Crime, housing and the CTA are among your top issues for Chicago’s next mayor
Neighborhood development, education equity and making Chicago more affordable were other top concerns from more than 1,700 responses in our People’s Agenda survey.
Chicago, you talked – and we listened.
There are nine candidates running to be mayor in Chicago’s city elections on Feb. 28th. With such a big field, it can be difficult to figure out where each of them stands on issues that matter the most to you.
So WBEZ worked with the Chicago Sun-Times and the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics to launch the People’s Agenda. We asked Chicagoans what mayoral candidates should be talking about this election season and for questions they’d want to ask the next mayor. We’re using that input to shape our city election coverage with digital tools, candidate forums and more.
So far you’ve given us more than 1,800 responses! Our survey was not scientific, but we made a deliberate effort to hear from people all over the city.
Here’s a topline analysis of what you told us as of Jan. 27, and what our journalists plan to do with your input. (And if you’ve still got ideas to share or questions to submit, you’re not too late.)
If you want to see the candidates – all nine of them – answer the public’s questions in-person, register to attend our Reset candidate forums at the University of Illinois at Chicago Feb. 8 and at the University of Chicago Feb. 9th! You can also listen on the radio at 11 a.m.
What were the top issues? Crime, the CTA, economic development
Far and away, the issue that most respondents said candidates should be talking about was crime and public safety. More than half of all People’s Agenda survey responses — 54 percent — concerned crime and justice. More than 200 responses mentioned gun violence, and more than 200 concerned police reform. People wanted to know how the next mayor would get a handle on carjacking, police staffing and police wellness.
Here’s an overview of the other top issues and questions Chicagoans raised. (Note that most responses addressed multiple issues, so the numbers won’t add up to 100%.)
If you’re sick of CTA delays, dirty El trains and “ghost buses,” you’re not alone. Nearly one third of respondents — 30% — raised transportation as a top issue. Outside of crime, making the CTA safer, cleaner and more reliable was the most-raised topic in the survey. More than 200 people also wanted to hear mayoral candidates talk about plans for more bike lanes and pedestrian-friendly streets.
More than a quarter of responses — more than 450 — said they wanted to hear mayoral candidates’ plans relating to economic development. Top issues in this category related to disinvestment and reinvestment in Chicago’s neighborhoods, improving the business climate, making the city more equitable, and revitalizing downtown in the wake of COVID-19.
One in four responses concerned education and kids, with lots of people wanting to hear how the next mayor would make the education more equitable – and properly funded – for Chicago Public Schools students all over the city. People also wondered how the next mayor would navigate City Hall’s relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union, following more than a decade of on-and-off conflict and strikes.
Rounding out the top five issues was housing — something more than 23 percent of responses addressed. Creating more affordable housing — especially in gentrifying neighborhoods — was a top issue in this category. People also wanted to hear how the next mayor would address the city’s growing homelessness problem, and many asked for candidates’ stances on the proposed Bring Chicago Home ordinance.
What happens next?
The goal of engagement journalism projects like this is to give you actionable, practical information — in this case, elevate your voices in our city election coverage and to help you decide how you’ll vote on Feb. 28th. To that end, journalists at WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times are creating several things based on your survey input.
We’re publishing mayoral candidates’ responses to a questionnaire which raised a lot of the same important issues seen in the People’s Agenda survey. We asked the mayoral candidates 23 yes-or-no questions and put together a digital guide so you can see clearly where they stand. Check it out in English or in Spanish. You can also take a quiz to see with which candidates your views are most aligned.
On Feb. 8 and 9, WBEZ’s midday talk show Reset will be hosting forums with all the mayoral candidates. That’s where we’ll pose many of the questions you asked in our People’s Agenda survey directly to the candidates. You can listen on both days at 11 a.m. CT, or you can register to attend the broadcasts in-person at the University of Illinois at Chicago or the University of Chicago.
We’ll also be putting together a short-run newsletter based on the top issues you raised in our survey, starting in February.
The Chicago Sun-Times editorial board is also planning a series of editorials based on the issues most raised in the People’s Agenda.
Who took the People’s Agenda survey?
WBEZ, the Sun-Times and the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics disseminated the survey online, on the radio, in print and on social media. WBEZ’s Community Engagement Team and UChicago students also did in-person outreach across Chicago to hear directly from the public. Outreach partners — neighborhood organizations, community groups and nonprofits — helped disseminate the survey through their channels, too.
