Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Approval Sinks to 6% as Crime, High Taxes Dominate, Remain Top Issues with Voters

By Illinois Review

A new poll commissioned by M3 Strategies shows embattled Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson with an unprecedented 6 percent approval rating – the lowest of any mayor in history. The latest polling represents an 8-point drop since November.

The mayor has struggled with governing since his surprise election, and has faced numerous issues including a migrant crisis, crime, high taxes and a public school system that’s in chaos.

The poll, which was conducted February 20-21, had a few takeaways. 80 percent disapproved of Johnson’s record as mayor, while 71 percent of respondents said they supported Vice President Kamala Harris. 18 percent said they voted for President Donald Trump.

When asked what the top issues were, 67 percent said crime; 54 percent high taxes; 41 percent inflation and 24 percent immigration and border security. Only 11 percent listed racism as a major issue in the city.

After President Donald Trump was elected by an overwhelming majority in November, Johnson called his victory a “threat” to Black families despite Trump earning more support from Black voters than any Republican in nearly 50 years.

In January, Illinois Democratic State Representative La Shawn Ford filed legislation that creates an official mechanism to recall a Chicago Mayor – a measure that he has supported in previous legislative sessions dating back to Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

But the introduction of this legislation has a greater significance this year as Johnson’s approval rating continues to drop. The city’s crime problems, lack of police resources available to protect the community and the migrant crisis is turning residents and his own city council members against him.

Since his surprise election in the Spring of 2023, his administration has been mired in controversy, highlighting his inexperience and inability to manage a big city like Chicago.

In 2023, Mayor Johnson’s Chicago City Council Floor Leader Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward) resigned as leader after bullying Ald. Emma Mitts (37th Ward) during a special meeting to discuss a referendum regarding Chicago’s sanctuary city status.

It’s estimated that over 25,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago in 2023, costing more than $400 million – with 25 buses arriving each day dropping off an average of 1,250 migrants around the city.

In November, the Chicago City Council rejected a $300 million property tax increase proposed by Johnson by a vote of 50-0 – leaving the mayor and his team humiliated and struggling to come up with alternative solutions to address the nearly $1 billion budget shortfall.

The mayor’s office is also dealing with a scandal and includes multiple complaints of racism, sexual harassment, intimidation and misogyny involving his former communications director Ronnie Reese, who was fired last November.

The mayor also regularly invokes racism to avoid answering questions about his administration. In one instance, Mayor Johnson bizarrely compared those who disagreed with him about school spending to slavery, saying, “When our people wanted to be liberated and emancipated in this country, the argument was, ‘you can’t free Black people because it would be too expensive. They said it would be fiscally irresponsible for this country to liberate Black people.”

Nearly two years into his first term, Johnson is already viewed as a lame duck and ineffective mayor – and the numbers prove it. And he’s losing the support of his fellow Democrats on the city council – representing a very bad sign for the embattled mayor as he struggles to find solutions to the city’s most pressing issues.