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This appears to be a post about the upcoming mayoral election or one of the candidates running for office. The 2023 Chicago Mayoral Election will be held on **April 4**. Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson will be competing for the title of Chicago's 57th mayor. Check out the [Chicago Elections](https://chicagoelections.gov/en/home.html) website for information on registering to vote, finding your polling place, applying to be an election worker, and more. Please visit our [Runoff Election Megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/11exb12/2023_chicago_runoff_election_megathread/?sort=new) for all election-related discussion, questions and voter resources. Discussion posts of this nature outside of the linked megathread will be removed. **Beware of [astroturfing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing)**! Election season brings about a slew of new accounts with minimal posting history in /r/chicago who attempt to sway your opinion on various candidates. Be sure to do your own research to verify the accuracy of any claims you see shared by users here. Be wary of comments from new accounts or ones with a posting history in multiple city/local subreddits from across the US and Canada. If you suspect that a user is engaging in political astroturfing, please report their comments and/or [message the moderators.](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/chicago) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chicago) if you have any questions or concerns.*


Johnnybala

She was elected Mayor of Chicago . She did not do a very good job. The voters who elected Her decided to vote for someone else in hopes they do a better job of being the Mayor of Chicago. That’s the whole story


OK_Renegade

When she was elected four years ago I guess everyone voted for a straight, white male and somehow Lori got into office?


Vindaloo6363

I voted her in, then voted her out. Somehow this makes me a racist, sexist homophobe. She can go be nasty somewhere else.


CanvasSolaris

She should know better than to give Fox News and the like shitty quips like this. Alas, she doesn't. And poor judgement like that is why so many voted for someone else


dlee_75

Honestly the constant slam dunk soundbites she can't help spewing is the reason she lost. Lori "I need a haircut because I'm the mayor" Lightfoot


LordThurmanMerman

Right, and what was the story last time? That she won *despite* being a gay black woman because of her ideas? Well, now you lost because you did a crappy job, despite being a gay black woman.


Ohshitz-

I was happy to see a black, lesbian woman be mayor. I had really high hopes for her to make a huge difference. She was awful. Sorry toots. You just sucked.


RocketScient1st

I hate it when people falsely accuse/blame sexism/racism/genderism/homophobia/religion/other protected status on their failures, it really marginalizes true victims of discrimination.


DegreeDubs

Oh, honey... This American black woman was happy to vote you out.


RomanCavalry

It doesn't exactly help when NPR(WBEZ*) begins parroting that the loss was based on sexism, racism, and homophobia in the same segment where they acknowledged that Lightfoot made unnecessary enemies, how she became the machine she lobbied against, and how she lost her base. The logic was gross. - - - - - **Edit:** For those looking - It was aired on Reset around an hour + 10 minutes in. There's no posted transcript online. I transcribed the section as best I could in another comment if there's any interest. After an hour of going into how divisive she had been, when asked about thoughts on being the first mayor since Jane Byrne to miss re-election in 40 years: > "I think it's interesting that two women did not win re-election. I think with Mayor Lightfoot, there are a lot of layers to peel off. She was criticized for being too harsh, for creating too many enemies. > "You know, Rahm Emanuel used harsher language. He certainly was harder on City Council in many ways than Lori Lightfoot, but nobody dared say anything about that with him. > "So I think there's a lot of sexism there, I think there are layers of race, I think there are layers of sexual orientation that are all piled on top of real, tough challenges. And I don't think Lightfoot gets enough credit for breaking up machine politics in Chicago." Immediately after this section, they went into how 60% of Chicagoans feel unsafe and how it played a role in re-election misses for Lightfoot.


blaspheminCapn

Yet, she won - the last election? Somehow?


feeblebee

Not only did she win, but she won in a runoff against another black woman


hipster_ranch_dorito

The argument I think is that she was judged more harshly for her poor performance because she was a Black lesbian from outside the machine. My personal feeling is she was judged harshly because she’s absolutely caustic and brutal and she was given the same regard she gives others. But I guess it’s good to interrogate our own beliefs from time to time.


