The Latest Breaking News from Brandon Johnson

Scheduling conflicts kept Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson and businessman Willie Wilson away from the forum, so community activist Ja’Mal Green and retiring Ald. Roderick Sawyer had the stage to themselves.

Watch the second of two mayoral forums hosted by the Sun-Times, WBEZ and University of Chicago, featuring mayoral candidates Roderick Sawyer and Ja’Mal Green

As they prepare to elect their next mayor, city voters chose crime and public safety as the top issue guiding their decisions — and a whopping 63% of them don’t feel safe, a Sun-Times/WBEZ/Telemundo Chicago/NBC5 Poll found. But differences of opinions emerged among voters of different racial…

“Why are we making children pay for a ride to get to a school that’s not in their neighborhood?” Johnson asked. “Children should be able to focus on learning and not trying to figure out how they’re gonna get a ride to school.”

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

King entered the race with high hopes and a formidable reputation for fundraising for her City Council campaigns. But her fundraising for mayor has not gone well. Out of $500,000 raised, $350,000 is from her own household.

With the election less than three weeks away, three out of five voters disapprove of the job the mayor has done in her first term and 71% think the city is on the wrong track, according to a Sun-Times/WBEZ/Telemundo Chicago/NBC5 poll of Chicago voters.

The debate included many personal attacks, mainly directed toward and between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and ex-Chicago schools boss Paul Vallas. Rep. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia was in Washington for the State of the Union address.

Nine mayoral candidates are vying to be your pick on Feb. 28. Read our profiles of each contender here.

Johnson’s lengthy list includes“training and promoting” 200 new detectives and launching a “comprehensive efficiency audit” to identify savings, such as streamlining the number of “non-sergeant” police supervisors.

Seeking influence in ward races is a group, United Working Families, that has argued for tax hikes that target the rich but could chase businesses and suburbanites from the city.