Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2019 as the 56th
mayor of Chicago
The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...
. She is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as a partner at
Mayer Brown and held various government positions in Chicago. Most notably, she served as president of the
Chicago Police Board and chair of the
Chicago Police Accountability Task Force.
Lightfoot ran for Mayor of Chicago in
2019, advancing to a runoff election against
Toni Preckwinkle in the February 2019 election. She defeated Preckwinkle in the runoff on April 2, 2019.
Lightfoot is the
first LGBT black woman to be elected mayor of a major city in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. She is also the first black female mayor of Chicago. She is the second female (after
Jane Byrne) and the third African-American (after
Harold Washington and
Eugene Sawyer) mayor of Chicago.
Early life and education
Lightfoot was born in
Massillon
Jean-Baptiste Massillon, CO (24 June 1663, Hyères – 28 September 1742, Beauregard-l'Évêque), was a French Catholic prelate and famous preacher who served as Bishop of Clermont from 1717 until his death.
Biography
Early years
Massillon wa ...
,
Ohio, the youngest of four children. Her mother, Ann Lightfoot, was a nighttime healthcare aide and school board member, and her father, Elijah Lightfoot, a local factory worker and janitor.
She grew up in a mostly white neighborhood on the west side of the city.
She is a graduate of
Washington High School in Massillon, where she was a trumpet player in the school band, sang alto in choir, point guard on the basketball team, volleyball player, softball player, yearbook editor, and Pep Club member.
She was elected high school class president three times.
Her campaign slogan while running for high school class president was "Get on the right foot with Lightfoot".
Her high school alumni association named her a "Distinguished Citizen" in 2013.
While in high school, Lightfoot helped organize a boycott of her school's lunch program over the quality of its pizza. Her boycott was a success as the school provided more flavorful pizza.
Her punishment for the boycott was detention.
Lightfoot received her
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in political science from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1984, graduating with honors.
Despite not knowing the subject, she initially hoped to become a systems engineer following the advice of her oldest brother.
She pursued seven different types of employment to pay for her education, including working as a
resident assistant and as a cook for
the school's football team. She also held factory jobs at home during summers to help pay for her education.
While Lightfoot was an undergraduate, her older brother, Brian Lightfoot, was arrested in connection with a bank robbery and the shooting of a security guard.
Lightfoot held positions working for Congress members
Ralph Regula and
Barbara Mikulski before deciding to attend law school.
She has said she chose to attend law school not because of her brother's legal troubles, but because she wanted a job that offered financial independence.
She matriculated at the
University of Chicago Law School, where she was awarded a full scholarship.
As president of the University of Chicago Law School's student body, she led a successful movement to ban a law firm from campus after the firm sent a recruiter who made racist and sexist remarks towards a student.
Lightfoot quarterbacked an intramural flag football team while at Chicago Law School.
Lightfoot also served as a clerk for Justice
Charles Levin of the
Michigan Supreme Court.
She graduated from the University of Chicago with her
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree in 1989.
Career
Assistant U.S. Attorney (1996–2002)
After graduating law school, Lightfoot became a practicing attorney at the Mayer Brown law firm, serving a wide cross-section of clients.
Lightfoot first entered the public sector as
Assistant United States Attorney for the
Northern District of Illinois. During her mayoral campaign, Lightfoot cited several reasons for entering public service, including a desire to represent the African-American community, a sense of injustice based on the murder of a family member by a
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
member in the 1920s, and struggles with the law encountered by her older brother, who was charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.
While working as a federal prosecutor, Lightfoot helped to prosecute those accused of federal crimes, including drug crimes.
She assisted with
Operation Silver Shovel Operation Silver Shovel was a major United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe into political corruption in Chicago during the 1990s. By the end of the probe illegal activities from labor union corruption to drug trafficking, organ ...
, an FBI investigation into Chicago corruption. She helped to convict alderman Virgil Jones.
In 1999, Lightfoot was issued a warning for misconduct by judge
Richard Posner in a case in which she was found by the
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to have misled a United States Circuit Judge regarding a suspect's whereabouts, making it impossible for the judge to stay the suspect's extradition to Norway.
Lightfoot and the Justice Department at the time disputed this characterization of her actions.