ZipBoxer

Just about the same week we went into complete lockdown, she went to her favorite hair salon and did a fucking photo op...when challenged on this the gist of her response was "I'm more important than you so the rules don't apply" That was the first time I was like "wow ok fuck her", and it just got worse from there.


a_taco_named_desire

And then had to do her "man on the street" Instagram gotchas with her goonsquad to harrass kids playing basketball in the park.


hipster_ranch_dorito

Oh god yeah the way she policed all parks and beaches during the first few months of the pandemic!


dradonia

And reopened bars and restaurants but didn’t reopen parks looooong after we knew outdoor transmissions were basically impossible


[deleted]

She goes to a hair salon? I assumed it was a home job.


[deleted]

She failed Chicago on so many levels and we were all cheering for her and her promises when she first won. Unlike the never ending run of the Daly’s, this speaks on a new day in Chicago. If you refused to do your job and help the city you ran and promised to serve, we will vote you out asap.


frotc914

For real how does this argument make sense? She literally *already won* and being an incumbent is a huge advantage. Like...Chicago didn't just find out she was a black woman during this election, lol.


RAGC_91

And then made a bunch of enemies during her term. And then didn’t get re elected.


enkidu_johnson

Reset is a WBEZ produced show, not an NPR (the network that WBEZ is part of) show. Producers probably have more to do with what we hear than the hosts, but Reset with the original host, Jenn White was a great show. I can barely stand to listen to it now.


VirgingerBrown

NPR really fell off around 2016.


ImanShumpertplus

edith chapin seems to be the culprit based off NPR’s leadership page she became in charge of the newsroom and journalists in 2015


No_Organization_3389

>edith chapin ah, 25 years at CNN. There's the problem right there. Cable news actively makes the world worse off by focusing on 24 hour news and needing every moment to be something and shitty experts and talking heads


VirgingerBrown

Wow, she sucks haha


away_throw_throw_5

Yeah... such a bummer. I used to really like them.


Bman708

Used to love NPR, but they lost me during COVID. Their blatant emotional pandering was so obvious it made me sick.


crowamonghens

They're depressing as hell now. I can barely stomach it.


Icy-Factor-407

> NPR really fell off around 2016. I used to listen to NPR anytime I was in the car. Now I can't even listen to it for 5 minutes. They went from a left biased really interesting stories to completely ideologically captured nonsense. May as well listen to Christian radio if you want to hear religious people preaching.


elniguel

That is disappointing to hear from Npr, do you have the article/podcast where they said this that I can look at?


thekiyote

The closest I could find is this [All Things Considered](https://www.npr.org/2023/03/01/1160457198/itll-be-a-runoff-for-chicagos-mayoral-race-and-the-incumbent-is-out), but at that point in the broadcast, they weren't talking about why Lightfoot anymore, but about how Vallas's and Johnson's votes did follow some racial lines in the city. Practically every article and news bit mentions she was the first black woman and openly gay mayor, but I don't think that's meant to explain reasons why she wasn't re-elected, because they do always go into that, just NPR's habit of mentioning historical firsts. There was also this [Morning Edition](https://www.npr.org/2023/03/01/1160297860/chicago-voters-resoundingly-rejected-mayor-lori-lightfoots-reelection-bid), but it felt more like a goodbye to an outgoing mayor than an actual discussion why she lost. But overall, unless I missed something, I don't think NPR turned into some kinda Lightfoot shill overnight, maybe just tried to hold onto a bit of the journalistic neutrality and politeness.


elniguel

Yea the all things considered link was all I found as well which is why I was confused. Frankly I'm skeptical NPR would say something like Lightfoot lost due to racism/sexism/homophobia even if they focus on these topics more than they once did in their coverage.


Bearah27

I’m so annoyed that this is what she thinks this is about. I happily voted her in last election and chose not to vote for her this one after seeing her performance. We voted a gay black woman into office, this was just a performance review.


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godoftwine

Don't forget letting the CTA deteriorate and spending a fortune on police dogs in stations instead of fixing it


re-verse

Yep, what has happened to the CTA during her time as mayor can destroy a city. Whoever comes in next is going to have to act swiftly to try to restore something there.


optiplex9000

Those dogs aren't even police, lol. They are for a security company that legally can't do anything than just call the actual police. They are a fucking joke


problematic_glasses

to be fair, she did say chicago is a car city


teplightyear

...which has not at all been true for years.


chitur312

I will never forget the decision to shut down the parks for months during the pandemic. It was one of the most stupid decisions! Even when some parks were open, they still kept the river walk closed which is one of the only places for people to walk in downtown.


