by Frank Holmes, reporter
A rising Democrat, who has been touted as a possible presidential candidate of the future, has been caught in a massive financial scandal.
One far-Left mayor has posed as a “man of the people,” but he just spent a massive amount of taxpayer money on something the average man never thinks about.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson spent $30,000 in one year to take care of his hair and make-up.
To put that figure into perspective, his predecessor, Lori Lightfoot, spent just $8,000. Lightfoot, a radical left-wing Democrat, became infamous for going to her hair stylist while the rest of the city was stuck in their homes under a lockdown order she announced.
Johnson has been worse than Lightfoot on liberalism and vanity, it seems.
Johnson spent $32,000 between January 2023 and this March
Almost all that amount went to just one person—who happens to be a woman—Denise Milloy, a make-up artist and “skincare enthusiast” who plies her trade out of Makeup Majic, which is set up inside her home.
Johnson paid Milloy $28,000, and gave $4,000 to his hair salon.
The fact that the young, virile Johnson is spending $28,000 a year to visit a make-up artist inside her home might be enough to raise some eyebrows.
The office denies using taxpayer funds for the mayor’s make-up jag…but his use of campaign finance funds for his personal appearance should have some of his supporters so red-faced, they look like they’ve used too much rouge.
Johnson spent campaign cash on his hair care and facial treatments—which record originally listed as “Candidate makeup for TV” or “Makeup retainer” — but after his election, records called it “event expenses.”
His critics say that could be a violation of campaign finance laws, because nothing in federal election law allows candidates to use money on their personal appearance. In his defense, Johnson’s campaign says nothing explicitly forbids it, either.
Johnson’s campaign spokesperson, Bill Neidhardt, defended spending campaign money on the mayor’s glow-up, saying “He’s mayor 24-7,” so “appearances matter.”
“Is this where Chicago’s Mayor ‘s progressive donors expected their contributions to be spent?” asked the Chicago Contrarian account, which has more than 42,000 followers on X.
When reporters confronted Johnson about his massive personal overspending, the up-and-coming Democrat played the race card.
It’s OK that he spent so much, he seemed to say, because he spent the money at Black-owned businesses.
All that spending, he said, just proved that “I am so committed to the support of small businesses.”
It’s undeniably true that the people of Chicago could use some financial relief from decades of left-wing and progressive policies that have caused capital flight from the metropolis. “There are some people in Chicago who even don’t make $30 a year!” said one critic.
Most working people barely make as much a year from their jobs as the mayor spends on foundation and eye liner. The median household income in south Chicago is just $46,156 a year.
Mayor Johnson could blow through that at one salon.
Economics is not the only—nor even the primary—problem facing the people of Chicago. In recent months, Mayor Johnson has had to deal with headlines like these:
Things are so bad that city leaders are considering a mandatory 8 p.m. curfew for all the city’s young people—a crime-killing measure the Democrat opposes.
It’s not just mass shootings: Criminal sexual assault is up 19 percent this year compared to last year. Robberies are up 28 percent. And motor vehicle thefts are up a whopping 185 percent.
“Hey Chicago, your major is incompetent, but at least he’s pretty,” wrote Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired police officer.
The city also faces a crisis influx of illegal aliens, thanks to Chicago’s status as a “sanctuary city.”
The Horn News has told you Johnson actually started busing illegals out of his city months ago.
More recently, Johnson has decided to begin evicting illegal aliens from the city’s homeless shelters.
Johnson presides over the only sanctuary city to kick illegal immigrants out onto the streets of the Windy City.
Instead of worrying about any of this, Johnson has thrown his weight behind a political cause that’s near-and-dear to him: enriching himslf.
Johnson is so committed to living the high life that he’s currently “fighting to kill an ordinance that penalizes lobbyists who contribute to mayoral campaigns,” according to a state think tank leader.
Johnson’s a Democrat. So, he’ll probably get a pass on his self-serving antics.
But if the media ever decide to turn their spotlight onto Brandon Johnson, he’s ready for his close-up.
Frank Holmes is a veteran journalist and an outspoken conservative that talks about the news that was in his weekly article, “On The Holmes Front.”