Chicago Police Department Office of Professional Standards (2002–04)
In 2002, Lightfoot was appointed chief administrator of the Chicago Police Department Office of Professional Standards, a now-defunct governmental police oversight group, by Police Superintendent Terry Hillard. She held the position for two years. In the position, she was in charge of investigating possible cases of police misconduct, including police shootings of civilians. However, a
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
report found that the Office of Professional Standards' investigations often lacked thoroughness. Lightfoot says her recommendations for disciplinary action were often rejected by the police department.
In one notable case, Lightfoot went against Police Department orthodoxy by recommending the firing of officer Alvin Weems, who shot and killed an unarmed man, Michael Pleasance. Weems was initially believed to have accidentally shot Pleasance, but after video evidence contradicting the initial claims was revealed, even Weems himself expressed feeling that the shooting was unjustified. Weems was not fired by the Chicago Police Department, but the city was eventually forced to pay a settlement to the Pleasance family. Weems later committed suicide.
In another controversial case where officer Phyllis Clinkscales shot and killed unarmed 17-year-old Robert Washington, the Chicago Tribune reported that Lightfoot determined that the shooting was justified. In doing so, the Tribune said she reversed the order of her predecessor, who had called for Clinkscales' firing. Clinkscales' account of the events of the shooting had been found to contain untrue statements in an investigation.
Lightfoot disputes this account of Clinkscales' case, saying that the police superintendent at the time was responsible for declining Lightfoot's predecessor's finding that the shooting was unjustified. Lightfoot said her action on the case was to push for a 30-day suspension for Clinkscales, which she implied was the most that was possible given the circumstances.
Other roles in Chicago city government (2004–05)
Lightfoot then moved on to work in the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications. She was later hired by Mayor
Richard M. Daley as deputy chief of the Chicago Department of Procurement Services.
There, she and her boss, Mary Dempsey, investigated Chicago corruption, drawing Mayor Daley's ire in the process. Lightfoot and Dempsey's investigations included probes of then-
Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich ( , born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nicknames "Blago" or "B-Rod", is an American former politician, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, when ...
's associate
Tony Rezko and prominent Daley donor Elzie Higginbottom. Lightfoot worked at the Department of Procurement Services for a few months, subsequently returning to Mayer Brown.
Lightfoot has suggested that she left the Department of Procurement Services because of dismay at corruption in City Hall.
Private practice
As an attorney at
Mayer Brown, Lightfoot represented Republicans in two cases protesting Democratic gerrymandering.
At Mayer Brown, she also defended Chicago police officer Paul Powers against charges of physical assault. In 2019, after facing criticism over defending Powers, Lightfoot cited video evidence in favor of her former client's innocence.
Lightfoot was briefly hired by the city of Chicago to defend the city against charges brought by the family of a mentally ill woman, Christina Eilman, who was brought into custody by Chicago police after suffering a mental breakdown at
Midway Airport
Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...
. Eilman suffered sexual assault and a seven-story fall after being released by police into
Englewood. Eilman's family reached a $22.5 million settlement with the city.
Lightfoot has also served on the boards of the Illinois chapters of
NARAL and the
ACLU.
She has served as external counsel for
Bank of America.
In 2013, Lightfoot was a finalist for the position of
U.S. Attorney for the
Northern District of Illinois, but the job went to
Zachary T. Fardon.
Chicago Police Board and Task Force (2015–18)
Lightfoot returned to the public sector in 2015, when Mayor
Rahm Emanuel appointed her to replace 19-year incumbent Demetrius Carney as president of the Chicago Police Board. The board's main responsibility is to make recommendations for or against disciplinary action on certain disputed cases of police misconduct.
Under Lightfoot's leadership, the board became more punitive, firing officers in 72% of its cases. In the wake of the controversy over the
murder of Laquan McDonald
The murder of Laquan McDonald took place on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. McDonald was a 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a Chicago Police Department, Chicago Police Officer, Jason Van Dyke. Police had initially reported that McDona ...
, Emanuel also appointed Lightfoot as chair of a special
Police Accountability Task Force. In 2016, the Task Force, led by Lightfoot, filed a report critical of the Chicago Police Department's practices.
