In its election Tuesday of Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson as its 57th mayor, Chicago chose an inspiring orator. This will be a City Hall first for most Chicagoans.
Neither Mayor Lori Lightfoot nor Mayor Rahm Emanuel were known for their rhetorical prowess and neither, heaven forbid, was Richard M. Daley. Nor was Eugene Sawyer, dubbed “Mayor Mumbles” by the media. As anyone who heard Johnson’s eloquent acceptance speech knows, that is not a nickname anyone will be flinging Johnson’s way anytime soon.
Given that David Orr was in office for all of a week in 1987, barely time to speak in public at all, that means you have to go back to Harold Washington, who died in office almost 36 years ago, to find a Chicago mayor who could ascend to a podium and make Chicagoans feel good about themselves, their city and their future prospects.
