CHICAGO — Seven 2023 Chicago mayoral candidates pitched and made personal appeals to voters on Saturday at the Mayor’s Forum, which focuses on serving people with disabilities.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and challenger Chui Garcia alluded to how their families struggled to overcome obstacles.
“My father was deaf,” said Lightfoot.
“My wife who lives with me [Multiple Sclerosis]two grandchildren who are special education students,” Garcia said.
Mayoral candidate Sophia King said there was a need to emphasize affordability when it came to helping people with disabilities.
“We are committed to providing 20 percent affordable housing on site, which is also suitable for people with disabilities,” said King. “Because we know they are disproportionately likely to need affordable housing.”
When it comes to education, Paul Vallas, who has led school districts in four different states, said alternative certifications and allowing graduate students to become certified teachers through credit.
“If you look at Chicago Public Schools’ own database, there’s one teacher for every 17 employees, one employee for every 17 students, and one employee for every student,” says Vallas.
Candidate Jamal Green advocated policies that benefit people living in poverty.
“We will donate $1,000 a month to the 10,000 Chicagoans living in poverty, and that goes for those returning home,” Green said. “We intend to move forward with single family mortgage bonds to support 10,000 mortgages each year.”
Both Kam Buckner and Brandon Johnson have taken the time to endorse plans centered around funding services for the homeless, with Buckner also pitching a solution to gun violence.
“The Peace Act at the city council level is about making sure that we fund the community organizations that are doing this work on the ground every day,” Buckner said.
Of the nine candidates running for mayor, Willie Wilson and Aldo Roderick Sawyer were the two candidates who did not attend Saturday’s forum.
Local elections for the mayor’s office will take place on February 28, and early voting will begin on February 19.