She specifically criticized the police union's "code of silence." The anti-police brutality activist organization
Black Youth Project 100's Chicago chapter released a statement denouncing Lightfoot and the board and task force for a "lack of accountability."
In 2017, Emanuel re-appointed Lightfoot to a second term as president of the Police Board. The decision came after Lightfoot and Emanuel had publicly come into conflict, particularly over Emanuel's attempts to reach a police reform deal with
Trump Administration Justice Department officials that would avoid a
consent decree and oversight from a
federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level.
United States
A US federal judge is appointed by the US President and confirmed by the US Senate in accordance with Article 3 of ...
. Lightfoot called Emanuel's approach "fundamentally flawed." At the time, there was already speculation that Lightfoot was planning a run for mayor of Chicago in 2019, though she denied the rumors. Lightfoot resigned from the Police Board in May 2018, just before announcing her mayoral campaign.
2019 mayoral campaign
On May 10, 2018, Lightfoot announced her candidacy for
Mayor of Chicago
The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...
in the 2019 elections, her first-ever run for public office.
She is the first LGBTQ mayor and first black female mayor of Chicago. Lightfoot was the first openly lesbian candidate in the history of
Chicago mayoral elections.
By summer 2018, Lightfoot had the highest-funded campaign of any individual challenging the two-term incumbent Emanuel. However, in the fall, Emanuel dropped out of the race, and high-profile candidates like
Gery Chico,
Bill Daley,
Susana Mendoza
Susana A. Mendoza is an American politician. She is the 10th Comptroller of Illinois, serving since December 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as Chicago City Clerk and as an Illinois State Representative, representing th ...
and
Toni Preckwinkle subsequently entered.
Animosity between the Preckwinkle and Lightfoot campaigns was reported as early as October 2018, when Preckwinkle denied rumors that she had pressured Lightfoot to drop out of the race. In December, after Lightfoot submitted the petitions necessary to secure a place on the ballot, Preckwinkle's campaign filed a challenge claiming that many of Lightfoot's petitions were fraudulent. The Chicago Board of Elections Commissioners found Lightfoot had enough valid petitions to remain on the ballot, and Preckwinkle's campaign withdrew its challenge.
In January, the race was upended by a major corruption scandal involving Chicago alderman
Ed Burke.
Lightfoot ran a television advertisement criticizing Chico, Daley, Mendoza and Preckwinkle as the "Burke Four" for their connections to the disgraced alderman.
Lightfoot picked up several endorsements, including nods from LGBTQ groups and local politicians.
In February, Lightfoot won the endorsement of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times'' editorial board.
As close to the election as late January, Lightfoot's support ranged between 2% and 5% in polls. She surged in polls later in the race, consistently polling at or near double-digits in surveys released in the weeks leading up to the election.
On February 18, Lightfoot made headlines after one of her press conferences was crashed by Preckwinkle ally
Robert Martwick, with whom Lightfoot then got into a heated exchange.
Shortly before the election, Preckwinkle's campaign manager, Scott Cisek, came under fire after comparing Lightfoot to a
Nazi in a Facebook post. Preckwinkle fired Cisek and publicly apologized for his post.
In Chicago, ethnic/racial coalitions had often played a key role in elections. As such, many of the candidates were seen as targeting different groups with their campaigns.
Hispanic candidates Gery Chico and Susana Mendoza were seen as vying for the Hispanic vote.
[ Toni Preckwinkle and Willie Wilson were seen as targeting the black vote.][ Bill Daley was seen as targeting the white vote.][ Lightfoot was seen as breaking the rules of traditional Chicago politics by not basing her candidacy on seeking the support of particular ethnic/racial groups.][
Lightfoot finished first in the February election, in what was considered to be an upset.][ She placed above a crowded field of fourteen candidates. Because no candidate reached the necessary 50% of the vote needed to win the election outright, she and Preckwinkle advanced to a runoff election.]
In the runoff, both the ''Sun-Times'' and the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' endorsed Lightfoot. Several former candidates, including Mendoza, Chico, Paul Vallas
Paul Gust Vallas (born June 10, 1953) is an American politician and former superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, former CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public ...