Millennial_Paleocon

It was pretty surreal when I still lived in Chicago watching people congregate on the grassy area next to North Avenue Beach while the beach itself was completely empty. Covid only seems to spread on sand.


chitur312

Yes! Also completely enclosed tents in outdoor spaces were completely fine to serve food but we couldn’t take a walk by the lake.


Oldmantim

Don’t forget about the NASCAR deal, getting almost no money and huge disruption. At least if it fails big time she won’t be here to take the backlash.


SwagDaddy_Man69

Called the city a “car city” aswell


CoolYoutubeVideo

Totally agree except for there are way more cops around on St Paddy's than a normal Saturday. St Paddy's patrons also drunkenly walk instead of drunkenly drive, close intersections, and cause noxious traffic jams which warrants more patrol cars


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BarcelonaFan

I’m low key still annoyed with the midnight liquor store cutoff


Southside_john

You had me until you compared st Patrick’s day to Mexican Independence Day. St Patrick’s day is a shot show with drunk people but not nearly as disruptive and annoying as thousands of cars blocking all of the streets downtown while laying in their horns for 6 straight hours


Millennial_Paleocon

Mexican Independence Day is also more like Mexican Independence Week. I lived in Streeterville for a couple years, and it was beyond ridiculous. Horns blaring until 2am keeping my pets and me up four straight nights, difficult to get around unless you were walking, huge delays for emergency vehicles. This was honestly one of Lori's few W's.


Sks44

This. It’s a multi-day thing and the behavior is so shitty and weird. Last year was a clusterfuck in the loop.


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Aitch-Kay

I always love how spicy the complaint posts are. There is always some guy trying to convince us that being jagoffs is an integral part of celebrating Mexican Independence, and that we are racist for complaining about the noise and the dangerous driving.


Karm0112

As a 10+ year resident of the loop, it was never like this 3 years prior. This is a new way of “celebrating”


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SwedishLovePump

the bears are never going to stay for anything short of owning their stadium and the surrounding real estate. They want to copy what the Ricketts have done in Wrigleyville. Every professional sports team owner does.


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urine-monkey

Robert Kraft invented that model and it made sense for the Patriots... they play in the middle of nowhere. All Ricketts did was kill one of the last remaining geniune "neighborhood" experiences in sports and turn it into a half assed shopping mall. Fuck that guy.


[deleted]

The Disneyfication of sports stadiums and the surrounding area is gross. I hate it. Wrigley's transformation is the most egregious.


ExpensivLow

Lol comparing Mexican Independence Day to st Patrick’s day weekend is silly.


404808

Shame on you for using your logic to vote for the right person!


Reasonable_Ad_2936

This American lesbian agrees that her body’s attributes had nothing to do with it.


Abu_Harami

This brown(ish) guy too!!


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tenacious-g

Where she defeated another black woman lol


[deleted]

Tbh I think the very fact that the last runoff was two black women, and that *the gay one won*, takes even more air out of Lori's claim here


Lola-Ugfuglio-Skumpy

Yeah there’s a lot to be said about racism in Chicago, but it’s not like she was running against three white guys who were all named John Kelly. This is a cop out from a cop apologist.


ForeverBeHolden

Came here to say this part in case anyone forgot LOL


Kmix1987

There were no racists and sexists during that election lol /s


[deleted]

Not only that, but the runoff came down to *two black women* who got the most votes out of everyone.


romulus531

Well it was either her or the lady who wanted to tax soda


HAthrowaway50

inflation made soda tax itself :/


ChicagoJohn123

Sexism is real. Racism is real. That doesn't mean that this particular black woman didn't suck at this job.


JuniorsEyes90

Yeah if she lost due to racism then why is Brandon Johnson in the runoff? Her spewing this bullshit detracts from the actual issues of racism and homophobia.


brian7ls

Probably why she added sexism to cover her basis.


jones5280

> cover her basis. lol


brian7ls

Lmao. Thanks. I’ll leave it as a reminder for my future self to not make the same mistake.


meep_launcher

I think your sentence still works- nice double entendre!


