For forty years, Chicago has traditionally granted its mayor at least two terms. Lori Lightfoot will not have this honor. The first black and openly lesbian mayor of America's third-largest city failed to win re-election on Tuesday, US media reported Wednesday (March 1).
"We know that in life, in the end, you don't always win the battle. But you never regret standing up to the mighty and bringing light,” Lori Lightfoot told her shocked supporters after conceding defeat. She is Chicago's first elected mayor to lose re-election since 1983, when Jane Byrne, the city's first female mayor, lost her Democratic primary.
Blamed by her rivals for the rising crime rate in the city, she nevertheless wanted to express her encouragement to her successor, and said she prayed "that the next mayor will live up to the expectations of the inhabitants of the city for years. coming ".
Crime and Covid-19 weakened his support
Ms Lightfoot won every ward in the city in 2019 after promising to end decades of corruption and clandestine dealings at City Hall. But rising crime rates and the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic have weakened his support.
According to the Chicago Tribune, two candidates have garnered enough votes to advance to the second round, which will take place on April 4. Paul Vallas, former superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, was backed by the police union. Brandon Johnson, Cook County elected official and former teacher, won the support of the teachers' union.