, and fourth-place finisher Willie Wilson also endorsed Lightfoot in the runoff. Lightfoot held a substantial lead over Preckwinkle in polls conducted during the runoff campaign.
During the runoff, Lightfoot faced criticism from criminal justice activists over her record in police accountability and as a prosecutor. Chicago-based musician and activist Chancelor Bennett
Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape ''10 Day'' in 2012. He ...
, also known as Chance the Rapper, voiced similar concerns in his runoff endorsement of Preckwinkle. Bennett, a former Amara Enyia supporter and son of Preckwinkle's campaign co-chair, said Lightfoot's record as a prosecutor and Chicago Police Department employee has worked against the interests of the black community in Chicago. U.S. Representative Bobby Rush, who endorsed Preckwinkle in the runoff after supporting Daley in the general election, made similar criticisms of Lightfoot centered around criminal justice issues. Lightfoot defended herself against Bennett's criticisms at a mayoral debate, citing her personal experiences with racial discrimination as evidence she would take the concerns of the black community into account. Lightfoot also faced activist criticism over comments at a University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
forum, where she suggested turning some shuttered schools in the city into police academies. Lightfoot later disavowed this suggestion via Twitter.
In the runoff, Lightfoot received endorsements from seven of the twelve candidates that had been eliminated in the first round (these endorsements coming from Gery Chico, Jerry Joyce, John Kozlar, Susana Mendoza
Susana A. Mendoza is an American politician. She is the 10th Comptroller of Illinois, serving since December 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as Chicago City Clerk and as an Illinois State Representative, representing th ...
, Neal Sales-Griffin, Paul Vallas
Paul Gust Vallas (born June 10, 1953) is an American politician and former superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, former CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public ...
, and Willie Wilson). Preckwinkle, by contrast, received no endorsements at all from any candidates that had been eliminated in the first round.
Lightfoot won the runoff election on April 2, 2019, becoming mayor-elect of Chicago. She won more than 73% of the overall vote in the runoff, winning in all 50 wards of the city. Lightfoot won all but 20 of the city's 2,069 voting precincts. Voter turnout was 32.89%, almost a record low.
;Chart of progression of Lightfoot's poll numbers in first round
Mayor of Chicago
Lightfoot took office on May 20, 2019. Incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel reportedly modeled the transition between his and Lightfoot's administrations on the U.S. presidential transition between the George W. Bush and Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
administrations. Emanuel was part of the Bush-Obama transition as Obama's chief of staff designate.[ Lightfoot endorsed the comparison between her transition and the Bush-Obama transition.
On April 4, Lightfoot named key members of her transition team: her campaign manager Manny Perez to serve as intergovernmental advisor, Maurice Classen to serve as her chief of staff, Sarah Pang and Ra Joy to serve as senior advisors, and Lisa Schneider-Fabes to serve as transition manager.
As mayor-elect, Lightfoot expressed a desire for the Laquan McDonald trial to be reexamined, urging the U.S. Attorney's Office to reopen their grand jury investigation to examine if any civil rights were violated.
On April 6, 2019, Lightfoot told the '' Chicago Sun-Times'' that her staff would, during her first post-election weekend, spend time examining the city's 600-page agreement with Sterling Bay regarding the Lincoln Yards development. During her campaign, Lightfoot had been critical of the process that was being taken to reach the agreement. The following Monday, at her request, Mayor Rahm Emanuel postponed city council votes on the approval of $1.6 billion in tax increment financing subsidies for both the Lincoln Yards and The 78 mega-developments. After the developers of the two projects agreed to increase commitments to hiring minority-owned and women-owned contractors, Lightfoot announced that she now supported the deals, which were approved one day subsequent to her declaration of support.
One week before her inauguration, Lightfoot named lawyer and activist Candace Moore as Chicago's first-ever chief equity officer, a job in which Moore will focus on countering racial inequality in the city.
Three days before taking office, Lightfoot named Alderman Scott Waguespack to serve as finance committee chairman, Alderman Pat Dowell to serve as budget chairman, Alderman Tom Tunney to serve as zoning chairman and Alderman Gilbert Villegas to serve as floor leader and economic development chair.
]
Inauguration
On May 20, 2019, Lightfoot officially took office as Mayor of Chicago, after being sworn in at 11:15 am by Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois.
Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois ar ...
, at the Wintrust Arena
Wintrust Arena at McCormick Square, previously referred to as DePaul Arena or McCormick Place Events Center, is a 10,387-seat sports venue in the Near South Side community area of Chicago that opened in 2017. It is the current home court for ...
, accompanied by her wife and daughter.
Upon taking office, Lightfoot became the first openly LGBT Chicago mayor, the first black female Chicago mayor, as well as the second female Chicago mayor (after Jane Byrne) and third Chicago black mayor (after Harold Washington and Eugene Sawyer).
Affordable housing
On October 14, 2019, Lightfoot announced the creation of an affordable housing task force set to consist of 20 members and study solutions to housing affordability over a 4- to 6-month period. The following month, it was announced that the task force would also come up with a proposal to rewrite the city's affordable housing ordinance. These efforts directly implicated systemic racism
Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, healt ...
as the primary issue in housing affordability, recommending an entirely new framework for housing ordinances prioritizing racial equity. However, initial affordable housing goals were set back by budget shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. Many of these recommendations were eventually integrated into the distribution of federal relief funds for housing assistance grants, as well as allocations for low-income tax credits.
On March 6, 2020, Lightfoot named Tracey Scott as CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority. On March 30, the CHA Board of Commissioners approved Tracey Scott's appointment.
Casino
After legislation expanding gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
in Illinois was passed by the state legislature at the start of June 2019, Lightfoot announced that the city would commence study of where a Chicago casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...
would be located. Lightfoot's predecessors had long sought to obtain a casino for the city.[ While the state did not approve a city-owned casino (reportedly preferred by Lightfoot, as it had been by her predecessors); state legislation allowed for a privately owned casino from which the city would receive one third of tax revenue generated.][ Lightfoot has continued to push, however, for the state to authorize a casino jointly owned by the city and state and with a lesser effective tax rate than the passed legislation specified.]
On May 5, 2022, Lightfoot announced that she had selected the bid from the Bally's Corporation to construct a casino resort on the west bank of the Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for ...
.
City Council
Lightfoot's first executive order as mayor limited "aldermanic prerogative", a practice under which Chicago aldermen
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually ...
were granted an effective veto over matters in their wards.
On May 28, 2019, Lightfoot unveiled proposals to revise the operating rules of the Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mon ...
. Among other things she proposed live streaming video of committee meetings, changes to strengthen the rule on conflicts of interest and the transfer of control over TIF
Tag Image File Format, abbreviated TIFF or TIF, is an image file format for storing raster graphics images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and photographers. TIFF is widely supported by scanning, faxing, word processin ...
subsidies to the council's Committee on Economic and Capital Development.
Lightfoot has butted heads with embattled Alderman Ed Burke. On May 29, 2019, during the first city council meeting, over which Lightfoot presided, she held her ground in debating issues with Alderman Burke. On May 31, after indictments were brought against Burke, Lightfoot called for his resignation.
On June 5, 2019, Lightfoot outlined further ethics reform proposals for the city council.
Crime
As of June 17, Chicago leads the nation in mass shootings, average approximately one per week. In response to the third mass shooting in four days, Lightfoot said: "We are part of a club of cities to which no one wants to belong: cities with mass shootings."
Education
On June 3, 2019, Lightfoot announced her selections for the Chicago Board of Education (the school board of Chicago Public Schools), appointing former City Clerk of Chicago Miguel del Valle as its president. She also announced that incumbent CEO of Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools is headed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) appointed by the mayor of Chicago. Currently serving as CEO is Pedro Martinez. This job is equivalent to a superintendent, and, before 1995, the occupant of this office was known ...
Janice K. Jackson
Janice K. Jackson (born May 22, 1977) is an American educator, educational administrator and former schools superintendent. Jackson served as the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, the school district's superintendent position, from December 8, 2 ...
would retain her position,[ having previously only committed to retaining her for an interim period.][
In October 2019, Lightfoot dealt with a public schools strike led by the Chicago Teachers Union and Service Employees International Union.
While Lightfoot has advocated for an elected Chicago school board, as mayor-elect she opposed state legislation that would create a 21-member board, calling it "unwieldy". Nevertheless, in July 2021, governor J. B. Pritzker signed such legislation into law, over Lightfoot's objections.