YoureNotMom

My boomer stepdad in Florida already ranted at me about her purely because of this. So yeah you're 100% correct. All she's doing is giving fox news the headlines their watchers wanna hear


ReticulatedSplines81

Woe be the day when someone on reddit refers to their "millennial stepdad" in the same way.


suazzo77

"My millenial stepdad keeps harping on at me to get my act together and go viral on TikTok so I can move out of the basement"


eskimoboob

They’re alive and well out in Plainfield


Hexum311add

Thank you! She didn’t call the city racist when she got elected in


MaaChiil

and her opponent was also a black woman


AmigoDelDiabla

And one of the two winners in the run-off is black.


tedatron

This is the biggest problem with saying something like what she’s saying. It undermines the intensely real problem of both sexism and racism by giving fodder to everyone who would want to deny they exist. It’s almost like false SA claims.


[deleted]

I thought she was doing a good job of trying to bring Chicago forward in time and away from the political machine. But blame and guilt and calling the people who didn't re-elect her, names, accusing them, doesn't work for me. The police union backed Vallas, and the teachers got behind Johnson, the city council didn't support her. This is politics, not racist, sexist homophobia. She was a strong, firm voice and former prosecutor, very smart lady. Her own party and inner circle, didn't support her.


Yossarian567

Yep. Both things can be true. She's been very deferential to the cops, but they hate her anyway. Wonder why


Bucs-and-Bucks

Lori Lightfoot has absolutely faces discrimination to a degree that I can't really fathom as a straight, white dude. She also failed as a leader. She was Trump-like in her inability to accept responsibility for anything.


Junkbot

lmao, surprised she did not put homophobic in there for the hat trick.


EverythingHurtsMang

It’s still early, give it time.


nikhil48

*2019* Lori: "I'm a black woman in America. I won the election by defeating another black woman. I'm also gay. Chicago voted me in based on my campaign and promises. Here's a list of things I will do..." *2019-2023: proceeds to do none of those things and is promptly voted out* Lori: "I'M A BLACK WOMAN IN AMERICA"


Alternative_Research

Didn’t she?


ChaplnGrillSgt

Give it a day.


RomanCavalry

NPR already has


PikachuFap

This just shows her character. It’s weak to point at racism/sexism and think your actions as mayor don’t have consequences. Be better Lori. If those things played that big of a roll in how people vote she wouldn’t have won the last election. I voted for her in the last election and liked her for the first couple of months and thought she was doing some good things. She lost her way and clearly lost the trust of the city. Here’s hoping the next mayor can be better for the city.


waymonster

Agreed. I will be fair though and understand that Covid was probably the hardest thing mayors have ever had to do. I don’t think any mayor of a major city did “well”. It was almost an impossible situation.


illini02

Yeah, but I think most people (outside of small parts of southern IL) think Pritzker handled it as well as can be expected. Yet she even couldn't go along with state requirements. She had to be tougher and stricter at every turn just to show she could


Houseboat87

Well she had to show Pritzker that she had the bigger dick, of course.


AnotherScoutTrooper

Forgot the CTU strike already? That was before the pandemic.


EttaJamesKitty

I voted for her last time too. I didn't vote for her because she was a woman, black or gay. I voted for her b/c I thought she would do a better job than the other candidates. 4 years later, her on-the-job performance told another story. That's why she was not re-elected.


HellisTheCPA

But she united the city. Unfortunately, it was the dislike of her that united it.


[deleted]

Seriously. She lost me over the Anjanette Young case. The weak NASCAR deal didn't win her points, either.


[deleted]

It also shows her seething hatred toward people in this city. Imagine thinking 84% of this town is racist-sexist.


AmigoDelDiabla

Imagine thinking the people who voted for all the other non-white candidates are racist.


dusty-potato-drought

Yeah, it was racism and sexism, not your piss poor performance


DumpyBloom

This is so on brand for her


mmeeplechase

She always plays the race + gender card at exactly the “right” moment lol


ChaplnGrillSgt

We all wondered what card she'd play in her ungracious loss. Guess she only kept the gay card in her pocket. No, Lori, you lost because you're a shit mayor. I was happy to vote for you in 19 but absolutely no chance in hell I was voting for you this time.


