Johnson Is Not Just a Burden For Chicago

I want to call your attention to Ben Krauss’s very interesting post on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson at Matt Yglesias’s Substack. Its key point is that Mr. Johnson is not just failing at being Chicago’s mayor which is bad enough but as the “least popular politician in the country” he’s a burden to progressives and the whole Democratic Party as well. Here’s a snippet:

The story of the teacher union organizer turned failed big-city mayor is easy headline fodder for a right-wing publication like the National Review. But the progressive outlets that once enthusiastically applauded Johnson’s rise have been conspicuously silent on the factors that have led to his downfall. What’s missing is a more rigorous assessment of Johnson’s tenure — one that doesn’t end with the conservative conclusion that all Democratic mayors are doomed to fail, or ignore the fact that Brandon Johnson’s brand of urban governance has clearly not resonated with the people of Chicago.

Here’s the question at the heart of this story: Does Johnson’s shockingly low approval rating stem from a combination of incompetence and problems beyond his control, or does it point to a larger problem within the political coalition that brought him to power? Chicago has seen progressive mayors before, but never one so directly shaped by the powerful Chicago Teachers’ Union and the constellation of organizations that dominate the city’s left-wing politics.

As I’ve tried to make clear here I think that Mr. Johnson’s low popularity is due to a combination of just plain ineptness and his espousing policies that cannot possibly be good for Chicago. Mr. Krauss hits some of the high spots but he ignores some important points.

First, given Chicago’s poor fiscal situation I see no way that the aspirations of the Chicago Teacher’s Union can be met. Under that contract the average CPS teacher’s pay will rise from $86,000 to $114,000 without improvement in outcomes, performance evaluations, or increased oversight. The median will rise to nearly $100,000. That puts many Chicago teachers in the top quintile of earners in Chicago. Simply put Chicago cannot afford that.

Worse still I have no idea how any of those who voted for Brandon Johnson could have expected him to do anything else.

It was reasonable to expect Mr. Johnson’s predecessor to reform the Chicago Police Department. She didn’t. That should not have come as a surprise but it was. That Brandon Johnson should continue to be a CTU organizer and activist even after being elected mayor should not be a surprise, either, but I guess it has been.

Other surprises include Mr. Johnson’s emphasis on providing aid to illegal immigrants, hiring along racial lines, and being proud of it.

I do not see how one can write about Chicago politics without mentioning political corruption but Mr. Krauss manages it. Either he’s unaware of just how corrupt politics is in Chicago or he doesn’t consider it relevant. Featherbedding and “pay to play” are always relevant.

I look forward to how progressives and the Democratic Party at large response to the points made by Mr. Krauss. I suspect I’ll be waiting a long time since they’re a broadside on the progressive agenda.