Lobbyist John Kelly, a mayoral candidate, vows to use relationships he's built to save a 'city in decline'
<p>Portraying Chicago as a crime-ridden “city in decline” and Mayor Brandon Johnson as the teachers union’s “tool,” mayoral <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2026/01/29/lobbyist-john-kelly-possible-chicago-mayor-bid-brandon-johnson-ballys-white-sox-katten-muchin-election" >challenger John Kelly </a>vowed Thursday to use the insider relationships he has built as a career lobbyist to deliver the resources the city needs.</p><p>If elected, Kelly promised to work toward adding 20 additional ambulances, replacing “beat up” fire engines and trucks, and hiring 1,000 more police officers to bolster a Chicago Police Department that Johnson has used his first three budgets to shrink by attrition.</p><p>Kelly is not saying precisely how he would pay for all of that at a time when Chicago is facing a $90 million mid-year shortfall, a $1 billion gap in next year’s budget and a $36 billion pension crisis that has police and fire pension funds dangerously close to bankruptcy.</p><p>He would only talk in the broadest of strokes about reducing police overtime, cutting the mayor’s 154-member bodyguard detail and approaching private businesses for help, maybe even some of his own lobbying clients.</p><p>“You need to find a way to spend money on equipment rather than all of the personnel that the mayor has paid for. If you have some of these unfunded positions that the mayor has in his office, you can cut 20 of those and buy five ambulances,” said Kelly, whose videotaped visits to Chicago firehouses for campaign videos has prompted an investigation by the Chicago Board of Ethics.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>Portraying Chicago as a crime-ridden “city in decline” and Mayor Brandon Johnson as the teachers union’s “tool,” mayoral <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2026/01/29/lobbyist-john-kelly-possible-chicago-mayor-bid-brandon-johnson-ballys-white-sox-katten-muchin-election" >challenger John Kelly </a>vowed Thursday to use the insider relationships he has built as a career lobbyist to deliver the resources the city needs.</p><p>If elected, Kelly promised to work toward adding 20 additional ambulances, replacing “beat up” fire engines and trucks, and hiring 1,000 more police officers to bolster a Chicago Police Department that Johnson has used his first three budgets to shrink by attrition.</p><p>Kelly is not saying precisely how he would pay for all of that at a time when Chicago is facing a $90 million mid-year shortfall, a $1 billion gap in next year’s budget and a $36 billion pension crisis that has police and fire pension funds dangerously close to bankruptcy.</p><p>He would only talk in the broadest of strokes about reducing police overtime, cutting the mayor’s 154-member bodyguard detail and approaching private businesses for help, maybe even some of his own lobbying clients.</p><p>“You need to find a way to spend money on equipment rather than all of the personnel that the mayor has paid for. If you have some of these unfunded positions that the mayor has in his office, you can cut 20 of those and buy five ambulances,” said Kelly, whose videotaped visits to Chicago firehouses for campaign videos has prompted an investigation by the Chicago Board of Ethics. The city’s ethics ordinance bars candidates for city office from intentionally using city property for political purposes.</p><p>“How about we talk to business people in Chicago and ask them, `Would you like to sponsor any ambulance? Can businesses in Chicago pony up and maybe buy an ambulance?’ Those are the kinds of things we need to discuss.”</p><p>Kelly, 53, is a consummate political insider.</p><p>For nearly three decades, he has lobbied on behalf of clout-heavy clients that do business with City Hall — the same people and companies he would have to deal with and say no to if he’s elected mayor.
Read the full report at Chicago Sun-Times ↗
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- <p>Portraying Chicago as a crime-ridden “city in decline” and Mayor Brandon Johnson as the teachers union’s “tool,” mayoral <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2026/01/29/lobbyist-john-kelly-possible-chicago-mayor-bid-brandon-johnson-ballys-white-sox-katten-muchin-election" >challenger John Kelly </a>vowed Thursday to use the insider relationships he has built as a career lobbyist to deliver the resources the city needs.</p><p>If elected, Kelly promised to work toward adding 20 additional ambulances, replacing “beat up” fire engines and trucks, and hiring 1,000 more police officers to bolster a Chicago Police Department that Johnson has used his first three budgets to shrink by attrition.</p><p>Kelly is not saying precisely how he would pay for all of that at a time when Chicago is facing a $90 million mid-year shortfall, a $1 billion gap in next year’s budget and a $36 billion pension crisis that has police and fire pension funds dangerously close to bankruptcy.</p><p>He would only talk in the broadest of strokes about reducing police overtime, cutting the mayor’s 154-member bodyguard detail and approaching private businesses for help, maybe even some of his own lobbying clients.</p><p>“You need to find a way to spend money on equipment rather than all of the personnel that the mayor has paid for. If you have some of these unfunded positions that the mayor has in his office, you can cut 20 of those and buy five ambulances,” said Kelly, whose videotaped visits to Chicago firehouses for campaign videos has prompted an investigation by the Chicago Board of Ethics.
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- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
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- 11m ago.
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Lobbyist John Kelly, a mayoral candidate, vows to use relationships he's built to save a 'city in decline'
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times