Lake County Gazette

State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) has put his support behind Brandon Johnson’s campaign to become the next mayor of Chicago.

Johnson is Cook County Commissioner for the 1st District.

“With the many issues facing Chicago, @Brandon4Chicago is far and away the best choice to be its next Mayor," Morgan said in a Twitter post. "If you care about protecting reproductive health, combatting extreme anti-LGBTQ orgs, and supporting public education, vote 4 Brandon, Chi-town!”

Johnson, a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer and teacher, has heavy support from the union. The CTU has funded the bulk of his campaign. Johnson recently received another $1.5 million from the Chicago Teachers Union. It voted to raise member dues by $8 per month through June of 2023 just to support Johnson’s candidacy. Of the nearly $5 million donated to Johnson’s campaign, around 65 percent have come from government sector unions. Johnson is also employed by the CTU which has paid him over $390,000 for being a “legislative coordinator,” Illinois Policy reported.

Others have called the CTU “a political party with a very strict agenda,” Chicago City Wire reported. The union boasts around 25,000 dues-paying employees in Chicago Public Schools, the third largest public school system in charge of 360,000 students across more than 6,000 schools in Chicago. The CTU has been borrowing money against future dues to support Johnson’s candidacy. 

Before the Feb. 28 primary Johnson had received over $1 million in campaign cash from the CTU. He also received over $1 million from the American Federation of Teachers and $440,000 from the Illinois Federation of Teachers, according to Chicago Tribune.

Paul Vallas, the top vote-getter in the Feb. 28 mayoral race, was formerly the head of the CPS. In early 2022 he said the CTU has too much control over the lives of Chicago’s children, calling the union’s influence an “almost totalitarian school system.” Vallas, a southside native who grew up in the Roseland neighborhood, was CPS’s chief from 1995 to 2001. He has been critical of the school’s leadership in recent years. 

Vallas previously told Chicago’s Morning Answer "The union has been radicalized. They decided to wrap themselves in the mantle of the progressive movement. That's why a lot of times they are pursuing things in negotiations that are totally unrelated to the basic responsibilities of the schools which are to provide a quality education, to keep these buildings open." He has called for CPS to be broken down into more manageable units.