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Lori Lightfoot becomes the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election


HipKat
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her bid for re-election Tuesday, ending her historic run as the city’s first Black woman and first openly gay person to serve in the position.

Lightfoot, a Democrat, failed to get enough votes in the nine-person race to move on to an April 4 runoff election, according to projections by The Associated Press.

Paul Vallas, a former CEO of Chicago schools, will face Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union.

Ideologically, the choice between Vallas and Johnson is stark. Vallas ran as a moderate law-and-order candidate, while Johnson ran on an unabashedly progressive agenda.

But Chicagoans sent a message that they wanted change, rejecting both an incumbent mayor and a sitting congressman. Lightfoot is the first incumbent elected Chicago mayor to lose re-election since 1983, when Jane Byrne, the city's first female mayor, lost her primary.

Lightfoot conceded defeat Tuesday night at her party in downtown Chicago, saying, "Obviously we didn't win the election today, but I stand here with my head held high."

Lightfoot has been dogged by persistent crime, which has been a top concern among Chicagoans. Crime spiked during her term, though she has repeatedly touted that it dropped year-over-year in 2022.

Vallas was widely expected to emerge from the first round of voting, having built his campaign around a tough-on-crime theme and garnering support in the vote-rich northern and northwestern sides of the city. He also got the backing of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police.

"We will have a safe Chicago. We will make Chicago the safest city in America," he said Tuesday night.

 Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas at a news conference in Chicago on Feb. 3.Scott Olson / Getty Images

It's a bitter end to a tumultuous tenure for Lightfoot, who quickly developed an image as a national lightning rod for conservatives and repeatedly clashed with institutional interests, from the Chicago Teachers Union to the media to the police rank and file. She was at times lauded for her handling of the pandemic but saw violent riots in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.

Lightfoot faced long odds and was in danger of an early re-election knockout. Having lost the support she once held along Chicago’s lakeshore neighborhoods and with major labor unions working against her, she was among seven Black candidates competing for votes among the city’s Black population. She faced stiff competition, particularly from Johnson, who had the backing and organizational benefits of the powerful Chicago Teachers Union, as well as Willie Wilson, a Black entrepreneur who had been polling ahead of Johnson.

Lightfoot's unfavorable ratings have soared with Chicagoans fed up with gun violence, as well as carjackings and robberies. And despite being the sitting mayor, she routinely failed to lead in recent polling, falling behind Vallas and Democratic Rep. Jesús "Chuy" Garcia. Later in the election, she took specific aim at Johnson, which many saw as a sign that her internal numbers showed him as a growing threat.

On the issue of crime, under Lightfoot, Chicago in 2021 recorded the most killings in a quarter-century, 797, and more than 3,500 shootings — which was 1,400 more than were recorded in 2019, when Lightfoot first took office. Lightfoot has made a point of noting that violence had eased by the end of last year.

But that hasn't eased anxieties among Chicagoans. A recent poll said 63% of Chicagoans said they didn't feel safe.

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“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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8 hours ago, Greg said:

I guess people in Chicago do have some brains. California and New York should do the same with their elected officials, but they won't.

Especially California

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“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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Does anyone have a fucking brain? She was put in the position regardless of anyone's vote in the first place.

If the powers that be still wanted her in office, that would have happened. 

Lol guess what today is..

MAR

01

International Women of Color Day

Let us all celebrate our unity in diversity this International Women of Color Day

 

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2 minutes ago, Woody said:

She'll be replaced by someone worse.  :niterider:

 

Is that possible?

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“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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4 minutes ago, thinwhiteduke said:

That is one dumb ass, sheep question.

There are no good politicians. They are ALL puppets.

She didn't do shit. She played the part she was told to. The next will do the same

I'm gonna break here for a second. Have you ever wondered why almost no one ever responds to your stupid posts??

Maybe you should and this is a one-off on ME replying to you.

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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2 hours ago, Very Wide Right said:

Shell either end up on CNNs staff or shell be Spikes next "wife". Time will tell!

 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces $11 million in grants to community ...

Impossible because like @micknabozshe "doesn't do dick!" 😂

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Sack "The Buffalo Range's TRUSTED News Source!"

“When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic.” ~ Dresden James

Parler @NYexile

 

 

 

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48 minutes ago, HipKat said:

I'm gonna break here for a second. Have you ever wondered why almost no one ever responds to your stupid posts??

Maybe you should and this is a one-off on ME replying to you.

You obviously avoided the truth of what I said.

 

 you don't respond to me because you're an idiot who believes in lies 

I obviously get responded to plenty.

That said, since I'm right more often then you about the State of the world, who gives a fuck who responds? I'm still right.

 

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4 hours ago, HipKat said:

Is that possible?

Sure.  We live in upside-down world and we're talking about Chicago.  There's still one progressive/woke shitbrain on the ballot so we can't rule out the possibility.  :niterider:

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Woody said:

Sure.  We live in upside-down world and we're talking about Chicago.  There's still one progressive/woke shitbrain on the ballot so we can't rule out the possibility.  :niterider:

 

I don't even know who's on the ballot. Chicago is a foreign planet to me

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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You know what's funny is the media get on DeSantis all the time about how terrible he is, yet people MOVE TO FLORIDA. I wonder why? If he is so "bad" then why is Florida pretty much all red. Places like Chicago, New York, California are all lost causes. If Chicago wants real change, then vote red.

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44 minutes ago, Greg said:

You know what's funny is the media get on DeSantis all the time about how terrible he is, yet people MOVE TO FLORIDA. I wonder why? If he is so "bad" then why is Florida pretty much all red. Places like Chicago, New York, California are all lost causes. If Chicago wants real change, then vote red.

Well, you can’t even compare Florida to Chicago. Chicago is a fucking Warzone. People in Ukraine are happy they don’t live in Chicago.

I wonder if people would move to Florida at the same rate if they had the same weather as northern Illinois

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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5 minutes ago, HipKat said:

Well, you can’t even compare Florida to Chicago. Chicago is a fucking Warzone. People in Ukraine are happy they don’t live in Chicago.

I wonder if people would move to Florida at the same rate if they had the same weather as northern Illinois

Weather isn't an excuse. It was reported a few weeks ago that 500,000 have left CA over the past 2 years. CA has pretty good weather.

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31 minutes ago, Greg said:

Weather isn't an excuse. It was reported a few weeks ago that 500,000 have left CA over the past 2 years. CA has pretty good weather.

They didn't go to N Dakota

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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34 minutes ago, HipKat said:

They didn't go to N Dakota

True. They left because it's getting too expensive to live there. Many poor and middle class have been priced out of CA.

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40 minutes ago, Greg said:

True. They left because it's getting too expensive to live there. Many poor and middle class have been priced out of CA.

This is a fact. It was rough when I was there in the 80's. Now, a rental hose in Compton is $1500 a month. Who was it here that lives in LA, downtown and pays $4700 bucks a month in rent?

Then add in taxes, utilities, fuel, licensing, etc.... there's no way

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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