Lori Elaine Lightfoot was born on August 4,1962 and is an American politician and attorney who was the 56th mayor of Chicago from 2019 until 2023.
100 Facts About Lori Lightfoot
2.
Lori Lightfoot served as president of the Chicago Police Board and chair of the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force.
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In 2019, Lori Lightfoot defeated Toni Preckwinkle in a runoff election for Chicago mayor.
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Lori Lightfoot ran again in 2023 but failed to qualify for the runoff, becoming the city's first incumbent mayor to not be reelected since Jane Byrne in 1983.
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Lori Lightfoot was born in Massillon, Ohio, the youngest of four children.
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Lori Lightfoot's mother, Ann Lightfoot, was a nighttime healthcare aide and school board member, and her father, Elijah Lightfoot, was a local factory worker and janitor.
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Lori Lightfoot grew up in a primarily white neighborhood on the west side of the city.
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Lori Lightfoot is a graduate of Washington High School in Massillon, where she was a trumpet player in the school band, sang alto in the choir, point guard on the basketball team, volleyball player, softball player, yearbook editor, and Pep Club member.
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Lori Lightfoot was elected high school class president three times.
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Lori Lightfoot's boycott was a success as the school provided more flavorful pizza.
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Lori Lightfoot received her Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Michigan in 1984, graduating with honors.
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Lori Lightfoot pursued seven different types of employment to pay for her education, including working as a resident assistant and as a cook for the school's football team.
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Lori Lightfoot held factory jobs at home during summers to help pay for her education.
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Lori Lightfoot held positions working for Congress members Ralph Regula and Barbara Mikulski before deciding to attend law school.
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Lori Lightfoot has said she chose to attend law school not because of her brother's legal troubles, but because she wanted a job that offered financial independence.
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Lori Lightfoot matriculated at the University of Chicago Law School, where she was awarded a full scholarship.
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Lori Lightfoot quarterbacked an intramural flag football team while at Chicago Law School.
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Lori Lightfoot served as a clerk for Justice Charles Levin of the Michigan Supreme Court.
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Lori Lightfoot graduated from the University of Chicago with her Juris Doctor degree in 1989.
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Lori Lightfoot first entered the public sector as Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
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Lori Lightfoot assisted with Operation Silver Shovel, an FBI investigation into Chicago corruption.
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In 1999, Lori Lightfoot was issued a warning for misconduct by judge Richard Posner in a case in which she was found by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to have misled a United States Circuit Judge regarding a suspect's whereabouts, making it impossible for the judge to stay the suspect's extradition to Norway.
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In 2002, Lori Lightfoot was appointed chief administrator of the Chicago Police Department Office of Professional Standards, a now-defunct governmental police oversight group, by Police Superintendent Terry Hillard.
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Lori Lightfoot says her recommendations for disciplinary action were often rejected by the police department.
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In one notable case, Lori Lightfoot went against Police Department orthodoxy by recommending the firing of officer Alvin Weems, who shot and killed an unarmed man, Michael Pleasance.
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Lori Lightfoot said her action on the case was to push for a 30-day suspension for Clinkscales, which she implied was the most that was possible given the circumstances.
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Lori Lightfoot then moved on to work in the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
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In 2019, after facing criticism over defending Powers, Lori Lightfoot cited video evidence in favor of her former client's innocence.
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Lori Lightfoot was briefly hired by the city of Chicago to defend the city against charges brought by the family of a mentally ill woman, Christina Eilman, who was brought into custody by Chicago police after suffering a mental breakdown at Midway Airport.
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Lori Lightfoot has served on the boards of the Illinois chapters of NARAL and the ACLU.
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Lori Lightfoot has served as external counsel for Bank of America.
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In 2013, Lightfoot was a finalist for the position of US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, but the job went to Zachary T Fardon.
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Lori Lightfoot returned to the public sector in 2015, when Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed her to replace 19-year incumbent Demetrius Carney as president of the Chicago Police Board.
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In 2016, the Task Force, led by Lori Lightfoot, filed a report critical of the Chicago Police Department's practices.
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Lori Lightfoot resigned from the Police Board in May 2018, just before announcing her mayoral campaign.
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In September 2018, Lori Lightfoot announced her support for universal basic income.
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On May 10,2018, Lori Lightfoot announced her candidacy for mayor of Chicago in the 2019 elections, her first-ever run for public office.
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Animosity between the Preckwinkle and Lori Lightfoot campaigns was reported as early as October 2018, when Preckwinkle denied rumors that she had pressured Lori Lightfoot to drop out of the race.
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The Chicago Board of Elections Commissioners found Lori Lightfoot had enough valid petitions to remain on the ballot, and Preckwinkle's campaign withdrew its challenge.
