In the days after he won the run-off election, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson conducted a series of local and national interviews in which he recommitted to a comprehensive program for enhancing public safety across the city and reforming the Chicago Police Department. In particular, he emphasized a holistic approach to public safety, providing much-needed services and resources to neighborhoods experiencing high levels of crime.
According to polling around the election, most Chicagoans embrace this approach to addressing root causes of public safety challenges, including fully funding good schools, affordable housing, and accessible treatment for mental health and drug addiction. Most Chicagoans also back plans to scale up alternative response models so that trained professionals, rather than law enforcement, respond to 911 calls involving people in mental health crisis.
