Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has run the Windy City into the ground. He ended the ShotSpotter program, which led to the deaths of dozens of men and boys, most of them black. He attacks the police, calls jailing criminals "unholy," and blames Indiana for the city's gun violence. The city and school district are both running massive budget deficits, and he's raising taxes on residents and businesses.
Despite that, Johnson announced his bid for reelection and said "our work is not done."
That sure sounds like a threat to us.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson just announced that he is seeking a second term on the pitch that "our work is not done." So Chicago will lose the Bears but keep Brandon Johnson? For my hometown, Johnson has been Nero without the musical talent ...
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) September 14, 2026
Turley, who hails from Chicago, is not impressed.
...It appears that Nero simply was not bold enough. With Johnson's skills, he could have run for the head of Rome on such catchy slogans as "more seizures with Caesar" and "smoking hot urban renewal with Nero."
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) September 14, 2026
Mayor Brandon Johnson launched a bid for reelection on Sunday, asking Chicago voters to send him back to City Hall for another four years after he spent his first term battered by outside events and suffering from self-inflicted wounds.
Ahead of his announcement, Johnson told WTTW News that deciding to run for reelection was not a tough decision, saying he is determined to build on what he called the considerable accomplishments of his first term.
“We can’t go backward,” Johnson said, accusing his rivals of wanting to close schools and “militarize our streets.”
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is one of several candidates for mayor to vow to hire 1,000 more police officers. Giannoulias has also said he is prepared to close schools with too few students.
In a video posted early Sunday morning, Johnson vowed to make life in Chicago more affordable and promised “we are just getting started.”
What "considerable accomplishments"?
He lost the Chicago Bears, who are building a new stadium just across the border in friendlier Indiana.
Jonathan when Brandon Johnson says “our work is not done” he’s referring to getting more money for the Chicago Teachers Union ……. https://t.co/egxbtZ5jWV
— Slats Grobnik (@MissinRoyko) September 14, 2026
That's probably true.
It has been 95 years since there's been a Republican mayor in Chicago. How much longer must people wait? Literal definition of insanity to continually vote for Democrats in this s**thole.
— Really, Seriously (@backtobackdawgs) September 14, 2026
We thought Lori Lightfoot was bad.
It would seem improbable that one state could elect a Mayor - Governor - U.S. Senator as incompetent and ineffective as these three but it did and most probably will do it again in November pic.twitter.com/BubUXtvCqf
— Slats Grobnik (@MissinRoyko) September 14, 2026
Illinois really delivered the trifecta on this one.
Brandon Johnson is seeking re-election. No matter how loud he shouts to the contrary, Chicago is NOT more affordable, NOT safer and its schools are NOT better. Things are worse under Johnson. Can he win? Yes, if the voters stay home, again. VOTE. Chicago depends on YOU.…
— Juan Rangel (@JuanRangel) September 13, 2026
In 2023, Johnson beat Paul Vallas, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, by less than five points.