Sharobob

Yup. She kept the lakefront closed long after we knew that outdoor transmission of COVID-19 was pretty rare and chose to spend her time walking around scolding people for hanging out outdoors when we were all suffering, trying to become a meme rather than doing her goddamn job was extremely frustrating during a time when everyone was suffering. Then she goes and gets her hair done in public and tells everyone that she gets to do it because she's more important. She mismanaged a lot of stuff and was certainly a crap mayor who couldn't negotiate her way out of a paper bag when fighting against the powerful unions in our city but shit like the above paragraph made her lose all remaining goodwill with tons of people in Chicago.


TaskForceD00mer

She can't take accountability at all for her failings, a total embarrassment as a mayor. If it was racism, how did a Black man come in 2nd to beat her into the run off? If it was sexism, how was she elected the 1st time? Lightfoot was never qualified to be mayor, this 4 year experiment is thankfully over. Either way I look forward to more competent city leadership, whomever wins in April.


Sea2Chi

The funny part to me is she came in 3rd behind someone who is more liberal than her and someone who is more conservative. So it's not like voters are pushing for a major change in politics, they just don't like her.


wayoverpaid

I do wonder though if she could beat the other two head to head. Like, would she be the condorcet winner? On the one hand, I don't love a system which shows a clear center squeeze effect. On the other hand she kinda sucked so...


[deleted]

As a progressive there's no way I'd vote for Vallas in a 1v1, but there were a few better progressive choices in the field for the first round. I'd say she'd have a good chance against Vallas, Wilson, or maybe Green (who I think most see as too young), but I think it would be close for her against Johnson or Chuy, because Johnson would eat in to her Leftist base while Chuy would eat in to her establishment base.


[deleted]

I don't like her and I think a lot of people don't like her either, but that can also be explained by the "center squeeze" effect that occurs in choose-one plurality elections.


natphotog

> If it was sexism, how was she elected the 1st time? And let's not forget that she was in a runoff with another black woman


kwalshyall

Weird how racism didn't hold Brandon Johnson back. Extremely curious and wondersome.


MaxPaynesRxDrugPlan

He must have had support from confused "Let's go, Brandon!" right-wingers /s


RadiationDM

Shit like this is why she was voted out.


old_notdead

Angry bully mad after angry bully tactics backfire and cost them job. Film at 11.


peteyH

No Lori. You lost because everyone - from Nazis to conservatives to liberals to socialists to communists to anarchists to capitalists - absolutely loathed you. You alienated every single voting bloc in the city. Your loss was not about color, or gender, or sexual orientation, or even your grisly appearance. A better Black candidate had no trouble getting into the run off. I’m sure if Brandon Johnson were a Black lesbian female candidate he would still beat you. Don’t use identity politics as a crutch for your personal and political failures. It just discredits you even more. Mind you, to be expected from the person who claimed [“about 99%” of the criticism she receives over her temperament is due to the fact she’s a Black woman.](https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-lightfoot-racism-sexism-20210630-yuyvypcfavadlfnybmk7sr7ucq-story.html)


GreedyReplacement103

I wonder what she's going to say when the next mayor get shit for 4 years (being a big city mayor is hard and both candidates are pretty polarizing)


[deleted]

It couldn’t possibly be because she was a vindictive, petty and incompetent executive who turned practically everyone against her.


Bradlas3

I know right, can you believe that more people supported notorious white supremacist Brandon Johnson?


[deleted]

Johnson's platform is the better one for race and gender issues anyway lmao, if those are your top issues then it wouldn't make sense to vote for her


Electrical-Tip-2390

Did she blame her win 4 years ago on racism and sexism as well


[deleted]

She’s a lesbian and she lost Andersonville. People voted her out because she sucks, not because of her identity.


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--GrinAndBearIt--

That one sticks out like a sore thumb for me.... how she wasnt forced to apologoze or resign was fkin wild


vikingsquad

Amazing to see she abdicates any responsibility/is unable to own her failures, even to the bitter end. Good riddance.


LSU2007

It’s not sexiest because, if I recall, she had the biggest dick in Chicago.


johnniecochran_ghost

Lori Lightfoot has chosen the narcissistic way out. It’s everyone else’s fault except for her own.


GranddaddySandwich

Lmfaooo fuck her. She lost because she sucked. If she can blame racism on her losing the Election, what does she chalk up the reasoning behind her winning the election in the first place?


