- Credibility:
EDISON PARK — Most of the city’s Far Northwest Side aldermen are throwing their support behind Paul Vallas for mayor.
Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st) was the first alderman to endorse Vallas at the end of January.
Alds. Samantha Nugent (39th), Nick Sposato (38th) and Ald. Felix Cardona (31st) have endorsed Vallas since he made the April 4 runoff. Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) has not made a public endorsement but told attendees at a February 45th Ward candidate forum that people “should strongly consider Vallas.”
Willie Wilson, who at the time was still in the running, donated $6,000 to Gardiner’s reelection campaign, election records show.
Vallas is facing Brandon Johnson in the April 4 runoff.
Northwest Side aldermen said they support Vallas’ plans to combat crime, increase police presence and restore trust with the community and police department.
“The person to best lead the city is Paul Vallas,” Sposato said. “I think he’s much more of a pro-public safety, pro-police guy.”
Although he’s friends with both candidates, Sposato said Vallas’ experience and campaign platform is the better choice and can help fix policing, crime and education issues in the city.
In the Feb. 28 election, Far Northwest Side voters overwhelmingly backed Vallas.
Wards 38, 39, 41 and 45 saw some of the strongest voter turnout in the city, ranging from 35-45 percent, data shows.
“Paul Vallas has the experience and a plan to move Chicago in the right direction,” Napolitano said on Facebook in January. “Most importantly, Paul’s plan starts with a safer Chicago by rebuilding our police department [and] bringing more police officers to every police district.”
Six South and West Side aldermen endorsed Vallas last week for the same reasons.
Improving public safety and reducing crime has emerged as one of the most pressing issues in the election. Vallas has pledged to rehire retired police officers and reinstate “beat integrity,” where officers consistently work in the same districts and neighborhoods.
Police recruitment has been a struggle for the city in recent years. When the police entry exam was offered over four months in 2021, only 3,800 people took it — compared to as many as 22,000 applicants in previous years, CNN reported.
Vallas has also proposed adding uniformed police officers to CTA stations and running two police academy classes in one year to get more officers on the streets quickly.
“Public safety is the No. 1 priority, but public safety with full accountability. Public safety with the full implementation of a concentricity. Public safety that is accountable. Public safety that has zero tolerance for misconduct. That’ll be my administration,” Vallas said last week.
Johnson has been targeted by Vallas for comments he made about the movement to defund the police in 2020. He later said he never supported defunding the police and would not cut Police Department funding if elected.
Vallas has also received endorsements from the Fraternal Order of Police and other law enforcement groups.
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