Praise, advice for Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson at his last Cook County Board meeting: ‘Don’t second-guess yourself’

Cook County commissioners old and new heaped praise on Brandon Johnson during his last county board meeting before he’s sworn in as Chicago mayor.

Sitting on the dais in the cramped boardroom next to Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Johnson was lauded for his rise from a relative political unknown and 1st District commissioner to the head of the third largest city in the country. Commissioners shared memories of what they described as Johnson’s negotiating prowess and compassion, his confidence in his eventual win in the mayor’s race and their hopes that his move across the fifth floor to City Hall will contribute to a new era of city and county collaboration.

Finance Chair John Daley started off the comments, noting he’d lived with two Chicago mayors, and that his brother, former Mayor Richard M. Daley, sent his well-wishes. The Daleys “made good decisions and decisions that were unpopular. ... You will face that but … don’t second-guess yourself,” he advised. “People will make mistakes. They did.”

He added later: “People will call you ‘Your Honor,’ open the door for you, but when you go home, your wife is the boss.”

Commissioner Monica Gordon said she’s “hopeful that someone from the West Side is able to lead our city, but most importantly, grateful that someone who cares about people” won. She joked that Johnson’s exit also meant she got his hand-me-down furniture for her office.

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who represented the county’s 1st District in the 1990s, welcomed and congratulated Johnson via Zoom. “We’ve come from the same community, served the same constituents, served on the same board. … I’ll just say, right on, neighbor; right on, friend; right on, Mr. Mayor.”

First elected to represent the city’s West Side and near western suburbs on the county board in 2018, and reelected in November, Johnson’s team said he planned to formally resign from the county board in early May. Democratic Party leaders from Johnson’s district — led by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, who is the committeeman for Oak Park Township — will have 30 days to choose Johnson’s replacement after the day of his resignation.

Commissioner Anthony Quezada, who lent early support to Johnson’s mayoral run and is serving on his transition team, said: “I know Brandon, with his immense love for the people, true dedication to public service ... will be one of our greatest mayors in this history of our city.”

Even Republican Commissioner Sean Morrison complimented the progressive mayor-elect on his “tenacity” and professionalism. People might be surprised to know, Morrison said over Zoom, that “you and I communicate, you and I have broken bread together, quietly.”

Preckwinkle, a political mentor who was neutral in the first round of the election but quickly endorsed Johnson in the runoff, gave the last tribute. “I’m a South Sider, and I’m proud to support a West Sider for mayor of the city of Chicago,” she said. Preckwinkle, also a former teacher, mounted her own failed run for mayor in 2019, losing to Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“Collaboration was difficult” with mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lightfoot, Preckwinkle said, “and I’m cleaning up my language.”

Several commissioners alluded to a closed passageway between the fifth floor of the city and the county headquarters, where the mayor’s and county board president’s offices face each other. Commissioner Stanley Moore said he expected the passageway to “stay wide open and we can work together.”

Johnson spoke last, telling the board it was “sobering and humbling” to leave the county board, but that he was “particularly proud” of recent efforts to center “equity and justice.” He listed as examples legislation that shut down the county’s gang database, secured funding for violence prevention programming, established a new immigration unit at the Cook County public defender’s office and funded programs to eliminate medical debt and create a guaranteed income program.

“Can Chicago and Cook County be a light on top of a hill, that provides guidance and hope and opportunity for people who are seeking justice? That’s what we want. People want their fair share, and don’t worry, you’re not getting rid of me, not for good,” Johnson said.

Johnson gave special thanks to Preckwinkle, who “led the way when it was not popular, as a former public schoolteacher, as someone who has raised children, as a woman. I am not here if it’s not for” her example, he said.

Johnson also mentioned a call he had with former President Barack Obama. “I’m already name dropping. Didn’t take me very long, did it?” he said jokingly, and added he asked Obama, “When the days get tough, I just need to know, when do I bust out that tan suit?”

Johnson was gifted with shadow boxes with Thursday’s resolution in his honor, photos, a paperweight with the county seal as well as framed copies of two pieces of legislation he championed during his brief time on the board: “Just Housing,” which bans housing discrimination against people arrested or convicted of most types of criminal acts and “Justice for Black Lives,” a nonbinding resolution urging the county to keep Black people and other marginalized groups safe from police violence and unfair incarceration.

Johnson will be sworn in May 15.