MILLER: “The Chosen One” is back

Christian Mitchell has had strong detractors ever since Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle elevated the young Black man out of obscurity and backed him for the Illinois House in 2012.

Preckwinkle chose her trusted aide Mitchell over appointed Rep. Kimberly du Buclet (D-Chicago). Preckwinkle’s move upset a lot of people in that part of the world because the du Buclet family’s local influence had been strong for decades and Mitchell was not a born South Sider.

As a result, I somewhat derisively referred to Mitchell as “The Chosen One” in a story I wrote for my subscribers back in the day.

Mitchell’s first House primary race was a proxy battle between Preckwinkle and the Jesse Jackson family, and man was that close race ever heated. He was a brassy, highly educated amateur boxer who didn’t take any guff whatsoever. Mitchell then went on to win two successive Democratic primary races against a Chicago Teachers Union-backed candidate. The enemies list grew as Mitchell fought all opponents tooth and nail.

The complaints really started to fly in 2019 when he was chosen as one of newly elected JB Pritzker’s deputy governors. Statehouse denizens (most of them white men) who were accustomed to deference were shocked at Mitchell’s in-your-face negotiating style and fierce loyalty to his boss. I lost count of the number of white men who reached out with stories about the brash Pritzker lieutenant.

But, hey, Mitchell helped pass a lot of bills. He drove some very powerful folks up a wall during the intense negotiations over the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, but the bill got done.

Now that he’s been chosen as Gov. Pritzker’s running mate, I asked Mitchell last week if he believes he has bridges to build.

“I am proud to have been a tough negotiator in some very, very difficult rooms, trying to get the best deal for Illinois and for working families, for taxpayers. I’m not going to apologize for that,” Mitchell said.

But Mitchell said he’s a “different person” since he left politics in 2023. “Are there times when I spoke when I should have listened? I think the answer is absolutely.”

Mitchell pledged to be far more open in the future. “Anybody who wants to have a conversation, wants to reach out, wants to do well on behalf of the people of Illinois, I’m going to greet them with an open hand. And I’m going to remember to listen more than I speak. And I’m really excited to work with everybody, even people with whom we may have had some past friction.”

Mitchell was a fearless boxer back in the day, and he audaciously used “The Chosen One” moniker I gave him when promoting two charity fights.

Asked if he still boxes, Mitchell said, “I do not. I’ve been off for a few months. I had a wrist injury, but I’m hoping to start back next Friday.”

I jokingly wondered aloud whether his wrist injury was from breaking somebody’s skull. “I did not,” he said. “I don’t spar that often anymore,” Mitchell said, alluding to the fact that he was getting a bit too old to spar. “But I still love to hit the bag and love shadow boxing. It’s how I relax.”

And now he’s “The Chosen One” all over again as the billionaire governor’s running mate and possible successor should Pritzker win the presidency or is appointed to a Cabinet position.

Mitchell has a lot of work to do. But he seems committed to pulling this off.

Asked what his role would be in the upcoming campaign, Mitchell said, “My role is going to be to go everywhere, to talk to everyone, to articulate the issues across the state of Illinois, to meet people in their houses, at their churches, on the stoop in the town square. And ultimately, it’s going to be to articulate the message that the governor is putting forward about continuing the progress we’ve made over the last seven years, protecting that progress, investing in the jobs of the future, and making sure that we have a 21st Century education and health care system that people can afford. That’s gonna be my role.”

If Pritzker does somehow move up, or even if he doesn’t and retires, Mitchell will need the support of powerful people and groups in 2030 who thoroughly despised him when he was a deputy governor.

“The Chosen One” will then have to stand on his own.

However, he’s always been “The Chosen One” for good reason.