stood in the heart of the Loop by hulking CTA “L” columns that gleamed with a coat of morning rainfall as sharply dressed commuters hustled down the staircase.Questioned by a reporter about his public safety plan, the Cook County commissioner directed attention away from the lively scene downtown and toward his West Side neighborhood more than eight miles away.“Just Wednesday night — the day after I was propelled into this moment — there were gunshots yet again right outside my front door,” Johnson said during the news conference. “I live it every single day in Austin.”Johnson represents some of the city’s most violent neighborhoods and repeatedly discusses crime in personal terms. He talks about shielding his children from gunfire on his block that sometimes has pierced his home’s windows and a classmate of his oldest son who died in a shooting this school year. “I have more incentive than Paul Vallas for a safer, stronger Chicago,” he’s argues. “I’m living it, just like families are all over the city. We have to get it right.”Vallas’ campaign stops include mentions of violence just as harrowing, albeit less personal.At a December fundraiser inside a swanky lounge at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the Gold Coast, the former Chicago Public Schools CEO expressed outrage at the slaying of Kevin Davis, a 15-year-old boy shot the previous afternoon in front of his West Side high school.“Why wasn’t that child in an afternoon school and extended day program?” Vallas said. “I’m running for that reason. … So that I can bring in the type of leadership across every department at all levels, at every level, who can get this city back on track.”As the two candidates vying to become Chicago’s next mayor crisscross the city before the April 4 election, they are offering consistently contrasting views on myriad issues tied to public safety as Chicago residents grapple with elevated fears after crime began skyrocketing three years ago, including in areas that traditionally had been more isolated from violence.Story continuesTRENDINGFortune and glory and plastic bricks, kids: We've unearthed your first look at the new 'Indiana Jones' Lego setsYahoo Movies·2 min readLate 'AGT' and 'Voice' veteran Nolan Neal's daughter honors dad with 'Idol' audition: 'It could have been so different. He didn’t mean to die.'Yahoo Music·9 min readWhat you didn't see on TV at the 2023 Oscars: Love for 'Everything,' an MIA 'Mermaid' trailer, the impostor donkey and the biggest star of allYahoo Movies·4 min read'Everything Everywhere' emotional wins, a Disney commerical, Colin Farrell and 'Naatu, Naatu': Highs, lows and head-scratchers of the 2023 OscarsYahoo Movies·13 min readMichelle Yeoh says Oscars win is 'a beacon of hope and possibilities' for 'all the little boys and girls who look like me'Yahoo Movies·3 min read