As of Jan. 27, the survey received 1,735 responses from 210 ZIP codes. About half — nearly 52% — came from people who identified as white, 22% who didn’t disclose their race/ethnicity, 11% who identified as Black, about 9% who identified as Hispanic/Latino/Latinx, 3.5% as Asian, 2% as another race, and less than 1% as Native American or Pacific Islander. Forty-five percent of respondents said they were under the age of 35, and about 21% said they were older than 65.
Alex Keefe is WBEZ’s Engagement Editor. You can email him about this project at akeefe@wbez.org.
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Crime, housing and the CTA are among your top issues for Chicago’s next mayor
Neighborhood development, education equity and making Chicago more affordable were other top concerns from more than 1,700 responses in our People’s Agenda survey.
Chicago, you talked – and we listened.
There are nine candidates running to be mayor in Chicago’s city elections on Feb. 28th. With such a big field, it can be difficult to figure out where each of them stands on issues that matter the most to you.
So WBEZ worked with the Chicago Sun-Times and the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics to launch the People’s Agenda. We asked Chicagoans what mayoral candidates should be talking about this election season and for questions they’d want to ask the next mayor. We’re using that input to shape our city election coverage with digital tools, candidate forums and more.
So far you’ve given us more than 1,800 responses! Our survey was not scientific, but we made a deliberate effort to hear from people all over the city.
Here’s a topline analysis of what you told us as of Jan. 27, and what our journalists plan to do with your input. (And if you’ve still got ideas to share or questions to submit, you’re not too late.)
If you want to see the candidates – all nine of them – answer the public’s questions in-person, register to attend our Reset candidate forums at the University of Illinois at Chicago Feb. 8 and at the University of Chicago Feb. 9th! You can also listen on the radio at 11 a.m.
What were the top issues? Crime, the CTA, economic development
Far and away, the issue that most respondents said candidates should be talking about was crime and public safety. More than half of all People’s Agenda survey responses — 54 percent — concerned crime and justice. More than 200 responses mentioned gun violence, and more than 200 concerned police reform. People wanted to know how the next mayor would get a handle on carjacking, police staffing and police wellness.
Here’s an overview of the other top issues and questions Chicagoans raised. (Note that most responses addressed multiple issues, so the numbers won’t add up to 100%.)
If you’re sick of CTA delays, dirty El trains and “ghost buses,” you’re not alone. Nearly one third of respondents — 30% — raised transportation as a top issue. Outside of crime, making the CTA safer, cleaner and more reliable was the most-raised topic in the survey. More than 200 people also wanted to hear mayoral candidates talk about plans for more bike lanes and pedestrian-friendly streets.
More than a quarter of responses — more than 450 — said they wanted to hear mayoral candidates’ plans relating to economic development. Top issues in this category related to disinvestment and reinvestment in Chicago’s neighborhoods, improving the business climate, making the city more equitable, and revitalizing downtown in the wake of COVID-19.
One in four responses concerned education and kids, with lots of people wanting to hear how the next mayor would make the education more equitable – and properly funded – for Chicago Public Schools students all over the city. People also wondered how the next mayor would navigate City Hall’s relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union, following more than a decade of on-and-off conflict and strikes.
Rounding out the top five issues was housing — something more than 23 percent of responses addressed. Creating more affordable housing — especially in gentrifying neighborhoods — was a top issue in this category. People also wanted to hear how the next mayor would address the city’s growing homelessness problem, and many asked for candidates’ stances on the proposed Bring Chicago Home ordinance.
What happens next?
The goal of engagement journalism projects like this is to give you actionable, practical information — in this case, elevate your voices in our city election coverage and to help you decide how you’ll vote on Feb. 28th. To that end, journalists at WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times are creating several things based on your survey input.
We’re publishing mayoral candidates’ responses to a questionnaire which raised a lot of the same important issues seen in the People’s Agenda survey. We asked the mayoral candidates 23 yes-or-no questions and put together a digital guide so you can see clearly where they stand. Check it out in English or in Spanish. You can also take a quiz to see with which candidates your views are most aligned.
On Feb. 8 and 9, WBEZ’s midday talk show Reset will be hosting forums with all the mayoral candidates. That’s where we’ll pose many of the questions you asked in our People’s Agenda survey directly to the candidates. You can listen on both days at 11 a.m. CT, or you can register to attend the broadcasts in-person at the University of Illinois at Chicago or the University of Chicago.
We’ll also be putting together a short-run newsletter based on the top issues you raised in our survey, starting in February.
The Chicago Sun-Times editorial board is also planning a series of editorials based on the issues most raised in the People’s Agenda.
