Hey there! I’m playing the game known as “Am I tired because of the time change or because I’m incapable of falling asleep before midnight due to the existential dread of being an elder millennial?” Fun times! Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Johnson backs away from ‘defund’ while Vallas says he never said police were ‘handcuffed’

With less than three weeks before the April 4 election, mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas are distancing themselves from past comments on policing, reports my colleague Emmanuel Camarillo.

During a debate last night at the UIC Forum, Johnson was asked about his prior support for “defunding the police,” which he described in 2020 as an “actual, real political goal.”

The self-styled progressive drew groans from the audience last night when he walked back his prior comment, saying, “There are people who want to see the police budget defunded. I said it was a political goal, I never said it was mine.”

Vallas, meanwhile, was asked by a debate moderator about statements he’s made in the past about “taking the handcuffs off” of police so they can do their jobs.

Vallas said he never used that exact language and “that was the characterization of what I said. It’s not what I’m articulating, I’m simply talking about proactive policing.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, former mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green endorsed Vallas today. And Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced he is backing Johnson. [Chicago Sun-Times]

2. Should the city ‘plow the sidewalks?’

A handful of City Council members want to explore the idea of requiring the city to shovel sidewalks and shift the burden away from property owners, reports my colleague Fran Spielman.

“If we’re gonna be a world-class city, then let’s act like it by providing world-class service to our residents. They deserve this,” said Ald. Gilbert Villegas, a backer of a pilot program that is expected to be introduced at today’s council meeting.

This program, called the “Chicago Plow the Sidewalks,” would focus on specific corridors — “some of them easy, some of them challenging,” Villegas said — and cost roughly $750,000.

Toronto, a sister city to Chicago and similar in size, already plows its sidewalks. And some U.S. cities, like Boston and Minneapolis, are “either doing it or talking about requiring sidewalk snowplowing,” Villegas said. [Chicago Sun-Times]

3. An effort to diversify the leadership at Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police largely failed to boost Black candidates

The new board of directors for Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police will have just one woman and one African American, reports WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell.

That’s despite an effort by John Catanzara Jr., who recently won reelection as president of Chicago’s union for rank-and-file police officers, to boost a diverse slate of candidates that included nine Latinos, three African Americans and four women.

Some Black cops say underrepresentation on the board is due to low levels of African American activity in the lodge.

“If you’re not participating and voting, Black candidates won’t get voted in,” said Donnell Crenshaw, a South Side homicide detective who ran unsuccessfully for trustee seats in 2020 and 2023. [WBEZ]

4. A night out with the people helping homeless riders on the CTA

The vastness of Chicago’s homeless crisis can be seen firsthand on public trains and buses, reports my colleague Anna Savchenko.

Savchenko recently visited CTA train stations, which have served as de facto shelters for the unhoused amid a shortage of beds.

There are about 3,000 available shelter beds in the city, according to the city’s Department of Family and Support Services.

But the system that manages the shelters counted 11,683 active clients — or unhoused people already in the system — as of early March. And as of this week, another 4,414 Chicagoans were waitlisted for housing support services.

“The shelter beds available are just a fraction of what we actually need,” said Niya Kelly, the director of state legislative policy for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. [WBEZ]

5. Jojo Baby, a legend in Chicago’s nightlife scene, dies at 51

Remembrances are pouring in for one of Chicago’s original club kids — Jojo Baby, an artist and drag culture influencer known for being the mastermind behind Dennis Rodman’s psychedelic hairdos.

“JoJo’s spirit will go unmatched,” tweeted Smartbar, where Jojo could regularly be seen in outlandish and phantasmagorical nightclub looks. “Until we see you on the next dance floor. Rest in peace.”

Jojo last fall announced another bout with cancer, and the community they helped foster over the decades sprung into action to help raise money for medical bills.

In a WBEZ profile published in December, Jojo said their grandmother played organ for silent movies at the Chicago Theater and their grandfather made trumpets for bandleaders Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong.

But it was Jojo’s mother who taught them how to sew — claiming it was a skill that would mean they never had to depend on a woman.

“I made her eat those words later,” Jojo said. [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

• Stocks tumbled today as investors fear the recent collapse of two U.S. banks will create more turmoil. [NPR]
• Opening statements began in the ComEd bribery trial. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Federal regulators approved a railroad merger that will bring more freight trains to the Chicago area. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Students at Wellesley College supported a nonbinding referendum to welcome transgender and nonbinary applicants. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

It sounds like video gambling machines could soon be coming to restaurants and bars in Chicago.

Both mayoral candidates Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson support legalizing the long-outlawed machines in the city if they are elected in the April 4 runoff election, reports WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel and Tessa Weinberg.

There are more than 45,100 video gambling terminals across Illinois. And gamblers wagered about $10.5 billion at the machines last year, according to data from the Illinois Gaming Board. Municipalities with the machines brought home a share of $135.5 million in tax revenue.

But critics say expanding gambling in Chicago would create necessary competition with a city casino that still needs the final OK from state regulators. [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

What’s something small you’ve come to love and appreciate?

Shelby F. writes:

“I will never get over the delight I feel pulling the blinds up after a night of deep sleep and being greeted with a fresh blanket of snow along with the sunrise. No matter what time of year it is (October to April!) it feels magical to me. It’s an unpopular opinion, but the snow is one of my favorite parts of living in Chicago.”

And Patti writes:

“Before my mom passed away in November 2021, she lived with us for nearly 20 years. Each morning she would toss breadcrumbs to the birds. After she passed, I thought it was ‘healthier’ to feed the birds seed. I bought a bird feeder, and now enjoy the daily visits from cardinals, sparrows, woodpeckers, wood hatches. And think of how my mom would have enjoyed watching them as well.”

Feel free to email me, and your response might be shared in the newsletter this week.