Chicago activist launches recall effort against Mayor Brandon Johnson

CHICAGO - This week marks the launch of an online petition as part of a grassroots effort aiming to hold the Mayor of Chicago directly accountable to voters and subject to recall.

A similar push failed almost a decade ago, raising questions about whether history will repeat itself.

The new initiative, titled "Recall This Fall," is the brainchild of Dan Boland, an activist advocating for voter empowerment in deciding whether Chicago's mayor can be recalled.

"We're more concerned with ceasefires in Gaza than we are with ceasefires in our own neighborhoods. Where we're more concerned with migrants than providing services to our own people who have been waiting years and years and years for community centers and parks to be built, and services for veterans," said Boland.

Boland believes the mayor must address issues such as potential taxpayer funding for a new stadium for the Bears.

"Now they want to tear it down! Why? I want to know why? That's part of it," Boland said. "The other part is when are we going to get our $660 million dollars back and where is that money going to go?"

Mayor Brandon Johnson has criticized Boland's recall effort as "disingenuous" and motivated by right-wing extremism. Johnson isn't the first mayor to face a recall; Illinois State Rep. LaShawn Ford attempted to remove Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2015 after the shooting death of Laquan McDonald.

"At the time, my message was this is not about Rahm. This is about the mayor's position. I stand firm on that. I believe that if the voters lose confidence in the mayor of the city of Chicago or the governor of Illinois, they should have a mechanism in place to recall that person," Ford said.

Nine years ago, Ford's efforts encountered strong opposition, both in Chicago and downstate.

"Not only were they not going to make it easy, Scott, they made it impossible. My bill never got a chance to have a hearing for the people to come and support in Springfield," Ford said.

Ford remains committed to his efforts to make mayoral recall in Illinois a legal option. He has presented his legislation for a vote in Springfield every year since then.

"If you are one who believes in a democracy, then you should not be afraid of voters having the ability to recall you if they lose confidence and trust," Ford said.

Boland needs more than 56,000 signatures to get his recall initiative on the November ballot. He acknowledges the uphill battle but believes Chicago's political machine may be weakening.

"You can see just the way that happened with Bring Chicago Home and the state's attorney's race. The machine is dying, the machine is breaking down. It's going to break down even more," Boland said.

Boland is set to hold a press conference to officially launch his recall effort at City Hall at 11 a.m. on Thursday.