Who took the People’s Agenda survey?
WBEZ, the Sun-Times and the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics disseminated the survey online, on the radio, in print and on social media. WBEZ’s Community Engagement Team and UChicago students also did in-person outreach across Chicago to hear directly from the public. Outreach partners — neighborhood organizations, community groups and nonprofits — helped disseminate the survey through their channels, too.
As of Jan. 27, the survey received 1,735 responses from 210 ZIP codes. About half — nearly 52% — came from people who identified as white, 22% who didn’t disclose their race/ethnicity, 11% who identified as Black, about 9% who identified as Hispanic/Latino/Latinx, 3.5% as Asian, 2% as another race, and less than 1% as Native American or Pacific Islander. Forty-five percent of respondents said they were under the age of 35, and about 21% said they were older than 65.
Alex Keefe is WBEZ’s Engagement Editor. You can email him about this project at akeefe@wbez.org.
Lisa Labuz: Early voting is underway in the race to be Chicago's next mayor. Nine people are on the ballot who want to occupy the fifth floor of city hall, including incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Now, we hear a lot from the candidates during election season, but we also want to hear from you. And so we launched the People's Agenda Project to gather your top issues and questions for the candidates. WBEZ engagement editor, Al Keefe is here with some results of the survey and plans for the project. Good morning Alex.
Alex Keefe: Good morning.
Lisa Labus: First off, remind us how the Peoples Agenda Project works.
Alex Keefe: Right, so this is a partnership between WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times and the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics. And really it all comes from this two question survey. We want to know from Chicagoans what should mayoral candidates be talking about this election season and what questions they have for the candidates themselves? So we have more than 1,700 response is so far from all over the city. And this isn't a scientific survey, I should say. But our team has spent the last several weeks working with neighborhood organizations and outreach partners doing in person outreach to try and get a diversity of responses.
Lisa Labuz: All right, so you've got responses still coming in and you've had a bit of time to analyze what you've seen so far. So, what do folks want the mayoral candidates to be talking about?
Alex Keefe: Crime. Far and away, reducing crime is the top issue. More than half of responses mentioned this. Gun violence and police reform more specifically came up, as did people wanting more cops on the streets. And people concerned about police officer wellness and mental health. After that, nearly a third of responses addressed improving transportation, making the CTA safe, reliable and clean. That was a huge issue, which is no surprise if you've been stuck waiting for a bus or stuck on a dirty train or something like that. Economic development came up in more than a quarter of responses. Top issue there was disinvestment in neighborhoods and how to reinvest, how to keep people in Chicago and attract businesses. And lastly, education and housing each got mentioned about a quarter of the time. Lots of concerns about education, equity, homelessness and how to make Chicago a more affordable place to live.
Lisa Labuz: So were there any trends in the Peoples Agenda responses that surprised you?
Alex Keefe: Yeah, there were a lot of animal related responses.
Lisa Labuz: Animals?
Alex Keefe: Lots about rats. A few dozen responses about rats and how to tackle the city's rodent problem. Now, I know that is an issue that's not surprising, but it's not really frequently topic of campaign ads or mayoral debates or something like that. Birds was another one. Chicago apparently has a problem with migratory birds flying into buildings and being killed or injured. And folks wanted to hear from mayoral candidates about policies to prevent that. Also, several questions about resources for Chicago's animal care and control department. So maybe some things I should have known, but I didn't really see that one coming.
Lisa Labuz: Huh, okay. Well, what are you gonna do with all the information you've gathered?
Alex Keefe: So the whole point of this is to take the issues the people raised in the People's Agenda and take them directly to the candidates themselves, ask those questions and then come back and tell you what they say. So to that end on February 8th and 9th, we're hosting a series of candidate forums on Reset our midday talk show. We'll be asking lots of Peoples Agenda questions directly to candidates. In the next few days we have a digital candidate questionnaire that's going to let you see where candidates stand on top issues, many of them that were raised in our survey. Also, all these things we're taking in, we're sharing with our journalists and our editors, and we have a lot more content on the way based on what you're telling us. So you can still take our survey, you could sign up to to receive all these things. You can even register to attend those candidate forums in person at WBEZ.org/chicagoaelections.
Lisa Labuz: So that's the Peoples Agenda. Alex Keefe is WBEZ's Engagement Editor. Thanks so much Al.
Alex Keefe: Thanks Lisa.
WBEZ transcripts are generated by an automatic speech recognition service. We do our best to edit for misspellings and typos, but mistakes do come through.