Mayor Johnson’s 6% Approval Shows: Race-Baiting Can’t Cover up Epic Public Safety Failure

By Illinois Review

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson escalated his rhetoric in Washington last week, framing criticism of his administration and national policy debates through the lens of race. Speaking at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation gathering on Friday, Johnson told a mostly Black audience that recent pushback against progressive mayors was racially motivated.

“I just want to lift up the fact that the very places that are under attack are all spaces that are led by Black leaders,” Johnson said, according to Politico’s Illinois Playbook. “We just got to name it. I know we know that, but I want to say it out loud that it’s very intentional, because there is an extremism in this country that has not accepted the results of the Civil War and they’re fully engaged in the rematch.”

Johnson’s remarks came on the heels of a Department of Homeland Security operation in downtown Chicago, where federal immigration officers patrolled areas along Michigan Avenue. Governor JB Pritzker called it “a show of intimidation,” while Johnson branded it “another brazen provocation” that “does nothing to make our city safer.”

But critics argue the real provocation is Johnson’s repeated insistence on inserting racism into every debate, while ignoring the day-to-day safety and security of Chicago’s residents. Since 2022, the city has welcomed more than 52,000 migrants – regardless of background or criminal history – at a taxpayer cost of $3.1 billion for food, shelter, clothing, and health care. Meanwhile, violent crime, retail theft, and carjackings continue to erode confidence in City Hall.

If Johnson insists on making this a conversation about race, opponents say, then the refusal to protect Chicago’s families – many of whom are themselves Black and Latino – is the true form of racism. Parents afraid to let their children walk to school, seniors trapped in unsafe neighborhoods, and working-class communities absorbing the brunt of migrant resettlement costs are left vulnerable.

Adding to the pressure is Johnson’s staggering lack of public support. Recent polling shows his approval rating at just 6 percent – a collapse of confidence that underscores growing disillusionment with his leadership. By portraying federal enforcement actions and political criticism as an attack on Black leadership, Johnson risks alienating the very residents he claims to defend.

For many, failing to ensure public safety, fiscal stability, and equal protection under the law isn’t just bad policy – it is a betrayal of the city’s most vulnerable communities. And that, they argue, is what real racism looks like.