>> Election Day for the next mayor of Chicago is still more than 6 months away.

But the race is off and running for nearly a dozen candidates.

One of them is John Kelly.

As a veteran lobbyist, he seen one side of city hall while representing a client list that includes Bally's and the United Center now is the first time candidate for office.

He says he's hoping to make Chicago live up to its nickname as a city that works.

Joining us is candidate for Chicago Mayor John Kelly.

Welcome.

Congrats on race.

Thank you so what do you see as your qualifications to lead?

The city of Chicago?

Well, I'm definitely not a career politician like a lot of the folks that I'm running against.

I'm a problem solver.

>> And when I go to all these neighborhoods just this weekend, we debt went to a lot of fast because you needed to that when you're getting petitions, people were like just solve the problems.

We've got 2.5 million views on our video.

This city that used to work.

We want to make it work.

We want the city to be safe.

We want the city to be clean.

Specially the transit is something that I highlighted and I'm not high-level nice things about this because consultants political pros are telling me like it because that's what people tell me.

The highlight one.

I go across the city and campaign.

So they want a problem solver.

I'm going to be right against for career politicians in this large field and the 4 of them have run for 14 different offices over the course of their career.

And in fact, 2 of them, I'm going to be running for 2 offices at the same time that really show Chicago voters.

They want the title.

I want the job.

So we've mentioned your your background as a lobbyist.

How are you planning to navigate potential conflicts of interest from your career from your time spent It's a very simple and straightforward answer.

of said to numerous interviews.

>> My number one concern are the Chicago taxpayers full stop?

I've been a lobbyist my whole career.

You can dig up anywhere you'd like.

We've never had any ethical issues or any concerns.

And I think that the mayor, Chicago really needs to be a lobbyist and you need to lobby the city council so they don't have a budget issue like we have this leading to this Bally's problem which is embarrassing the city.

You also need the lobby, Springfield so that we can go get what is rightfully ours in the city.

Chicago, you have to go down there and fight for dollars for the city Chicago as well as the federal government.

I have one guiding principle.

What I become Mayor Chicago.

It's if someone comes in to my office, a former client, family friend or a friend, I'm going to tell them know if what they're proposing is not what's right for Chicago.

So I think that it's a really easy solution for me because I have that inner belief that I'm going to do what's best for Chicago residents full stop.

>> Okay.

So let's let's take a look at a clip from the video that was posted to your campaigns X account today.

>> For engine one joining 3 power.

39 in Gage Park.

Great current guys here.

Great view of the city from up here and they call over one 16.

>> That 60 at the dash and we had one day.

So we had a great day to day learned a lot about am lenses.

We need more Amazon.

This is Chicago learned about the age of the fire trucks.

So a very informative visits.

They're fun, but very informative.

Talking about the functional.

>> So, John, we've seen before instances where campaigns politicians are using city resources like fire trucks, though.

Are you aware that the Board of Ethics has ruled on that it is not allowed to be used for camp in campaign videos for elected officials were photos for that matter.

That wasn't a campaign video.

This is part of my tour of the city of Chicago.

There are 96 fire department firehouse in the city Chicago and I'm going visit all of them.

>> Were there as a private citizen asking them questions?

We don't distribute any kind of campaign literature.

We don't ask them for signatures.

What we're doing is talking the Chicago fireman because elected officials are not We're talking to police officers and I'm prepared to take those kind of political hits where how dare you go to a firehouse and actually sit down and talk to Chicago from it.

The response I'm getting from the men and women of the fire department is great.

Yesterday I had 2 firefighters off duty come up to me at the Taylor Street Festival and asked me to please come visit the firehouse.

We're not talking politics.

In fact, I'm letting the firemen, the policemen do all the talking.

So right now and you're not you're not asking them for their signature win their but you are using the resource in a video that is appearing on your campaign website.

So is it is that the same as being a private citizen?

>> Appearing I was there.

I that we're going to continue to go to the Chicago fire houses and all of these neighbors in the city of Chicago and talk to the people that really matter and let them do the So we understand that this is what happens when you run for office, it becomes kind of a political football.

And I think this kind of stuff that we're talking about is what Chicagoans are sickout.

want a candidate.

I hope all the candidates go to the fire houses.

I hope they all go to the police departments and talk to city workers.

You know, like a stop and talk to a city worker.

If they have a city chalk.

So it's not something that were intentionally trying to use it for political purposes.

And I think if you asked some of those firing off the record, they would say they value and appreciate the conversations that we had.