On June 14, 2021, Lightfoot named José Torres to serve as interim CEO of the Chicago Public Schools after Janice K. Jackson steps down.] On September 15, 2021, Mayor Lightfoot announced that Pedro Martinez
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...
would be succeeding Torres as the new permanent CEO. On September 22, the Chicago Board of Education unanimously voted to approve his appointment as CEO, scheduling him to take office on September 29.
Fiscal issues
On November 23, 2021, a plan by Lightfoot to increase the minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
to $15 an hour by 2021 was approved by the Chicago City Council. This increase did not include restaurant servers and tipped workers.
Among proposals Lightfoot floated in the fall of 2019 included a graduated transfer tax for commercial real estate sales.[ This plan would allow the city to capture more money from large real estate transfers, while also providing a tax break for the 85% of real estate transfers valued under $500,000.][
On November 26, 2019, the Chicago City Council approved Lightfoot's budget for the 2020 fiscal year.
]
Public safety and police
Shortly after taking office, Lightfoot faced what was regarded as her first test at public safety, as Memorial Day weekend in Chicago had, in previous years, often been a period in which Chicago had seen a spike in violence. In an attempt to eschew this pattern, Lightfoot initiated ''Our City. Our Safety.'', under which extra police patrols were stationed in busy locations, as well as in troubled spots, and free youth programs were organized by the Chicago Park District at about a hundred locations.[ A notable extent of violence was still witnessed over the weekend, to which Lightfoot responded, "We can’t claim victory and we certainly can’t celebrate. We have much more work to do."]
On May 28, 2019, Lightfoot outlined a plan to focus on reducing the city's gun violence.[
On May 28, 2019, Lightfoot urged city council to pass an ordinance within her first hundred days that would establish a level of civilian oversight on the Chicago Police Department.][
Lightfoot launched a community policing initiative in June 2019. Later that month she announced that the city's police department would not assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, denying ICE access to the city's police database in an effort to protect the city's immigrant population from the threat of deportation.
On November 8, 2019, after Eddie T. Johnson announced that he would resign from his position as superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, Lightfoot named Charlie Beck to serve as interim superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.] On December 2, rather than letting Johnson voluntarily retire, Lightfoot fired him due to what she declared were "intolerable" actions by him and him misleading the public. Lightfoot nominated David Brown to be superintendent of police on April 2, 2020. After Beck stepped down on April 15, Brown became acting superintendent, while pending confirmation to serve on a permanent basis.
On November 13, 2019, Lightfoot proposed an ordinance that would create a new Office of Public Safety Administration, which would combine administrative functions of Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Fire Department and the Office of Public Safety Administration. The ordinance would also move the task of hearing appeals from rejected Chicago police applicants whose names have been removed from the department's eligibility list from the Human Resources Board to the purview of the Chicago Police Board.
In June 2020, Lightfoot voiced her opposition to an ordinance proposed by alderman Roderick Sawyer, which would end the Chicago Public Schools' contract to station Chicago Police Department officers at schools.
In May 2021, Lightfoot nominated Annette Nance-Holt to be the city fire commissioner. She was confirmed to the position by the Chicago City Council on June 23. Nance-Holt is the first woman to serve in a permanent capacity as the commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department.
2020 coronavirus pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Lightfoot has been taking a number of actions aimed at quelling the severity of the outbreak in Chicago. On March 11, 2020, Lightfoot joined Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker to postpone of the city's formal Saint Patrick's Day festivities (including parades and the dyeing of the Chicago River). On March 15, Lightfoot decided that, due to concerns surrounding Saint Patrick's Day festivities, all businesses selling liquor must have less than half of their regular maximum capacity, and must additionally not exceed a capacity of 100 people.
On March 12, 2020, Lightfoot again joined Pritzker to issue, among other things, a ban on events attended by more than 1,000 people from being held over the next 30 days. In response to the pandemic, she created the Racial Equity Rapid Response Team as well as the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force.
On March 15, Lightfoot criticized the long lines at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport
Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...
as a result of federal government travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic as "utterly unacceptable". Under the federal government's travel restrictions, authorized passengers could only take flights from 26 permitted European nations to a total of thirteen permitted United States airports, of which O'Hare was one.
