How’s everyone’s weekend going? Thanks for spending a portion of it with the Six.
There’s an often repeated phrase at the end of political campaigns. How one views the expression––with cynicism or optimism––depends on the outcome.
That phrase:
Elections have consequences
The City of Chicago is four weeks away from an election to choose its next mayor. Two candidates emerged from the Feb. 28 election who will compete in the run off. There are clear consequences to voting in one of the candidates. For the other, repercussions are not as clear.
Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas are the two men that will face off in the April 4 runoff. Johnson, a Black Cook County Commissioner, reportedly received millions in campaign funding from the Chicago Teacher’s Union in the general election (don’t be surprised when other public section unions fall line to support Johnson). He has already said he will tax wealthier Chicagoans and believes in fighting crime with community control rather then hire more police. Johnson is a progressive with an agenda, a candidate that has a unclouded vision of how he wants the city to look under his stewardship. He communicates this vision with authority and has galvanized a voting base. Taking ideology off the table, and speaking only of optics and momentum, Johnson is a formidable candidate.
But assuming Johnson follows through on his campaign rhetoric, there are consequences to voting for him: less police, higher taxes.
His opponent in the mayoral run off, Vallas, advanced with a tough-on-crime-I’m-the-experienced-professional-White-guy campaign. In 2019, Chicagoans rejected that identity. Four years later, they now see the value in a grown up running the city as opposed to the immature, hostile Lori Lightfoot, who finished a distant third in the Feb. 28 voting.
And while there is no debate on who Johnson is and what he stands for, Vallas’s ideological leanings are a bit more unclear.
In his victory speech Tuesday night, Vallas made clear his party affiliation, saying “I am a lifelong Democrat.” He then rattled off his support for traditional democratic social causes like abortion (Vallas is pro-choice) and gay marriage.
“You cannot erase the record. Public service is in my DNA,” Vallas told a roomful of supporters.
But that long record of public service––budget director for former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, head of Chicago Public Schools––may end up being Vallas’s worst enemy.
During a 2009 interview while serving as a school superintendent in Louisiana, Vallas candidly admitted, “I am more of a Republican than a Democrat now.” When asked what affiliate he would choose if running for office again, he stated, “…I would be running as a Republican.” Later that year, Vallas told Chicago-based reporters he planned to run for President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners––as a Republican.
Conservative radio host Dan Proft has told the story of how Vallas, years ago, asked for a meeting with billionaire businessman Dick Uihlein, well known for his financing of Republican political campaigns.
All of these actions raise the question: just who is Paul Vallas? Is he the candidate running for mayor of Chicago in 2023 or when in office, will he become another version of the decades-long “public servant” who once flip-flopped party affiliation?
These are legitimate questions for voters and expect Johnson to seize the opportunity to paint Vallas as a “whichever way the wind blows” opportunist.
Voters have four weeks to decide if they trust the 2023 version of Vallas.
We can be more certain who the other guy––Johnson––is. A charismatic candidate with a socialist platform.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
1. How Chicago Mayoral Candidates View Education.
Crime is always a hot topic in urban city mayoral campaigns. But so is education. Before the run off, the publication Chalkbeat Chicago asked the candidates a series of questions about their views on public school education. This article curates those answers and gives readers an idea of the stark contrast between Vallas and Johnson on an issue that will be front and center until the April 4 election.
2. 10 Covid Theories Now Debunked.
Remember the time when public health officials told the nation that standing six feet from someone would slow transmission of the “deadly COVID-19 virus” and help “save lives?” Or the one about closing schools to “protect our children?” A doozy…how any data contradicting those claims was harmful and labeled “misinformation?” We are approaching the three year anniversary when such theories first floated into the culture and accepted by the medical, education and political establishment. The NY Post put together a list of the 10 most ridiculous myths that have now been debunked.
3. Valuable Michael Jordan Sneaker Collection to Sell at Auction.
Product scarcity combined with technological innovation drive most markets and selling sneakers online has become quite the racket, an industry onto itself. The original shoe line that started the Sneaker Revolution are Air Jordans. This past week, auction house Sotheby’s displayed what they say are the most valuable collection of AJ’s in history. "The Dynasty Collection" consists of six single Air Jordan sneakers, worn by Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan in each title-clinching game between 1991-98. One sneaker collector claims the set would fetch between $20 and $100 million. "It's as rare as rare gets," he said. CBS MarketWatch with more on the story.
4. Americans More Active Than Ever, Racquet Sports Booming.
People need to wear sneakers and more than ever, they are doing it with a racquet in their hands. According to this piece in Sportico, Americans are more active than they were six years ago. The effect was most remarkable among kids and among those over the age of 65. About 51.7 percent of the country participates in at least one particular physical activity with frequency. Comparing the growth in popularity of different specific sports from 2019 to today, individual and racquet-based sports are up big, including bicycling (up 10.6 percent), trail running (up 21 percent), skateboarding (up 36 percent), surfing (up 25 percent), tennis (up 33 percent) and naturally pickleball (up 159 percent). Less popular over the same period? Group aerobics, stationary cycling, cross-training, and boot camp-style training. As a longtime racquetball player, I can vouch for the therapeutic benefits of bashing a rubber ball against a wall over and over again.
5. Dishonor Code: What Happens When Cheating Becomes the Norm?
The year I graduated college, I got my first email address via AOL (anyone born before 1980 likely remembers getting in the mail the bulky multi-colored package with the floppy disk advertising “15 hours free…a $40 value!”) With no means to communicate other than Ma Bell––having shared a house phone with family and roommates up until my mid-20’s––I missed the entire School Cheat 2.0 movement (you know, using the internet and all that). Cheating on school work in the ‘80s and early ‘90s took industrious planning and scheming; the chance of getting caught only added to the intrigue (at least from the stories I heard…) Kids today can just voice a question into ChatGPT or crowd source a group text. This excellent story via The Free Press tells a affecting tale of the edification of cheating from the academic establishment. It’s not just the students anymore; teachers are giving up enforcing rules on clean schoolwork: “Professors just don’t care.”
6. Hungry Bulldog Just Won’t Give Up the Knife.
A Los Angeles-based english bulldog named Fendi is put on a diet by her owners. If there’s one thing we know about hungry pets…they are prone to unpredictable behavior! Watch Fendi get chased around the house with a sharp utensil in her mouth. The accompanying Spanish-language commentary adds color to the humorous household chaos. I mean, who hasn’t had to rescue a knife from the jaws of a lumpy bulldog?
Thanks for reading everybody and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Have a suggestion for The Sunday Six? Send email to jonjkerr@gmail.com