Chicago Ald. Jeanette Taylor on a Paul Vallas mayoralty: "Hell no! I'm moving to another country"

CTU member at a
downtown Chicago
protest

In the latest CTU Speaks! podcast, co-host Jim Staros, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, is a field representative for the Chicago Teachers Union, asked "What would happen if we had a Mayor Paul Vallas?"

One of the guests, Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th), who is running for reelection, responded, "Hell no! I'm moving to another country," as Staros giggles in the background.

If you are short on time, the relevant portion of the podcast begins at the 36:20 mark. 

Opinion polls, which were mostly wrong for the 2022 midterms, should be looked at with skepticism, but Vallas usually finishes in the top two in surveys. There are nine candidates. In the quite likely scenario that no candidate achieves a majority, the two candidates who achieve the most votes in the February 28 election compete against each other in an early April runoff. 

After criticizing Vallas for his role in closing some CPS schools when he was the Chicago Public Schools CEO, Taylor, who was elected 20th Ward alderperson in 2019, continued her attacks on Vallas. 

"And he loves the police," she said of Vallas, who has received the Fraternal Order of Police endorsement. "In his eyes the police does nothing wrong," she continued. "And so that is so problematic. I'm going to another country, I ain't going to another state, if he makes it. It's a hell no, that man does not get it, he does not respect black and brown voice."

I'll be watching Taylor if Vallas wins. 

The Chicago Teachers Union has endorsed Brandon Johnson, a far-left member of the Cook County Board.