Divide the pack by their positions on key issues — at a glance. And, read their reasons why.
WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times asked the nine candidates running for mayor to answer 23 questions on important issues, including policing, public safety, city spending, taxes, schools and housing.
The candidates answered “yes” or “no” and were also given the option to provide brief written answers that helped explain their positions. Some candidates gave only a written answer, which is categorized here as “other.”
(Look for our People’s Agenda tag to see public opinion on these issues — drawn from our recent informal survey of nearly 1,700 people.)
Click on a candidate to highlight them as you scroll through the story.
Ja'Mal Green
Community activist
Sophia King
Alderperson
Kam Buckner
State representative
Willie L. Wilson
Businessman
Brandon Johnson
Cook County commissioner
Paul Vallas
Former city budget director
Lori E. Lightfoot
Mayor of Chicago
Roderick T. Sawyer
Alderperson
Jesús "Chuy" García
Congressman
Click on a candidate’s photo to view his or her expanded answer.
1. Would you reverse the policy that makes annual property tax increases automatic and tied to the rate of inflation?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda More than 17% of People’s Agenda survey responses concerned fiscal issues, with more than 100 people mentioning property taxes.
2. Would you set aside funds in the city's budget to continue guaranteed income programs?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda A similar question in our People’s Agenda came from a Near North Side resident: “Do you support a guaranteed basic income for low-income Chicagoans?”
3. Do you commit to paying the city’s required pension payment obligation, even in the face of a fiscal downturn?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda 466 respondents to the People’s Agenda survey mentioned pensions.
4. Would you broaden the city sales tax to include professional services to match the growing shift to a service-oriented economy?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda More than 13% of People’s Agenda survey responses concerned taxes, fines and fees.
5. Would you earmark annual funding to support Chicagoans or visitors seeking abortion and other reproductive health care?
Yes
No
Other
6. Would you support increasing funding to address homelessness by raising the real estate transfer tax on properties valued at more than $1 million?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda Housing was among the top five issues raised so far in the People’s Agenda survey, with nearly 23% of responses. Nearly 16% mentioned homelessness.
7. Would you keep the city’s INVEST South/West program? (If not, please detail your plan for investment in South and West Side neighborhoods.)
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda Economic development was among the top five issues raised so far in the People’s Agenda survey, with more than a quarter of responses concerning economic development. More than 200 responses were related to neighborhood investment.
8. Do you support limiting the control alderpersons have over zoning in their wards?
Yes
No
Other
9. Do you support creating a more independent City Council by allowing it to choose its own committee chairs without mayoral interference, set its own committee agendas and allow the Council to have its own attorney, its own parliamentarian and City Council speaker and president?
Yes
No
Other
10. Would you re-establish a standalone Department of Environment?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda About 13% of People’s Agenda survey responses concern environmental issues.
11. Chicago has more lead pipes than most major U.S. cities, but has been slow to replace them. Would you speed up lead pipe replacement in Chicago?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda “I'd like to hear what the priority is for lead service [line] replacement for each candidate? Considering how lead can harm developing brains, our youth are at risk,” asked one respondent to the People’s Agenda.
12. Would you reopen any of the city’s shuttered mental health clinics?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda About 9% of People’s Agenda survey responses concerned public health, with nearly 100 responses mentioning mental health.
13. Chicago has lowered the threshold for which speed camera tickets could automatically be issued — making it 6 mph over the limit. Would you nix that decision, only fining drivers going 10-mph and over?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda Transportation was the second-biggest issue raised in the People’s Agenda survey, with nearly a third of survey responses referencing it. Nearly 100 responses were about traffic cameras or driving in the city.
14. A moratorium on school closings lifts in 2025. Do you support closing severely under-enrolled schools once the moratorium expires?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda Nearly a quarter of People’s Agenda survey responses concerned education and children, with nearly 100 about equity in education.
15. Once CPS has an elected school board, do you think the school district should be completely financially independent of the city?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda More than 70 People’s Agenda survey responses concerned education funding.
16. Do you believe Chicago Public Schools should remain a system of choice with selective enrollment, magnet and charter schools serving a significant share of students rather than neighborhood schools? (If you would increase or decrease the number of non-neighborhood options, please explain why.)
Yes
No
Other
17. Would you reallocate resources from policing and invest in so-called “root” issues of violence such as housing, mental health, segregation and poverty?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda Crime and public safety was the top issue in the People’s Agenda survey, mentioned in 54 percent of all responses. Nearly 200 responses concern gun violence.
18. Would you support setting up “safe consumption sites” where people use pre-obtained illegal drugs under the supervision of trained health workers?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda A Northwest Side resident responding to the People’s Agenda posed this question: “How will you address the growing problem of opioid-related deaths in the city?”
19. An analysis by the University of Chicago found that CPD deployment does not match up with where most shootings take place. Would you urge the Chicago Police Department to alter its patrol plan, deploying more officers during hours when violence is highest?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda More than 100 People’s Agenda survey responses concerned police staffing and wellness issues.
20. Do police have a place in schools?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda One North Side resident submitted this question: “With the increase in crime nearby/within the areas of CPS schools would you increase the presence of law enforcement?”
21. Chicago has endured an epidemic of police suicides. Should the practice of canceling days off be limited and a ceiling placed on extra hours that Chicago police can work to avoid burnout?
Yes
No
Other
22. No matter who is elected mayor, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown is nearing the end of the typical duration of a superintendent's tenure in Chicago. Should Chicago's next superintendent be chosen from within the ranks of CPD?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda A South Side resident responded to the People’s Agenda with this question: “Can you recruit a police superintendent from within Chicago, not outside of Illinois?”
23. Should the city of Chicago spend $2 billion or more to dome and renovate Soldier Field as a way to convince the Bears to stay in Chicago instead of moving to Arlington Heights?
Yes
No
Other
People's Agenda A North Side respondent to the People’s Agenda asked: “What are your thoughts on the recently unveiled plan to spend $2 billion+ renovating Soldier Field for the Bears?”
Edited by Angela Rozas O’Toole, Tony Arnold and Al Keefe. Development by Jesse Howe. Illustration by Kelsey Johnson. Photography by Ashlee Rezin.
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Dig deeper into the stories and issues animating this year's election — from the newsrooms at the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ.
