(The Center Square) – New poll numbers indicate that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has a lower approval rating than any sitting politician in the country.
Just 14% of Chicagoans view the mayor favorably, according to the Illinois Policy Institute’s Lincoln Poll. M3 Strategies surveyed 798 registered voters in Chicago from Jan. 21 to 23: 79.9% said they had an unfavorable opinion of Johnson, including 65% saying, “very unfavorable.”
Johnson’s 14% approval rating is lower than the lowest approval rating recorded by his recent predecessors. Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot had ratings as low as 27% late in their respective tenures.
According to the poll, voters’ top concerns were crime (48%), high taxes (33%), and city governance (30%).
Johnson was asked at a City Hall media briefing Tuesday about a remark he made last month that it was not his job to find criminal aliens.
“That is deportation policy that is set by the federal government, and we will not interfere with that. That aspect, that is the job of the federal government to deport,” Johnson said.
The mayor said police would fight crime without acting as federal agents.
“There’s a clear separation there. That’s the only thing that this [sanctuary city] ordinance essentially lays out, so it’s not a matter of the police department not going after violent criminals,” Johnson said.
Last week, the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee launched an investigation into sanctuary jurisdictions and the impact of their policies on public safety and federal immigration enforcement.
Johnson and three other Democratic mayors were asked for documents and communications related to their cities’ sanctuary policies.
The mayor’s corporate counsel, Mary Richardson-Lowry, addressed the House committee’s request Tuesday.
“With respect to the oversight committee’s invitation, we are in active discussions with them relative to the content of that invitation,” Richardson-Lowry said.
The mayor said the city’s sanctuary city status has not changed with the Trump administration in Washington D.C.
Last year, voters rejected Johnson’s proposed Bring Chicago Home real estate transfer tax. The mayor defended the “mansion tax” proposal Tuesday but did not commit to trying it again.
“Well, look, that’s not my decision alone. I’m just saying it’s good public policy,” Johnson said.
The Bring Chicago Home initiative would have raised the transfer tax on sellers of properties worth a million dollars or more with the stated purpose of addressing homelessness. Critics say the tax will drive more business owners out of the city.
Chicago is facing a projected $1 billion budget deficit this year. On Tuesday, the mayor repeated his earlier statements that the city “needs revenue.”
• Kevin Bessler contributed to this story.
