U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Cook County Comm. Brandon Johnson appear together at a rally on Thursday, days before the mayoral runoff election is decided. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Thousands of supporters of Cook County Comm. Brandon Johnson’s mayoral bid packed the Credit Union 1 Arena at UIC Thursday evening for a rally headlined by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders just five days before the April 4 runoff.

Surrogates painted his opponent, former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, as an existential threat and Johnson as the candidate with better experience in education and a better vision for the city’s future.