‘Appearances matter’: Chicago Mayor spent over $30,000 in campaign funds on hair and makeup in one year

Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has spent over $30,000 worth of campaign funds on grooming over the past year, the Chicago Sun-Times first reported.

Johnson campaign adviser Bill Neidhardt justified the spending on hair stylists and makeup artists by saying that the mayor is using “his own campaign funds to pay Black- and women-owned businesses a fair wage in compensation for their work,” the Sun-Times reported. Johnson’s campaign funds, which the Chicago mayor is drawing from to get his makeup done, is funded by “working-class people” and labor unions, a campaign spokesperson previously said.

“Hair and makeup services are commonplace among high-ranking public officials,” Neidhardt said.

Johnson, however, stands out from his Illinois peers in terms of the quantity of funds allocated to beauty services.

Lori Lightfoot, Chicago’s former mayor, spent $2,000 on makeup, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle paid $217 for similar services, and Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire, made 11 payments totaling $6,000 to a Chicago beauty salon to pay for hair styling and makeup, according to the Sun-Times.

Paul Vallas, who ran against Johnson during last year’s mayoral election, says he doesn’t recall spending campaign funds on grooming but notes that his being bald contributed to the lack of expenditures, the Sun-Times reported.

Johnson’s campaign has an explanation for the mayor’s unordinary spending, with Neidhardt saying that “he’s mayor 24-7” and that “appearances matter,” according to the Sun-Times.

Though Chicago’s mayor has been on top of his beauty regimen, he’s had trouble keeping crime under control in his city.

Violent crime in Chicago’s public schools increased 26% in 2023, according to Illinois Policy. March, meanwhile, had the second-most homicides of any month in the city over the past decade, a local PBS affiliate reported.

The Chicago mayor’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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