Bernie Sanders rallies thousands of Brandon Johnson supporters: ‘Which side are you on?’

Thousands of Brandon Johnson supporters packed an arena at the University of Illinois at Chicago Thursday night where longtime Sen. Bernie Sanders, the darling of the political left, cast Tuesday’s mayoral runoff as a choice between the interests of the “powerful and greedy” and “the son of the working class.”

The two-time Democratic presidential contender stressed the importance of voter turnout and decried the “establishment” that he said was stifling a movement sparked by Johnson, the progressive Cook County commissioner vying for Chicago mayor against former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas.

“Now, Brandon’s opponent and the other side, they have a lot of money,” Sanders said, pointing his finger. “And that’s what always happens when you take on the establishment. They have the money. They got a lot of power. But you know what we have? We have the people.”

Sanders then ripped what he said was the “greed of real estate speculators” and “Wall Street” as he painted a picture of widening income inequality across the “richest country in the history of the world.”

“All of us today understand, in an unprecedented way, we are seeing the billionaires and the rich get richer while the working class struggles to stay alive,” Sanders said. “And what this campaign in Chicago is about is bringing the working class together.”

While Johnson topped other progressives to win his place in the runoff, Vallas has also touted the endorsements of dozens of labors unions, along with prominent Black and Latino political, community and faith leaders. He repeatedly refers to himself as a “lifelong Democrat” to blunt criticisms and past comments that suggest he’s too far right for Chicago, while with his crime-focused campaign, he’s also picked up support from those who view Johnson as too far left.

At the rally, Sanders argued Johnson is the candidate who would reverse that cavernous disparity between rich and poor through his advocacy of public education, union-backed job creation, health care and “smart” solutions to the gun violence epidemic.

“We must address that crisis,” Sanders said about Chicago’s high crime. “But we must do it in a way that is smart and effective, and that means not only high quality and non-racist law enforcement, it means that we must address the epidemic of mental illness, the epidemic of drug abuse, the epidemic of poverty and the epidemic of guns on the street. And that is something that Brandon Johnson understands.”

Sanders transitioned with one last jab at the rich, a signature message of his past presidential runs and earlier political career.

“The fundamental issue, the deep down issue, is: Which side are you on?” Sanders said. “Are you on the side of working people? Or are you on the side of the speculators and billionaires? And I know which side Brandon is on.”

He concluded: “I have absolute confidence that if we stand together, if we have the courage to take on powerful people whose greed is destroying this country — if we are prepared to do that, we can create the kind of city that the people of Chicago deserve, the kind of nation that all of us deserve.”

Johnson then strode on stage, clasping his hands with Sanders and raising them above their heads as the crowd roared. He opened with one of his jokes that have become part and parcel to his speeches.

“I think that’s someone that tried to date me in high school,” he said in response to an especially loud holler. “It’s too late, sister.”

The candidate then picked up where the senator left off by discussing the makeup of Vallas’ biggest financial backers.

“Now there are some forces, however, that are intimidated by this room,” he said. “I mean, they are so intimidated that they have thrown everything imaginable at this brother here.”

But he reminded the audience — many donning Chicago Teachers Union and Service Employees International Union sweatshirts — that his loyalty is with them: “The last I checked, Chicago is a union town. And if you are an enemy of labor, you are the enemy of the people.”

Johnson sought to connect the antipathy Vallas and his supporters have wielded against CTU leadership to the plight of Black people.

“Keep in mind: These are the same enemies of one of the greatest humanitarians to walk the planet Earth: Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Johnson said. “He said that the enemy of labor is the enemy of the Negro. Those are his words.”

Johnson also made pointed critiques of Vallas, ones that elicited loud boos and hisses from the audience that vigorously waved his blue campaign signs.

”His failures are so profound, we are still living the experience of his failures,” Johnson said before alluding to how some of his opponents’ donors also gave money to former Republican President Donald Trump.

”When you take dollars from Trump supporters and try to cast yourself as a part of the progressive movement, man — sit down,” Johnson said. “… Those forces, though, that have wrapped themselves up in my opponent, they want to redo the mess that they created.”

Earlier, Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, praised Johnson’s decade of work as an organizer for the CTU before turning her attention toward opponent Paul Vallas’ record leading public school districts in Chicago and other cities.

“Could there be any better indicator of where Paul Vallas stands than for Betsy DeVos?” Weingarten said, to the audience’s boos. “I don’t care what he said. For Betsy DeVos and her (political action committee) to come in and support Paul Vallas tells you everything you need to know about him. We need uniters, not dividers, in Chicago.”

DeVos has not donated directly to Vallas, but an advocacy organization she founded channeled money into a super PAC called Illinois Federation for Children that spent roughly $60,000 on digital media supporting Vallas, state election records show. She has not led the group since 2016, but she and her husband continue to contribute to the group.

The Vallas campaign said in a Thursday statement that he would “strongly reject” any endorsement from her and noted the firewall between such himself and any independent political committees, which he is not allowed to coordinate with.

Vallas also released a statement in support of the reported indictment of Trump, which was not a heavy focus in the Sanders rally.

“Donald Trump repeatedly and shamelessly violated the rules and norms that govern the Office of the President, cheapening the most widely respected elected position in the world and demeaning our democracy,” Vallas’ statement read. “He must be held accountable and I’m grateful the first step towards justice has been taken.”

Also at Thursday’s rally, Martin Luther King III, the son of the slain civil rights legend, took to the stage to echo a message that the candidate has been repeating on the campaign trail.

“My father used to say that one of the most important steps that we most take is that four steps to the ballot box,” King said. “April 4 will be 55 years since my father was killed, but he is going to be looking down on Chicago on Tuesday.”

King then went on to condemn groups who have supported Johnson’s opponent, including the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara.

“I mean it’s just totally irresponsible for anyone to talk about some blood occurring in the streets because someone is elected to office,” the activist said in reference to comments Catanzara made in which he warned there would be “blood in the streets” from cops quitting en masse under a Johnson administration. “That is a sick mentality, and we cannot continue to embrace and support that kind of leadership.”

Vallas condemned the Catanzara comment.

As Johnson continued his speech, he pointed out two former students in the standing pit: “They still owe me some assignments, but I told them since they are voting for me, I’ll excuse it.”

Toward the end, the candidate led the crowd in a chant: “Paul Vallas, take a seat.”

“Don’t that feel real good?” Johnson asked afterward.

The Tribune’s A.D. Quig contributed.