Controversial Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot took a massive defeat in the election this week. She once again used her race and gender as an excuse for the loss.
The Democratic mayor known for her leniency on crime finished behind former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, who gained 34% of the vote with 94% of the votes in. And she finished behind Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, who gathered 20% of the vote. Lightfoot only received 17% of the vote, so Vallas and Johnson will meet in a runoff election on April 4.
A reporter asked if she was treated unfairly because of her race and gender after her concession speech, and Lightfoot, who is also gay, responded: “I’m a black woman in America. Of course.”
She was elected mayor in 2019 and now she is the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose a reelection bid. On her watch, crime has risen 52% since 2022 and more than 100% since 2021.
Back in 2021, Lightfoot was asked, “In recent months, there have been questions raised about your temperament and your reaction to criticism – a Tribune editorial used the term irascible – how much of this do you think might have to do with the fact that you’re a woman and specifically a black woman?”
She answered that it was about 99% of it. “Look at my predecessors. Did people say that Rich Daly held tea sessions with people that he didn’t disagree on? Rahm Emmanuel was a polite guy who was a uniter? No. Women and people of color are always held to a different standard. I understand that. I’ve known that my whole life,” Lightfoot said.
One of the most controversial comments from the Chicago mayor happened after news broke that the Supreme Court might overrule Roe v. Wade. Lightfoot wrote to her “friends” in the LGBTQ+ community that the Supreme Court was coming for them next, and she said that this moment “has to be a call to arms.”
