Chicago’s 2023 Election Day is Tuesday. Here’s what you should know.

CHICAGO — With Election Day on Tuesday in Chicago, the nine mayoral candidates are crisscrossing the city hoping to persuade the undecided voters.

Rep. Chuy García joined the Friday prayers at the Muslim Community Center on Elston.

He is hoping his progressive bonafides win support from the largest Muslim congregation in the Midwest.

“I have a lot of relationships, long-standing relationships with the Muslim community that contributes so much to the region’s economy,” García said.

Paul Vallas also visited the mosque earlier in the afternoon to make his case for the Muslim vote.

“I am running to offer the leadership the city needs,” Vallas said. “It is needed to ensure that all communities are safe.”

Incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot visited an LGBTQ-owned record store in Andersonville.

In a new video released Friday by her campaign, former Congressman Bobby Rush threw his support at Lightfoot.

Who is running for Chicago mayor in 2023?

There are nine candidates in Chicago’s 2023 mayoral race.

If a candidate doesn’t get more than 50% of the votes on Tuesday, the race will head to a runoff election on April 4.

Who is Lori Lightfoot?

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, 60, is looking to win her second term in the 2023 mayoral race.

Lightfoot became the city’s first female African American and first openly gay mayor when she defeated Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in the 2019 runoff.

She has touted her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that began less than a year into
her term, as well as efforts to invest in underserved neighborhoods on the South and West sides.

Lightfoot notes murders and shootings are down in the past year and has increased funding for community approaches to reducing crime. She has blamed a surge of illegal guns in Chicago, and Cook County judges for putting violent offenders back on the streets.

Since 2019, the department has lost 3,000 officers. Lightfoot appointed David Brown from Dallas to be the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department in 2020.

Who is Jesús “Chuy” García?

At 66 years old, Jesús “Chuy” García is currently serving his third term in Congress. He has previously served as the 22nd Ward alderman, Illinois State Senator and Cook County Commissioner.

He was born in Mexico and moved to the city when he was 10 years old.

During his run for mayor in 2015, García pushed then-incumbent Rahm Emanuel into the city’s first-ever mayoral runoff.

García said he wants police officers to build trust with the community to increase arrests and convictions for murders. He said to do this, he will break up citywide special police teams to put more resources on street patrol.

If elected, García said he will fire CPD Superintendent David Brown immediately, increase mental health resources for officers, and increase hiring for both sworn and civilian positions, though he hasn’t said how many people he would like to hire.

Who is Paul Vallas?

Paul Vallas, 69, is a former CEO of Chicago Public Schools who left in 2001 and went on to lead school districts in Philadelphia, New Orleans and Bridgeport, Connecticut.

He previously ran for Illinois governor in 2002 and was Pat Quinn’s running mate in 2014.

In 2019, he got 5.4% of the vote in the 14-person field in the race for Chicago’s mayor.

Vallas has focused his campaign on the message of reducing crime. He has blamed Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and has advocated for a “public nuisance ordinance” to focus on enforcing and prosecuting misdemeanor crimes Foxx does not.

He has also said he will fire Superintendent Brown immediately.

Vallas said he wants to stop merit promotions within the Chicago Police Department, bring back retired officers for extra support and build staffing to 13,500 sworn officers.

Who is Brandon Johnson?

Brandon Johnson, 46, is a Cook County Commissioner who was first elected in 2018.

Before being elected, Johnson was a Chicago Public Schools teacher and organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union.

Johnson wants to create the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety to work on violence prevention with all agencies, cancel the city’s ShotSpotter contract and reopen mental health centers.

Like other candidates, Johnson wants to fire Brown. He hasn’t committed to filling officer vacancies but said he wants to promote and train 200 detectives from within the department.

Johnson denies wanting to “defund” the police department, despite past support for the movement, and said he wants to invest in people instead.

His endorsements include the Chicago Teacher’s Union, American Federation of Teachers and Service Employees International Union.

Who is Willie Wilson?

Willie Wilson, 74, has run for Chicago mayor in 2015 and 2019, President in 2016 and U.S. Senate in 2020.

Wilson is a businessman who owns several McDonald’s franchises and a medical supply company distributing latex gloves and other materials.

He is known to self-fund his campaign and has given away cash, gas, groceries and more.

In order to slow crime rates, Wilson has proposed dividing the city into four sections with a different superintendent in each area. He said he wants the entire police department to focus on gangs, guns and drugs, as well as invest in more technology, like cameras and license plate readers.

Wilson has repeatedly defended his comments during a mayoral debate saying the city needs to take “the handcuffs” off police officers and let them hunt “people down like rabbits.” He has proposed several personnel policy changes, like temporarily raising the retirement age and revisiting the merit promotion program.

Who is Sophia King?

Sophia King, 56, has served as the 4th Ward alderwoman for the last seven years. She was appointed to the vacant seat in 2016, won a special election to keep it and went on to win a full term in 2019.

Before joining city council, King served as president of the Kenwood Park Advisory Council and helped co-found the Ariel Community Academy. She also taught at the Latin School and was the founder of the non-profit Harriet’s Daughters.

King wants to create an Office of Gun Violence Prevention and offer more incentives for youth employment to help reduce crime rates.

She wants to disband citywide task forces at the city’s police department, create a reserve unit of retired officers for “non-dangerous duties,” and pledges to propose schedule changes to give officers more time off.

King has said she wants to add 200 more detectives to Chicago’s police force to help with low clearance rates.

Who is Kam Buckner?

Kam Buckner, 37, is an Illinois State Representative and has served since 2019. His district serves Chicago’s downtown, River North, South Loop, Kenwood and South Shore areas.

He was a lead negotiator of the SAFE-T Act and a bill to ban ghost guns.

Before he was elected, Buckner was the executive director of World Sports Chicago, worked in the Cubs front office in neighborhood relations, and worked for Dick Durbin and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

Buckner said he wants to create a criminal justice coordinating committee and partner with Chicago schools and colleges to engage with youth and recruitment. He wants to increase funding for violence prevention programs and implement a program to divert non-violent offenders to programs and create jobs.

He said he will fill police vacancies within two years and redraw police district maps to better reflect crime patterns. Buckner has promised more transparency with use-of-force incidents and monthly clearance rates.

Who is Roderick Sawyer?

At 59, Sawyer is the alderman serving the city’s 6th ward since 2011. He is the son of former alderman and Mayor Eugene Sawyer.

Sawyer said he wants to increase transparency for crime data and keep more officers in their assigned districts.

To help respond to 911 calls, Sawyer wants to put more resources into the Crisis Response program, recruit 1,000 officers and rehire retired officers. He has proposed several perks for new officers meant to boost recruitment, like interest-free home loans and scholarship programs for children.

He has clashed with Lightfoot over his efforts to bring more oversight to the police department.

Who is Ja’Mal Green?

At 27, Green is the youngest candidate in Chicago’s mayoral race. He has made a name for himself as a community activist and entrepreneur.

Green runs My Turn to Own, a non-profit helping boost homeownership by working with banks for financing. He also owns a marketing firm to help get small businesses COVID-19 loans.

He ran for mayor in 2019 but withdrew amidst a petition challenge from Willie Wilson.

Green has said public safety is his number one priority. He said he wants a holistic approach to prevent young people from committing crimes and create a new Youth Intervention Department.

At the police department, Green said he will have a zero tolerance for officers who break the rules. He also wants to change the officers’ work schedule to increase time for mental health on days off.