Why Lori Lightfoot Lost the Chicago Mayoral Race

Chicago Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot sensationally lost her re-election bid on Tuesday, becoming the first sitting Windy City leader to miss a second term in 40 years.

Lightfoot made history when she became the first black woman and the first openly gay person to be elected Mayor of Chicago back in 2019.

But her failure to deal with a series of crises, including skyrocketing crime, the COVID-19 pandemic, and battles with powerful teacher and police unions, quickly eroded her support.

So what mistakes led to Lightfoot’s crushing re-election defeat?

Rapid rise in crime

Under Lightfoot’s watch, more than 800 murders took place in the Windy City in 2021, more than in a quarter of a century. The homicide rate dropped 14% last year, but the total homicide count (695) is still nearly 40% higher than it was in 2019, when Lightfoot took office.

The city also recorded more than 20,000 incidents of theft last year, almost double the number of similar incidents in 2021. Chicago Police Department data shows.

Chicago Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her re-election bid on Tuesday.Getty Images

In the first three weeks of 2023, the crime rate has risen sharply by 61% compared to the previous year.

Ahead of Tuesday’s election, polls showed that public safety was by far the top concern for Chicagoans.

But as crime continued to rise, Lightfoot was accused of neglect after she was caught on camera dancing merrily in the streets during the Lunar New Year parade in January.

Battle for schools

Lightfoot found herself embroiled in a fight with the powerful Chicago Union of Teachers at the start of her term in 2019.

Teachers in the nation’s third-largest school district went on strike for 11 days, resulting in the cancellation of classes for more than 300,000 students due to a labor agreement to raise wages.

Lightfoot eventually announced that the county had reached an agreement with the union after several months of unsuccessful negotiations that led to marches and rallies throughout the city.

Her handling of a series of crises, including skyrocketing crime and COVID-19 lockdowns, has eroded her support. NurPhoto via Getty Images

The mayor again ran into hot water with the teachers’ union in early 2021 over her plans to reopen schools as the COVID-19 pandemic began to ease.

In February 2021, the union approved an agreement to reopen the city’s public schools for face-to-face instruction after Lightfoot threatened to ban some teachers from using the distance learning software unless they returned.

Police union war

Lightfoot has also repeatedly clashed with the city police union during her tenure, most recently over her COVID-19 vaccination mandate for municipal employees.

A requirement introduced in 2021 required all city employees to either be fully vaccinated or tested before the end of this year.

The mandate was quickly criticized by the head of the Fraternal Police Order of Chicago, John Catanzara, who urged union members to ignore vaccination rules.

Eventually, Lightfoot sued Catanzara, where she successfully argued that his call to officers to ignore the vaccination mandate was illegal.

The judge granted the city’s request for a temporary injunction that barred Catanzara from making any public comments urging union members to disobey the wax order.

Under Lightfoot’s watch, more than 800 murders took place in the Windy City in 2021, the highest number in a quarter of a century. Getty Images

COVID-19 hypocrisy

In late 2020, Lightfoot was put on the defensive after she showed up at a crowded party to celebrate Joe Biden’s presidential victory – just days before she put in place a stay-at-home order amid rising COVID-19 cases. .

As part of her order, Lightfoot asked residents to only leave their homes for work, school, or essential needs because Chicago has reached a “tipping point” for the outbreak.

But Lightfoot was quickly criticized for her hypocrisy after she posted footage of herself celebrating Biden’s victory over Donald Trump with fellow Democrats.

As part of her defense, Lightfoot told MSNBC that everyone at the street party was wearing masks.

“I will tell you that a week ago in that big crowd everyone was wearing masks,” she said.

“Yes, there are times when we really need to… get relieved and come together, and I felt like this was one of those times. This crowd came together whether I was there or not, but it was a very difficult year for everyone. Everyone feels traumatized.”

Lightfoot was also accused of neglecting the Michigan Avenue shopping district, also known as the “Magnificent Mile”, which was subject to a number of looting incidents. AP

The shopping street has suffered from a number of looting incidents and a high vacancy rate in recent times. AP

Neglect of the “Magnificent Mile”

During the campaign, Lightfoot was accused by a number of business leaders of neglecting Michigan Avenue’s famous shopping district, known as the Magnificent Mile.

The posh strip has suffered a spate of looting incidents and the vacancy rate has reached 30%, up from 5% in 2017, according to Crain’s.

A number of popular retailers closed their doors or have announced their exit from downtown in recent months, including Banana Republic, Old Navy, Timberland, Uniqlo, Gap and Macy’s.

Granting interviews to reporters of color only

Lightfoot, the first black woman to become mayor, sparked controversy in 2021 when she chose to only give one-on-one interviews to minority journalists.

Marking her second anniversary in office in May 2021, Lightfoot criticized the “overwhelming whiteness” of the Chicago media and urged the media to “focus on diversity.”

She later defended the declaration, telling the New York Times that the number of non-white reporters covering her was “unacceptable”.

“I would do it again. I don’t apologize for that, because it sparked a very important conversation, a conversation that should have taken place, that should have taken place a long time ago,” Lightfoot said at the time.

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