Afternoon Briefing: Brighton Park residents say city still has no clear plan to protect them

Good afternoon, Chicago.

When Houston mayoral candidate Sheila Jackson Lee visited Chicago to fundraise last year, she found a faithful ally in Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Standing onstage at an August fundraiser in the West Loop, Johnson applauded their shared progressive values. Then he made a more unique appeal on behalf of the longtime Democratic congresswoman, noting to the crowd her connection to one of his most important City Hall advisers, according to a recording posted on YouTube.

“Now, my senior adviser and the political brain trust that really has affirmed my conscience is the son of the next mayor of Houston, Texas,” Johnson said, referring to his top aide Jason Lee.

Johnson continued: “And so if the son of Houston, Texas, can elect a mayor in the city of Chicago, well, Chicago, we got to make sure that Houston elects Sheila Jackson Lee as the next mayor of the city of Houston.”

Jackson Lee would go on to get a financial boost in her Texas campaign from Chicago City Hall insiders, bringing in more than $51,500 from city contractors, lobbyists and politicians between that August fundraiser and her loss in the December runoff, a Tribune analysis found. In total, her mayoral campaign raised $77,600 from donors with Illinois addresses.

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