So we're going to continue to do it because I'm committed to going to see all these firefighters in these police officers.

So a city budget task force is estimated, as you know, that the city could face a 700 million dollar budget shortfall in 2027.

How would you address that problem as mayor?

Well, we have a 17 billion dollar budget.

It's growing billions of dollars.

I believe Romney man who was mayor the budget was close to 12. now here we are X amount of years later and it's 17 Billion.

The number one way for us to get out of this budget problem is through growth.

30% of our downtown is make it.

That's because of the failed leadership of the mayor.

It's the failed leadership of the politicians I'm running against who have been sitting there watching the mayor, but the city in the state of the kind when your economic engine is only spy during that 70% of its maximum power.

The city doesn't operate function, not able produce the revenue.

And now home owners that I talked to all over the city are seeing that with downtown, the service at the they pay the bill on their property We definitely need a growth strategy for the city Chicago.

People go all around the country.

Brandis.

We talked about different Fair people go to other cities and there's cranes.

We have one crane.

Chicago is the greatest city in the world and we have the proud the tools necessary to fix the problems.

I just think that those tools are in the wrong hands.

It would be like Chicago.

Sorry, should not have just one crane.

And that's why we're in this budget problem because we're not allowing business people to come to Chicago to start a business.

So you talk about efforts to grow the tax base.

If those efforts, you know, should not materialize in time to fix the 2027 shortfall, how else would you grow revenue or cut costs?

There's no way that adding 30% more revenue to this city will not result in positive aspect for the budget.

Yes, you have to be fiscally responsible.

And I understand how that works.

But the key is is you have to hire the best and brightest people in the city of Chicago.

How can we hire the best and brightest when sometimes we run them out of town.

I sat with a businessman who used to have 800 employees at his downtown office.

And when I was there with him, he had only 100.

So we lost not only a lot of employees, a lot of revenue, but we have a brain drain in the city where people are leaving because these companies are moving elsewhere.

We cannot bring people that can sit down with the mayor and talk about these budget problems.

If streets are not clean, the streets are not safe.

So I disagree.

I think that by adding 30% in growth to the downtown area.

We can start tackling these budget case or reporting also shows that you register to vote in Chicago in 2024. and that you owned a home in Orland Park until December 2025.

>> Tell voters how committed you are to the city of Chicago.

My family history in the city.

Chicago dates back to 18, 90 101 years later after my grandfather built a hotel in Woodland.

>> I graduated from Mount Carmel, High School in 1991.

My grandfather was a Chicago police officer.

My sister was a Chicago public school teacher.

My mother on currency exchange, which is a small business on the southeast side.

We have been in the city of Chicago for for decades.

We did spend some time were growing up out in the suburbs.

We've been in the city for since 2024, I've been a resident of the city.

I voted in the presidential election after 2024.

In the city.

I am very committed.

I've had my business in the city and I think that those are coming from my opponents that are afraid of the can to see that I have because I'm talking directly to Chicago voters about their problems and not do in partisan politics like doing with these shots.

But I welcome on because that's the thing.

You know, I met a lady on the CTA and Roosevelt Road and the first thing she asked me, you're running for Mayor, Mr.

Kelly, I hope you have thick skin.

So we've got a thick skin to see through this race.

But we're very committed to the city and always have been OKC mention the CPA, the CTA, most recent C P D.

>> Chicago Police Department data shows that crime on the CTA is down.

28.5% compared to this time in 2025.

And down.

31.5% since 2024, what do you think still needs to change?

But the city's approach to public transit?

Well, Ryan, when it comes to crime again, I always go back to I am doing this.

I'm out campaigning every day.

Crime and safety is how someone feels.

People don't say, oh, this crime is down certain percentage.

I feel that percentage safer people in the city of Chicago.

They're as safe as they feel.

And my speaking of town there tell me that they don't feel safe on July 24th, a woman was beaten and robbed by an unruly group of teenagers and she was robbed.

This sent to the hospital at the Roosevelt Station, which is why it was there talking to people 2 days later Brandis another woman was beaten, robbed and sent to the hospital by an unruly group of teenagers.

I don't care a crime stats.

People are trying to talk about Chicago.

Residents do not feel safe and they tell me that every single day that's why I've made it a center point of the campaign because I'm responding to what the voters are telling me.

So Chicagoans are safe as they feel they don't look at crime stats and wake up and read those.

Okay.

That's what we'll have to leave the best of luck to you on the campaign trail.

John Kelly, thank you very much.

You that.

And additional candidates running for mayor have also been joining us here on Chicago tonight.

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