Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has endorsed former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas to be the Windy City’s next mayor — as a poll shows the race tightening ahead of the April 4 vote.
The 78-year-old Durbin — the No. 2 Senate Democrat and the Land of Lincoln’s highest-ranking elected official — said Sunday he thought “long and hard” before deciding to “come off the comfort of the sidelines” and get behind Vallas, who has fought claims he’s a secret Republican as he faces far-left Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson in a runoff to decide who will succeed the ousted Lori Lightfoot in the heavily Democratic city.
“Make no mistake, [Illinois Secretary of State] Jesse White and I would not be here today if we did not believe, in his heart, Paul Vallas is a lifelong Democrat committed to Democratic values,” said Durbin, who added that he had known the 69-year-old Vallas for more than 40 years.
“I believe Paul Vallas can lead Chicago forward and be a bridge to uniting the good people in this city.”
Vallas and Johnson were the top two vote-getters in the Feb. 28 general election ahead of Lightfoot, who had faced backlash over her handling of rising crime in the Second City.
Neither Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker nor Durbin’s fellow Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth have yet weighed in on the mayoral runoff.
Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan has also endorsed Vallas — Duncan’s predecessor as Chicago Public Schools CEO — as has ex-Illinois congressman Bobby Rush, who co-founded Illinois’ chapter of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s.
By contrast, many progressive members of Congress have flocked to endorse Johnson, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), “Squad” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), who also sought the Chicago mayoralty, but only earned around 14% of the general election vote.
A poll published last week shows Vallas leading Johnson by 2.1 percentage points, down from the 5.8 percentage-point gap he enjoyed earlier in March.
“I respect both candidates in the race. And I thought, quite honestly, I know Paul Vallas so well,” Durbin said of his decision. “I didn’t want to lose the fact that — at this moment in history when we need such leadership and innovative thinking in the city of Chicago — we have an extraordinary opportunity.”
“He closed a projected $1.3 billion deficit. He balanced six consecutive budgets. He instituted the largest school construction plan in the nation’s history. He improved test scores and opened the nation’s first public high school military academy,” Durbin added. “He left the district with labor peace, no teachers’ strikes, fully-funded pensions, $1.2 billion in cash reserves.”
Chicago has been beset by its highest homicide rates in a quarter-century, with 695 recorded murders in 2022 and 804 recorded murders in 2021.
“Public safety is the fundamental right of every American,” Vallas told supporters on general election night. “It is a civil right, and it is the principal responsibility of government. We will have a safe Chicago, and we will make Chicago the safest city in America.”
During his campaign, Vallas hit Lightfoot for permitting an “utter breakdown of law and order” on her watch and pledged to fully fund city police departments if elected.
Lightfoot embraced calls to defund law enforcement in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, cutting around $58 million from Chicago’s police budget in 2021.
The lame-duck mayor accused Vallas of using “the ultimate dog whistle” during his campaign by saying his candidacy was about “taking back our city.”
Meanwhile, Johnson — who has received endorsements from many progressive groups — supported the “defund the police” movement in 2020 and has urged further spending on workforce development, housing, transportation and schools.
“What I do know is the city of Chicago needs a better, stronger, safer city. And that means making sure that our schools are fully supported and funded, reliable transportation, good paying jobs, affordable housing, pathway to homeownership,” he told the Chicago Sun-Times in March.
“I mean, these are things that are not extreme or radical ideas. It’s what the families want in the city of Chicago.”