When McDonald’s Corp. CEO Chris Kempczinski spoke last year to the Economic Club of Chicago, he delivered a blistering message that we welcomed wholeheartedly. Chicago, he told the group, was being done in by rampant crime, an unfriendly business climate and an overly cautious mindset that made it harder to solve its admittedly hard-to-solve problems. “We are playing defense when we need to be playing offense,” he said.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and some other civic leaders unwisely pushed back against the truth-telling CEO. But now that the voters have spoken, sending the Lightfoot administration packing, it’s even more obvious that Kempczinski was right all along.

You know what else makes it obvious? He’s taking his own advice, playing offense at one of Chicago’s signature companies when he could more easily play it safe instead.

As practically everyone on the planet knows, McDonald’s is the world’s largest burger chain. And nothing — really, nothing, not even the fries — is more important to the company than the burgers.

So, hat’s off to Kempczinski for having the guts to mess with the burgers. In a recent announcement that affects millions of people, especially the so-called heavy users who eat at the chain every week, McDonald’s said it is tweaking the recipe for its classic sandwiches.

The new buns will be softer and more pillowy. The grill will be cranked up for a better sear on the patty, and onions previously served uncooked will be added to the patties before they go on the griddle, adding a sweeter, caramelized flavor. The American cheese will be noticeably hotter and “meltier,” the chain announced.

Those changes will be implemented in U.S. stores over the coming year, and, in addition, its famous Big Macs will be slathered with more of their “special sauce,” a recipe as celebrated as Coca-Cola’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken’s.

Sounds good. But make no mistake: This is a big risk.

McDonald’s, which has its still-new headquarters in Chicago’s booming West Loop, has messed with its burgers before, with mixed results, including some memorable flops. The Arch Deluxe tasted great when prepared by skilled chefs at the company’s now-defunct corporate campus in west suburban Oak Brook. But making it correctly turned out to be impossible for stores across the country, and customers voted down that misbegotten burger in no time.

The company also at one point tried to speed up the burger assembly process by turning its back on toasting its buns. Big mistake. Diners missed the flavor and texture, and toasters were back in operation faster than you could say Burger King.

This is what strong leaders do. They make tough decisions, and they’re willing to experiment with new ways of doing business — as Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson will need to do if he plans to solve the problems Kempczinski cited.

To stay relevant and financially strong, McDonald’s is doing a lot more than tweaking its burger recipe. In January, Kempczinski told employees that while the company was performing at a high level, “We can do even better.” He promised to break up organizational silos that were “outdated and self-limiting” and shift from “legacy mindsets” to “new behaviors.”

Having ketchup running in the veins wouldn’t be enough anymore.

Kempczinski also trotted out some vague and slippery corp-speak about “accelerating” the organization and its restaurants. Those who weren’t sure what “accelerating” meant found out soon enough, as he followed up in April with one of the rougher layoffs in the company’s corporate history. Its U.S. offices shut down for three days as the ax fell on hundreds of employees. Pay and benefits of others reportedly were cut, and long-standing field offices were slated for closure.

McDonald’s is scheduled to discuss its first-quarter results with investors Tuesday morning, and Wall Street is optimistic about the changes Kempczinski is pushing. The stock is up about 10% year-to-date, and up even more since the CEO delivered his blunt message to Chicago’s elected leadership in September.

Mayor-elect Johnson, it’s your move.

In his inspiring victory speech, Johnson promised “the politics of old” would not interfere with “building a better, stronger, safer Chicago.” He went on to say, “Today we celebrate the revival and the resurrection of the city of Chicago. It is time for Chicago to come alive. Come alive, Chicago.”

The city can keep trying to achieve that goal with the same stale recipes that haven’t been working, or start playing offense, directly attacking crime, the sluggish business climate and the cover-your-hindquarters mindset.

The stakes in this city are far greater than a single hometown corporation developing more pillowy buns and grilling its onions.

But one thing we know for sure: Chicago needs “accelerating” far more than the Golden Arches.

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