Chicago elected a black and openly lesbian mayor

Her name is Lori Lightfoot, she is 56 years old, and she is a lawyer and former federal prosecutor. She celebrated with her wife and daughter.

April 3, 2019

Lori Lightfoot made history in the United States and Chicago by becoming the first Black and lesbian woman elected mayor of that city. A former federal prosecutor and practicing lawyer at a large company, the 56-year-old Democrat had never before held elected office. She defeated fellow African American Democrat Toni Preckwinkle by a wide margin: 74% to 26% of the vote.

In 182 years of history, Chicago voters had elected only one Black mayor and one white mayor. Lightfoot is therefore the first African American woman to hold the office, making her election unprecedented. But she is also the first openly gay mayor, and both during the campaign and in victory, she was accompanied by her daughter and her wife. "It doesn't matter who you love, as long as you love with all your heart," she said on victory night, looking at her wife, and then they kissed. She closed her speech, to a standing ovation, saying, "Let it shine, let it shine."

Lightfoot's victory came after a hard-fought campaign in which she promised to address the city's high crime rates, police brutality, and endemic corruption. This is no coincidence, as she succeeds former Barack Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who, after two terms and a police violence case that tarnished his image, decided not to run again. It was in 2014, when a white police officer shot and killed an African American teenager with 16 bullets in the back, and Emanuel refused to release the video of the brutal attack. Leaders of the Black community accused him of covering up the crime. Lightfoot emphasized that this is her main objective and that she will work hard to achieve it.

"We are up against powerful interests"

According to initial analyses of the results, the city's 2.7 million residents voted against economic disparities and gun violence: in 2018, more than 550 people were murdered in Chicago, and most of them were in the poorest neighborhoods.

“When we started our campaign, no one believed in our chances. Now, look where we are,” Lightfoot said in her victory speech at a Chicago hotel, promising to put “the interests of all the city’s residents above the interests of a privileged few.” She added, “We are up against powerful interests.”

For her part, the losing candidate congratulated the mayor-elect and celebrated the historic nature of the election. Also African American and a Democrat, 71 years old and with a long career in public service, Preckwinkle said: “This may not be the outcome we wanted, but while I’m disappointed, I’m not discouraged.” She added: “This is clearly a historic night, because until recently, two African American women in a mayoral runoff would have been unthinkable.”

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