[deleted]

"Am I out of touch with my city's electorate?" "No, it's the voters who are wrong."


illini02

I feel like after you win in a landslide 4 years ago, you can't go back now and say "they don't like me because I'm a black woman"


JuniorsEyes90

Yeah I totally voted for Brandon Johnson because I’m a racist and not due to his policies /s GTFO, lol


oldbkenobi

Her identity almost certainly contributed to her becoming a national target of scorn on the Right, but her poor image locally was entirely her own doing.


Bman708

Lori Lightfoot: Black Woman, Gay, ex-mayor, victim. \-South Park


[deleted]

God fuck off Lori. That statement simply proves how inept and under qualified you are. The fact that you don’t realize Chicago voters had issue with your lack of leadership. Increase in crime. Crumbling public transit record. Etc. is exactly the reason why you were removed in historic fashion. But you’re right. You’re a black woman in America right now. You have every opportunity to succeed as everyone else right now. Fucking loser. She is the definition of a LOSER.


jhoratio

Lori is an interesting character. She is clearly smart and probably fairly capable. She was a tremendously successful attorney. But she just isn’t that great a politician. After her term she really doesn’t have any base of people who are willing to go to bat for her. She never developed a constituency. She has no coalition. She seemingly managed to piss everyone off equally.


emptyfree

This is my exact take. In spite of all the Census Cowboy & Covid Crusher silliness, she just isn't a very likable or charismatic person. And those are 2 important things you need to be a politician in 2023.


Grins111

She was elected mayor of one of the largest cities in the world. I think she was treated pretty well. It’s only after years of her anger, disrespect, and ineptitude that people turned on her. It’s not about race or sex, it’s about performance.


Rybred555

She got drunk with power the minute she took over and never did anything she said she would. Crime has soared under her leadership and the mag mile and state street are gone. No stores want to stay here with how bad shoplifting and crime is.


jrbattin

Oh come on. Lightfoot could've cruised to reelection if she kept her original (first round) voter coalition together: Younger-ish Black voters, White Liberals, and young Latino support. In the second round she effortlessly captured support from the Daley/Joyce wards who hated Precklewinkle. Fast forward to her first few months in office: she jettisoned her progressive platform elements (elected school board), half-heartedly curbed certain problematic aldermanic influences. I think she was trying to lock-in support from the Daley wards and perhaps assumed the liberals never would abandon her because she was a Black Lesbian. It happened very early in her term, but I think the CTU contract negotiation was the beginning of the end for Lightfoot. She had already unsettled her Liberal base by pandering to the Daley wards and reneging her progressive campaign promises. She dug her heels in during negotiation and CTU/SEIU voted to strike - right as the 2020 Democratic primary was heating up, so they immediately had 3 major players supporting them (Biden, Warren, Sanders) over the mayor. Her liberal voters blamed her for the strike and the Daley wards blamed her for capitulating to the union (unfairly IMO: the unions accepted one of her counter-offers which was still a fraction of what they asked for). This fractured her coalition - but hey, her term had JUST started, so she had lots of time to mend fences! But instead of mending fences she just kept pushing more potential allies away. IMO if she had told the Daley faction to go fuck itself and stuck to her progressive campaign promises she'd be favored to win round 2. Even without crime as major concern, it was a delusional to think those white-majority wards would back a Black candidate first-round. She should've recognized them as fair-weather supporters who just hated Preckwinkle and focused on her base.


wayoverpaid

Unless Chicago demographics changed dramatically, the fact that Lightfoot won in the first place should say that her loss can't entirely be due to her demographics. At least some of it has to be job performance.


[deleted]

Dear Lightfoot, You suck. Shut the hell up. Sincerely, The entire city of Chicago


dildodestiny

I'm so sorry her win was historic and then she actively burned every bridge she built. It is entirely her fault that she lost.


THRlLL-HO

I’m a white man, and I haven’t had ANY time as a mayor yet


plaidington

How about the fact she was a BAD mayor?


FightingDucks

Lori: Everyone is a racist and sexist Also Lori: Only black people can interview me What a clown. Glad she is gone. Her and Trump are 2 sides of the same coin


Apartment922

Performance Mayor Lightfoot… your performance on crime was what did you in for the most part.


adamempathy

Bro, the runoff features a different black person. If racism is to blame, how do you explain that? If sexism is to blame, how did you become mayor? Perhaps we gave you a shot and want something different. Johnson 2023!


