conservative agitator John Catanzara, and said he would support the consent order governing the Chicago Police Department despite resistance from the FOP.
“Are we talking about commoners or FOP?” Valas began. “I think it’s rhetoric. It’s just the rhetoric conveyed by the FOP that comes out. I think there’s obviously a lot of opposition to the specific enhanced accountability clauses that need to be implemented.”
Johnson said he was the mayor for all and that he was in the best position to break the news if school districts were unable to meet all of the union’s demands.
“There may be a point in the negotiations where the Chicago Teachers Union fights for more resources — we may not be able to do that,” Johnson said. Who better to tell a friend bad news than a friend?”
Mr. Ballas also hit back at Mr. Johnson by saying it would take two years to hire the police and take them to the streets. Leadership and budget constraints.
“Don’t talk about things you don’t know,” said Valas. “He has four police officers in my family…I know how long it takes to deploy the police.”
Johnson sought a fact-check for Valas following accusations that Johnson wanted to introduce a city income tax, which Johnson denied. Said we should try again.
The commissioner said news outlets that reported he was trying to impose a 3.5% tax on people with incomes above $100,000 had since retracted the headline. “When a black man tells you the truth, trust us,” he demanded.
“Don’t shake your head, say yes, Paul,” Johnson added.
Johnson deflected questions about aldermen’s privileges, a tradition in which councilors have almost total control over their boroughs, by talking about the need for cooperation.
Vallas, on the other hand, said he believes in “elder input” but reserves the right to overrule council members. He said the city council needs to be given more independence before making a glaring comparison.
“Sometimes you have Caesar Augustus, sometimes you have Tiberius and Caligula,” said Valas.
