Brandon Johnson has been elected mayor of Chicago after defeating Paul Vallas, the Fraternal Order of Police-backed candidate.

Johnson, a Cook County Board member, said “With our voices and our hopes, we have ushered in a new chapter in our city’s history. And now, Chicago will begin to work for the people—all of the people.† He succeeds Lorie Lightfoot, who served only one term.



He will be sworn in on May 15.

Johnson, 47, a former teacher in the Cabrini-Green, a housing project on Chicago’s Northside, was supported by the Chicago Teachers Union and Black voters, receiving 286,647 or 51.42 percent of the vote to Vallas’ 48.58 percent, or 270,775 votes. 

Some 1,587,152 people were registered to vote, but only 558,542 turned out to vote, according to the Chicago Board of Elections, based on data from 1286 of 1291 precincts reporting. As of April 6, there were 76,641 outstanding mail-in ballots and 2,006 provisional ballots yet to be counted.

Provisional ballots ensure that voters are not excluded from the voting process due to administrative error. They provide a fail-safe mechanism for voters who arrive at the polls on Election Day and whose eligibility to vote is uncertain. The Chicago Board of Elections Web page provides a general overview of state provisional ballot laws and practices: chicagoelections.gov

Vallas, a law-and-order candidate who wanted more police on the streets, conceded the election early, surprising many media reporters who were assured he would win. He also served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools.

One reporter for WGN-TV in Chicago said “We really messed up in deciding that the outcome would put Vallas into the mayor’s office.” 

Johnson has a long-term solution that will provide a safe city for all residents. During his campaign, he said he wants investments in economic development, affordable housing, and accessible mental health services. 

“We tend to limit our conversations around toughness and more police officers, and what has been proven over and over again is that this approach has not been a recipe for absolute success,†he said.

John Catanzara, president of Lodge 7 of the FOP, predicted that “blood would flow in the streets” and that many officers might quit the police department if Johnson were elected.

Johnson carried Chicago’s South and West sides as well as the Lakefront wards 46, 48, and 49. He also took the 9^th ward where Alderman Anthony Beale backed Vallas.

Black officials who supported Vallas may face a reckoning in future elections.



Blacks now are mayors of some of the nation’s largest cities. They include New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.