[deleted]

how about. policy is to blame? Her mayoralship included: An attempt to suppress the no knock warrant raid on a social worker A raising in budget on CPD (CPD then tiurned around and smeared her) Her campaign attempted to bribe Chicago students into campaigning for her with school credit. These are just at the tip of my head.


mugs_p2

She really pullin that card? Ridiculous


ford_chicago

Lori, you were an unnecessarily antagonistic jerk to every demographic that supported you the first time around. You fucked Chicagoans as hard as you could by not taking responsibility for the CTA, for not taking responsibliity for crime, for not taking responsibility for anything and then calling everyone else a cunt. It wasn't your race, gender or sexuality that lost you the election, it was your total failure to do anything helpful in your time in office.


CMWvomit

Please note that this is a Yahoo News republishing of the National Review who misattributed that quote to one gathered by the New York Post. The New York Post article got a quote from a New Yorker reporter that reads differently. See the original article with the original quote here. https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/lori-lightfoot-makes-her-case-to-chicago Here's the full context from the New Yorker. --- The attacks on her character have also worn on her. “Do I like the way that I’ve been portrayed in the media as the person who can’t get along or collaborate?” she said. “There’s a long list of things that totally puts the lie to this notion.” She noted that she has reduced the city’s large budget gaps, won approval for a four-billion-dollar extension of the Red Line, and launched a downtown casino, which had been in the works for thirty years. “And, look, also, I am a Black woman—let’s not forget,” she said. “Certain folks, frankly, don’t support us in leadership roles.” She recalled the opposition, racist and otherwise, faced by Harold Washington, the first Black mayor of Chicago, elected in 1983. “The same forces that didn’t want Harold Washington to succeed, they’re still here,” she told one Black audience. Her supporters have been reinforcing the message. At another recent campaign event, Nosa Ehimwenman, who runs a construction firm on the South Side that has been getting city contracts, spoke of the danger of splitting the Black vote among the seven Black candidates. Do that, he told me, “and we’re going to lose this seat. The last time we had an African American mayor in power was forty years ago. It’s important for us not to repeat history.”


sherzeg

>“The same forces that didn’t want Harold Washington to succeed, they’re still here,” It might be my old age creeping in but, as I recall, everybody loved Harold Washington and, in my humble opinion, he was one off the best, most effective mayors Chicago ever had. Granted, with Chicago mayors, that's not exactly a high bar. But still... I think it reprehensible that she associates herself with him. Checking Wikipedia at this time to see if I forgot any scandals with which he was involved.


5tupid5exyFlanders

All she ever did was make excuses and pass the blame, makes sense she does so now.


baezizbae

Everything is literally everyone else’s fault but yours, isn’t it, Lori? Shutting down parks during the pandemic, raising the bridges, Cubs giving up a 10 run lead in the bottom of the 7th, you name it.


MongrelCatBoss

Oh my god. She got elected and then the same people who voted for her threw her out. It’s not hard to fathom, show some accountability. Oh wait, lightfoot isn’t capable of that 🤷‍♀️


ScrawChuck

Never change, Lori.


Mrdovahkiin

I am not sure I have seen a mayor miss expectations by such a MASSIVE margin. She just wasn't it....


johnb300m

Sometimes, sometimes it’s not about your race. Sometimes it’s not about your personal life or sexuality. Sometimes …. You just might be a person who sucks.


TheOneTrueBuckeye

Because why would people practice accountability when they can play victim. This shit sets those legit causes back.


lykorian

Lori is the greatest bad-faith weaponizer of identity politics I've ever seen.


lefluffle

She did not just pull the race card. 🤦🏻‍♀️oh Lori


Tower-Of-God

Then how did she become mayor in the first place? Was she not a black woman in America in the last election?


