Chicago Makes History With Election of New Mayor

Leah Barkoukis | April 03, 2019 7:50 AM

Chicago voters chose attorney Lori Lightfoot to be the city’s next mayor. The former federal prosecutor soundly defeated opponent Toni Preckwinkle 74 percent to Preckwinkle’s 26 percent, according to unofficial vote totals, making her the first African-American female to be elected mayor of Chicago. She is also the first openly gay individual to hold the post.

Lightfoot, who is a political newcomer, won support from every part of Chicago, a city whose residents clearly want to turn the tide against entrenched politicians, corruption and insider dealings, which have plagued the city for decades. The rejection of longtime political power broker Toni Preckwinkle, a former alderman and president of the Cook County Board, was thus representative of the anti-incumbent mood across the city, The Chicago Tribune reports.

Embarrassingly, voters issued such a rejection of Preckwinkle that she even lost her own Ward by 20 points.

In her victory speech, Lightfoot vowed to end the “cycle of corruption” in Chicago and said residents are beginning to see a "city reborn."

"Together we can and will make Chicago a place where your zip code doesn't determine your destiny," she said. "We can and we will break this city's endless cycle of corruption and never again — never ever — allow politicians to profit from elected positions."

“When we started this journey 11 months ago, nobody gave us much of a chance. We were up against powerful interests, a powerful machine, and a powerful Mayor.”
— Lori Lightfoot (@LightfootForChi) April 3, 2019

“But I remembered something Martin Luther King said when I was very young. Faith, he said, is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”
— Lori Lightfoot (@LightfootForChi) April 3, 2019