2 years after inauguration, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he thinks his poll numbers will bounce back
As Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson marks two years in office this week, he talked about his swings, his misses, and why he thinks his poll numbers will likely rebound.
Currently, Mayor Johnson has strong crime numbers to boast about — a 24% drop in homicides since taking office. But his poll numbers are currently terrible, and some of his handpicked leaders in the City Council even say he is trending toward becoming a one-term mayor.
Mayor Johnson is a big basketball fan, and his term is now at the equivalent of halftime of a game. He was asked if he is leading or trailing?
"I think the people of Chicago are certainly winning," the mayor said. "You cannot argue about safety in this city as we drive violence down. You can't argue that we're not building affordable homes, because we're doing that."
But again, some in the City Council do not agree that Mayor Johnson's term has been a success so far. The mayor's head of the City Council Education and Child Development Committee, Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) said she is not sure the mayor can turn it around, and others think he is on track not to win a second term.
"The opinion of our work doesn't just rest on one particular chamber or one individual," Johnson said.
In November of last year, CBS News Chicago asked Mayor Johnson to give himself a grade on how he was doing. His response was: "It's good that I'm the mayor of the City of Chicago, and I don't have to do anything you ask me to, quite frankly, right?"
Laughing six months later at his own response, Mayor Johnson said he would now answer the question "differently than that."
But the mayor said, "I still don't think that it's necessary to offer a grade."
Over the past two years, there have been lots of moments both good and bad for Mayor Johnson.
Early on in his term in 2023, Mayor Johnson had to manage a situation where thousands of migrants were left sleeping on the floors of police stations. He hosted the Democratic National Convention last year. He lost his signature Bring Chicago Home ballot referendum that would have raised the transfer tax on million-dollar homes to fight homelessness was defeated.
The mayor held his own during a grilling on Capitol Hill about sanctuary city policies. He had public fights with Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Pedro Martinez, and struck a contract with the Chicago Teachers Union.
The mayor's record also includes a broken promise to hold the line on property taxes, and a city budget facing a fiscal cliff.
The mayor also developed a chilly relationship with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and has seen some brutal poll numbers — some as low as 14% approval.
When asked how he looked at those numbers, Johnson was quick to pivot to his success in reducing violent crime.
"You're asking me as mayor of the City of Chicago to just blow past the fact that violent crime is down in Chicago," Johnson said. "What I'm saying, though, is look, if you want me to spend time thinking about things that that, quite frankly, don't improve the quality of life for people, I'm not going to do that."
The mayor believes that as crime numbers remain low, his approval numbers will likely improve.
"Look, I don't become mayor of the city of Chicago without some level of political astuteness, right?" he said. "I do believe that there is a lag — I get what you're getting at — but eventually, I believe that the lag, that people will catch up to what's actually happening."
The two sides of the coin when it comes to the mayor's popularity are stark. Mayor Johnson said his accomplishments, in addition to crime statistics improving, also include more behavioral services for residents and a focus on youth employment.
But he was called the worst mayor in America by the Wall Street Journal.
As for regrets, he cited just one.
"Look, if there's one thing that I do, you know, regret, that in the midst of me standing up government two years ago — what I didn't do, I didn't do a good enough job at effectively communicating with the very coalition that elected me," Johnson said.
Part of the mayor's effort to improve communication is more interviews with the news media, more community engagement, and a bet that crime numbers remain low as we enter summer.
Mayor Johnson says he's considering a trip to Rome to meet with Pope Leo XIV
As to his favorite day in office yet, Mayor Johnson said it was just this past Thursday, when Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, was elected to head the Catholic Church.
"My phone is blowing up. I'm getting text messages," he said. "So people are saying congratulations, but I'm working, right? So I'm not quite sure what had happened."
Mayor Johnson said there is talk of going to Rome to meet with the new pope.
"There's a desire for me to lead a delegation in the future," he said.
Mayor Johnson said he is considering going to the Vatican because he is not sure when Pope Leo XIV is coming to America.
"If we can't get him here in short order, I'm going to work with some folks to see if we can go meet the pope," he said.
How quickly could the mayor set up such a trip?
"The summer is one thing, but if we can, you know, figure it out before the year ends, that would be great," Mayor Johnson said.
