Since Johnson’s tenure as mayor of the third-largest city in the United States, many Chicago residents would opine that Chicago has markedly declined.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson officially announced his reelection bid this week, addressing his supporters at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center. As he looks toward Election Day, a mere five months away, he proudly listed his “accomplishments” as mayor of the Windy City.
“Progress has been made, because this city is better, stronger, safer than what I inherited,” Johnson said at the event.
His pride in his work as Chicago’s steward is worth examining, as are the claims he made on the day of his announcement.
In fact, since Johnson’s tenure as mayor of the third-largest city in the United States, many Chicago residents — including this writer — would opine that Chicago has markedly declined.
One of the most prominent claims made by Johnson and overall city leadership is that in 2025, Chicago had the fewest murders recorded since 1965. This claim is substantiated by preliminary Chicago police data. However, this fails to account for the percentage of change in Chicago’s population.
In 1965, the population of Chicago was about 3.45 million, and the total number of murders was 395. Overall, this was 0.011 percent of the population. In comparison, in 2025, the population of Chicago was 2.73 million, and the total number of murders was 416, which is overall 0.015 percent of the population. Therefore, in terms of actual population context, crime is still worse under Johnson than it was in 1965.
Mayor Johnson truly goes above and beyond anyone’s expectations as a leftist Democrat in terms of big government and big spending. When he was elected mayor of Chicago in May 2023, the city’s total net debt outstanding was approximately $29.2 billion in addition to $37.2 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. One of the most harmful and cancerous elements of Chicago’s fiscal challenges has been its rising debt burden.
Read the rest at American Thinker.
Samantha Fillmore is a State Government Relations Manager for The Heartland Institute.
