Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has become the first incumbent mayor of the Windy City in 40 years to lose re-election, as the city struggles with a crime epidemic that has been rising during her tenure.
Lightfoot, a Democrat, received only 16.4% of the vote in Tuesday’s election, finishing behind the former head of Chicago Public Schools Paul Vallas, and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. Vallas received 35% of the vote, and Johnson received 20.2%, and the two will face off in an April 4 runoff election to determine who will be the city’s next mayor.
Though Lightfoot stated in her concession speech “I will be rooting and praying for our next mayor,” she has gone on to blame her loss on being “a black woman in America.”
“Heading into Tuesday’s race, Lightfoot’s prospects appeared bleak, as polls showed that worries over crime and public safety were the top concerns of voters in America’s third-largest city.
Under Lightfoot, Chicago has seen record-breaking levels of violent crime, with 695 murders at the end of 2022 and 804 in 2021. Theft incidents in the city have also nearly doubled from 2021 to 2022. In the first three weeks of 2023, crime rates in the city have skyrocketed by 61%, according to the Chicago Police Department’s end-of-year report.
Lightfoot has been widely criticized for her handling of the crime problem, as well as for injecting race into the election and suggesting that voters who don’t support her should stay home. She has also been accused of being too conservative for Chicago, and of using “the ultimate dog whistle” by saying her campaign was about “taking back our city.”
Vallas, the top vote-getter on Tuesday, was endorsed by the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, and he has called for adding hundreds of police officers to combat out-of-control crime in Chicago. Johnson, who will be Vallas’ opponent in April, received the coveted Chicago Teachers Union endorsement and had support from several other progressive organizations.
It remains to be seen how the April 4 runoff election will turn out, but it is clear that the citizens of Chicago are looking for a leader who can bring crime levels down and make their city a safe place to live.
Tucker’s final ROAST of OUSTED Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will have you in TEARS laughing????
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 1, 2023
