David Greising

David Greising is president of the Better Government Association, publisher of the Illinois Answers Project and home to the BGA Policy website. A former Tribune business columnist, Greising broke into professional journalism covering Harold Washington’s run for mayor at the City News Bureau of Chicago. His Tribune column appears every other Friday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson during the firefighter/EMT and paramedics graduation ceremony at the Arie Crown Theater on June 12, 2023.

David Greising: How will Mayor Brandon Johnson handle the limits of his power?

July 24, 2023 at 3:04 p.m.

When Brandon Johnson was sworn in as mayor May 15, to all outward appearances, he was assuming an office replete with the same grand powers it always had. But the...

A display case at Accuracy Firearms on Jan. 26, 2023, in Effingham, Illinois, holds an assortment of rifles that cannot be sold to customers because of recent state firearms legislation that bans the sale and distribution of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.

David Greising: Red flag tools are critical with assault weapons ban in limbo. We need court transparency.

July 7, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

Nobody needs to tell the people of Highland Park that AR-15-type assault-style rifles, in the wrong hands, are a threat to civil society. Highland Park residents have attended the funerals...

A rendering released by the Chicago Bears shows the view from the threshold of the proposed stadium of the Arlington Park entertainment district. The Bears released proposed development plans for the Arlington International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights on Sept. 6, 2022.

David Greising: What options do Evanston and Arlington Heights have for clinching stadium deals?

June 23, 2023 at 4:04 p.m.

The Chicago Bears are tearing down the former Arlington Park horse track, even while conspicuously eyeing possible moves to places other than Arlington Heights. Naperville, Waukegan or even Soldier Field...

Charlie Beck, center, then interim Chicago police superintendent, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot sit for photos with the newest members of the Chicago Police Department prior to the graduation ceremony at Navy Pier on Dec. 18, 2019.

David Greising: Outsiders have done good things as Chicago’s top cop. Don’t rule out candidates with that status.

June 9, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

It's fitting that the city's new public safety commission must deliver a slate of three candidates for the job of Chicago police superintendent to Mayor Brandon Johnson by July 14....

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson speaks during an inauguration ceremony for the first 66 people elected to the Chicago Police District Council on May 2, 2023, at the Harold Washington Cultural Center.

David Greising: Brandon Johnson pushes back on independence in the City Council

May 15, 2023 at 4:05 p.m.

The reorganization of the City Council that got underway in March, not long after Lori Lightfoot lost her bid for reelection in the mayoral primary, was a hot mess. Under...

Mayor Lori Lightfoot attends a joint ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking ceremony for an Invest South/West initiative development at 4308 S. Calumet Ave. in Chicago on, April 18, 2023.

David Greising: Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s inability to lead is why voters sent her looking for a new job

May 7, 2023 at 2:39 p.m.

The final few days of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's single term as mayor have given rise to an urban parlor game in which participants guess what she will do next. Run...

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx addresses the Chicago City Club at Maggiano's Banquets on April 25. In her speech, Foxx announced she will not run for reelection next year.

David Greising: Kim Foxx and Lori Lightfoot show the reality of governing with progressive ideals in Illinois

April 28, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

Much has been made of a new progressive era in Illinois politics, and a series of recent public remarks by elected Chicago officials formed a triptych of the promise and...

Dignitaries listen as Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, center, speaks on a stage behind the Shedd Aquarium during a news conference April 12, 2023, to celebrate the selection of Chicago as the host for the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

David Greising: What do Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s transition choices foretell?

April 13, 2023 at 8:07 p.m.

In all of Chicago today, only two people know what it is like to rise from relative obscurity to the mayor's office in a matter of months. One is Lori...

Mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson, left, and Paul Vallas participate in a debate at WBBM-TV in Chicago on March 28, 2023.

David Greising: Will Chicago’s next mayor be beholden to the union that supported him?

March 30, 2023 at 6:32 p.m.

Dance with the one who brought you: It's generally good advice. And for politicians, it's the predictable result of the American electoral process. In the campaign for mayor of the...

A fire in the 500 block of North Central Avenue in April 2022 seriously injured Herrsterstine Burns, 57, who died three weeks later. Investigators found the apartment had no smoke alarms, even though city inspectors had visited the building as recently as early 2021 on other issues, records show.

David Greising: Mayoral runoff candidates are overlooking a major public safety problem — fatal fires

March 16, 2023 at 7:33 p.m.

Public safety is the key issue that ruined Mayor Lori Lightfoot's chance for reelection. To hear mayoral runoff contenders Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas tell how they would fix the...

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