On March 20, 2020, Lightfoot extended Chicago Public School closures beyond what had already been mandated by the State of Illinois. Chicago Department of Health Commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, had signed a public health order under which those with the COVID-19 illness or exhibiting symptoms, with few exceptions, could not leave their place of residence, go to work or any group settings. The order allowed sick residents to seek essential services, such as necessary clinical care/evaluation, and life sustaining needs, such as medicine and food. Lightfoot declared that anyone who violated this order may be issued a citation.
On March 27, Lightfoot placed a ban on contact sport and closed the city's parks, beaches, and trails due to instances over the previous days of people violating the state's stay-at-home order and gathering in public places.
On March 31, 2020, Lightfoot announced that she had secured 300 hotel rooms in the city's downtown to house first responders, which they could use so that they would not need to go to their homes and risk spreading COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...
to their families.
Lightfoot's administration worked with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to establish a makeshift hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergenc ...
at McCormick Place.
In early April, Lightfoot partnered with Chicago's professional sports teams to launch the "We Are Not Playing" campaign.
Also in early April, Lightfoot drew criticism for getting her hair cut in violation of the state's stay-at-home order. She argued that she was justified in doing so, saying, "I’m the public face of this city. I’m on national media and I’m out in the public eye."
On April 7, Lightfoot signed an executive order which further ensured that undocumented immigrants would not be excluded from receiving city benefits, opportunities, and services. Similar protections already largely existed under the Welcoming City Ordinance, which had been passed during her predecessor's term.
On April 8, Lightfoot introduced a curfew on liquor sales to take effect the next day. This was to cut down on congregating outside of liquor stores.
Also on April 8, Lightfoot was criticised for suspending Freedom of Information Act request deadlines, saying "I want to ask the average Chicagoan: Would you like them to do their job or would you like them to be pulled off to do FOIA requests?", and invoking the Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
by saying "I’m mindful of the fact that we’re in the Pesach season, the angel of death that we all talk about is the Passover story". Due to this, Lightfoot was subsequently awarded the tongue-in-cheek "Pharaoh Prize for Deadline Extensions" by digital-rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ci ...
.
Lightfoot has participated in enforcing the state's stay-at-home order, personally partaking in patrolling the city and confronting violators.
Lightfoot-centric internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
s arose during the coronavirus outbreak, first gaining popularity in late-March amid Lightfoot's no-nonsense approach to enforcing the state's stay-at-home order.
On November 12, 2020, to be effective on November 16, Lightfoot issued new restrictions, including a stay-at-home advisory. Lightfoot was scrutinized for this decision as she had been seen in prior days at a large gathering celebrating Joe Biden's election victory.
2020 Black Lives Matter police violence protests
During the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) anti-police violence protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd, Lightfoot, who campaigned as a police reformer, stated that police unions have continued to be one of the main obstacles to reform of the department:
Lightfoot further stated that police violence and brutality "demean the badge" and asked the public to report police misconduct.
On May 31, during a conference call with all 50 Chicago aldermen, Lightfoot got into a heated argument with fellow Democrat Raymond Lopez of the 15th Ward. The two swore at one another after Lopez criticized the mayor's response to looting and rioting during the George Floyd protests.
In August 2020, she came under criticism for not allowing protests on the block where she lives. Lightfoot said this was justified because she had received threats.
Other staffing decisions and appointments
On May 20, 2019, Lightfoot announced the retention of several administrators who had worked under the previous Emanuel administration, alongside a number of new hires.
On September 30, 2019, Lightfoot hired former alderman John Arena
John Arena is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the 45th ward in the Chicago City Council from 2011 to 2019.
Career Aldermanic career
In 2011, Arena was elected as the alderman of the 45th ward. The 45th war ...
as a special advisor in the city's planning department.
In December 2019, Lightfoot nominated Gia Biagi to serve as the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation. Biagi was confirmed by the Chicago City Council to the position on January 15, 2020.
Other issues
On May 28, 2019, Lightfoot laid out plans to pass "fair work week" legislation tightening rules surrounding workplace scheduling.[
On November 26, 2019, the city council approved ordinances Lightfoot had put forth placing restrictions on vehicle impoundment and lowering fines for illegal possession of cannabis.