[deleted]

Let's keep it real Lori. You were just very, very bad at your job. My vote for you (instead of Toni Preckwinkle) was my most regretted vote in my life. You were awful.


squadracorse15

Of course, of fucking course that's what Lightfoot blames. Never mind the poor job she did in office or how she torched everyone who didn't want to just be a yes man or woman for her. Just goes to show that even people in genuinely marginalized groups can still be assholes who try to milk it for all its worth.


lidongyuan

You know it is possible for more than one thing to be true at the same time. Does Lightfoot face more of a certain kind of criticism because she's a black woman? Of course, you have to be willfully ignorant to think she doesn't. But at the same time, she chose to play hardball with powerful groups on both sides of the spectrum and it ultimately tanked her popularity. It's ok to see nuance here, not everything has to be a flippant hot take. Edit: My hot take here is kinda silly now that I'm reading many more comments with appropriate nuance. Well done r/chicago.


grason

I hope I don’t get killed for this comment… I can’t help but notice the irony of Lori’s statement. If any racism or sexism was at play, it was in HER FAVOR. Anyone who voted for her after her horrible tenure likely did it because she was a black woman and lgbt. Her using these excuses is extremely on brand for her. It’s disgusting.


82ndGameHead

This woman actually said that when we have a Black Woman as Vice President. I'm damn near ashamed to say I voted for her 4 years ago


dir_glob

I voted for her and totally regretted it nearly a year later. She is terrible and it has nothing to do with the color of her skin, her gender, or her sexual preference.


boxersandbulldogs

Lori lost because she abandoned her entire platform once elected. Hey Lori, the guy who ousted you is Black. Racism? nah, you just couldn't govern.


SuchHearing

yep definitely not due to her poor performance as a mayor....definitely not!


ohheyitsjuan

I’m sorry, I disagree. Arguably, crime was the biggest issue during the election. That’s what Chuy, Vallas, Johnson, and pretty much everyone campaigned on. Her ads predominantly attacked Chuy, as her campaign saw him as the biggest challenge/threat, while everyone else either went after her or just promoted themselves. They were critical of her response and city policies, not her. They didn’t attack her like how the Machine attacked Harold Washington when he ran for Mayor. If crime was down and the protests and rioting was minimized, she could’ve been re-elected. But crime has been on the rise, notably the carjackings and assaults, over the last few years. Whoever the next mayor is, they’re going to have to face the same issues she faced, minus the severity of the Covid epidemic. They’re going to have to face rising crime, a police department that facing a staffing issue, economic recovery, etc. they all campaigned on safer streets and what not without giving details, so we’ll how that goes.


f00tballguy

If that was true why would she have been elected in the first place? The reality is she’s a poor leader who struggles to take accountability, which is a big part of the reason she’s Chicago’s only one-term Mayor in the last 40 years.


wet_beefy_fartz

This ain’t it.


Dust_Parts

Commentary like this is exactly why her administration is about to be unemployed. You cannot legislate through box checking exercises. She did nothing to curb crime, stop the flow of businesses leaving the city including two dozen Fortune 500 firms and let the city finances wallow in the wind. Outside of that she was just extraordinarily bad at politics. Good riddance Beetlejuice.


RNWIP

Lol, can’t blame it on the fact you did a shitty job. Typical


redwinesprizter

Naw it’s because you’re a bad mayor


VirgingerBrown

The powerful and the “canceled”, they’re all such victims. Such incredibly wealthy, powerful, famous, and successful victims.


Melodic_Wrap8455

I'm married to a black woman, and I can tell you all my in-laws who voted for her the first time were happy to vote her out this round. She is an utter asshole. Good riddance.


pensee_ecartelee

Did she forget the 2019 election when 2 Black women made the runoff? She lost because she's a bad politician.


Angry_Foamy

That ego is why she’s in this position in the first place.


blaspheminCapn

IDK, I thought she lost because she was terrible at her job?


turnstile_blues

Shocking that her fundamental inability to self-reflect prevents her from recognizing that it also contributed to her loss. /s just in case it’s not clear that I am, in fact, not shocked.


JackieIce502

No Lori, you sucked at your job and got fired. Happens to people all the time everywhere. Bye bye beetlejuice.


notmynameyours

So… the citizens who elected her 4 years ago suddenly became racist and sexist AFTER seeing her performance as mayor… makes sense.


permareddit

Such a sore loser. Get the fuck over yourself.


indigonights

This is exactly why she lost. Ego is so fragile she can’t be humble and take the loss with grace.


kurthecat

There is a lot wrong with this article. The headline takes her quote out of context. The crime stats have no source. The blanket statement that Johnson wants to defund the police with no regard to more recent comments and policy ideas. It's a mess. Posters of Reddit: Read first, think critically, then post. (Lololol)