In early February 2020, Lightfoot joined with Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin to urge the Federal Emergency Management Agency to declare the damage being inflicted on the city's lakefront by historically high ]Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
water levels to receive federal disaster designation.
In late February 2020, Lightfoot hosted a summit at University of Illinois at Chicago addressing the issue of poverty.
Other controversies
On May 19, 2021, Lightfoot stated she would only choose reporters of color for interviews on the occasion of her two-year anniversary in office. This sparked considerable backlash, with many calling for her resignation, including Tulsi Gabbard. Judicial Watch sued Lightfoot on behalf of '' The Daily Caller'', alleging Lightfoot violated journalist Thomas Catenacci’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Approval rating
Below is a table of polls on Lightfoot's approval rating amongst Chicagoans, descending from most to least recent:
Notes on polls
: 4% "excellent", 12% "good", 32% "fair", and 52% "poor".
National politics
On March 6, 2020, shortly before the 2020 Illinois Democratic presidential primary
The 2020 Illinois Democratic presidential primary took place on March 17, 2020, the third primary Tuesday of the month, as one of three states voting on the same day in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, while t ...
, Lightfoot endorsed Joe Biden's candidacy
Candidacy is a rite which takes place during Roman Catholic seminary formation, by which the Church recognizes the seminarian as worthy of being ordained (hence, they become a "candidate" for ordination to the priesthood). With the liturgical ref ...
for president.
Lightfoot appeared in a video shown on the opening night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention which also features Biden, Houston
Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
Police Chief Art Acevedo, activist Jamira Burley
Jamira Burley is a human rights activist and social impact strategist. She is currently the Head of Youth Engagement and Skills at the Global Business Coalition for Education a Summit and an MIT Media Lab Director's Fellow.
Early life
Burley grew ...
, activist Gwen Carr, and NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
President Derrick Johnson.
Lightfoot was a 2020 Democratic United States Electoral College elector from Illinois, casting her votes for Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice-president.
Personal life
Lightfoot resides in the Logan Square neighborhood, on Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
's Northwest Side. On May 31, 2014, she married Amy Eshleman, a former Chicago Public Library employee, who is now a full-time mother to the couple's adopted daughter, Vivian.
Lightfoot has held Chicago Bears season tickets for 20 years, and is also a Chicago White Sox season ticket-holder. She is also a season ticket holder for the WNBA's Chicago Sky.
Lightfoot made an appearance on a TV mini-series called ''The Second City Presents: The Last Show Left on Earth''.
Lightfoot is a Founding Trustee at Christ the King Jesuit High School in Chicago. She is also a member of St. James AME Zion Church.
Awards and honors
In June 2019, Lightfoot was selected as one of several grand marshals of the Chicago Pride Parade.
In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade
A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
, ''Queerty
''Queerty'' is an online magazine and newspaper covering gay-oriented lifestyle and news, founded in 2005 by David Hauslaib. As of June 2015, the site had more than five million monthly unique visitors.
History
''Queerty'' was founded by David ...
'' named her among the fifty heroes “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people”.
In October 2020, Lightfoot was chosen by the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) to receive the NMQF Honorable John Lewis Lifetime Achievement Award.
Electoral history
See also
* List of mayors of the 50 largest cities in the United States
* List of the first LGBT holders of political offices in the United States
Notes
References
External links
Office of the Mayor
at City of Chicago
*
Lori Lightfoot News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lightfoot, Lori
1962 births
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American lawyers
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century American politicians
African-American lawyers
African-American mayors in Illinois
African-American women lawyers
Assistant United States Attorneys
Illinois Democrats
Lawyers from Chicago
Lesbian politicians
LGBT African Americans
LGBT appointed officials in the United States
LGBT Christians
LGBT lawyers
LGBT mayors of places in the United States
LGBT people from Illinois
LGBT people from Ohio
Living people
Mayors of Chicago
People from Massillon, Ohio
University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni
University of Chicago Law School alumni
Women mayors of places in Illinois
20th-century American women lawyers
21st-century American women lawyers
2020 United States presidential electors
African-American women mayors