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Lori Lightfoot ran a television advertisement criticizing Chico, Daley, Mendoza and Preckwinkle as the "Burke Four" for their connections to the disgraced alderman.
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Lori Lightfoot picked up several endorsements, including nods from LGBTQ groups and local politicians.
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Lori Lightfoot surged in polls later in the race, consistently polling at or near double-digits in surveys released in the weeks leading up to the election.
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Lori Lightfoot placed above a crowded field of fourteen candidates.
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Lori Lightfoot held a substantial lead over Preckwinkle in polls conducted during the runoff campaign.
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US Representative Bobby Rush, who endorsed Preckwinkle in the runoff after supporting Daley in the general election, made similar criticisms of Lori Lightfoot centered around criminal justice issues.
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Lori Lightfoot faced activist criticism over comments at a University of Chicago forum, where she suggested turning some shuttered schools in the city into police academies.
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Lori Lightfoot won the runoff election on April 2,2019, becoming mayor-elect of Chicago.
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Lori Lightfoot won all but 20 of the city's 2,069 voting precincts.
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Lori Lightfoot endorsed the comparison between her transition and the Bush-Obama transition.
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One week before her inauguration, Lori Lightfoot named lawyer and activist Candace Moore as Chicago's first-ever chief equity officer, a job in which Moore will focus on countering racial inequality in the city.
51.
Three days before taking office, Lori Lightfoot named Alderman Scott Waguespack to serve as finance committee chairman, Alderman Pat Dowell to serve as budget chairman, Alderman Tom Tunney to serve as zoning chairman, and Alderman Gilbert Villegas to serve as floor leader and economic development chair.
52.
On May 20,2019, Lightfoot officially took office as mayor of Chicago after being sworn in at 11:15 am by Magistrate Judge Susan E Cox of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, at the Wintrust Arena, accompanied by her wife and daughter.
53.
On October 14,2019, Lori Lightfoot announced the creation of an affordable housing task force set to consist of 20 members and study solutions to housing affordability over a 4- to 6-month period.
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On March 6,2020, Lori Lightfoot named Tracey Scott as CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority.
55.
Lori Lightfoot's predecessors had long sought to obtain a casino for the city.
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Lori Lightfoot has continued to push for the state to authorize a casino jointly owned by the city and state and with a lesser effective tax rate than the passed legislation specified.
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On May 5,2022, Lori Lightfoot announced that she had selected the bid from the Bally's Corporation to construct a casino resort on the west bank of the Chicago River.
58.
On May 28,2019, Lori Lightfoot unveiled proposals to revise the Chicago City Council operating rules.
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On May 29,2019, during the first city council meeting, over which Lori Lightfoot presided, she held her ground in debating issues with Alderman Burke.
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On June 5,2019, Lori Lightfoot outlined further ethics reform proposals for the city council.
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On June 3,2019, Lori Lightfoot announced her selections for the Chicago Board of Education, appointing former City Clerk of Chicago Miguel del Valle as its president.
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Lori Lightfoot announced that incumbent CEO of Chicago Public Schools Janice K Jackson would retain her position, having previously only committed to retaining her for an interim period.
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In October 2019, Lori Lightfoot dealt with a public schools strike led by the Chicago Teachers Union and Service Employees International Union.
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On June 14,2021, Lightfoot named Jose Torres to serve as interim CEO of the Chicago Public Schools after Janice K Jackson stepped down.
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On September 15,2021, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that Pedro Martinez would be succeeding Torres as the new permanent CEO.
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Shortly after taking office, Lori Lightfoot faced what was regarded as her first test at public safety, as Memorial Day weekend in Chicago had, in previous years, often been a period in which Chicago had seen a spike in violence.
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On May 28,2019, Lori Lightfoot outlined a plan to focus on reducing the city's gun violence.
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On May 28,2019, Lori Lightfoot urged the city council to pass an ordinance within her first hundred days that would establish a level of civilian oversight on the Chicago Police Department.
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On November 8,2019, after Eddie T Johnson announced that he would resign from his position as superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, Lightfoot named Charlie Beck to serve as interim superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
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Lori Lightfoot nominated David Brown to be superintendent of police on April 2,2020.
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On November 13,2019, Lori Lightfoot proposed an ordinance that would create a new Office of Public Safety Administration, which would combine administrative functions of Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Fire Department and the Office of Public Safety Administration.
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In June 2020, Lori Lightfoot voiced her opposition to an ordinance proposed by alderman Roderick Sawyer, which would end the Chicago Public Schools' contract to station Chicago Police Department officers at schools.
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In May 2021, Lori Lightfoot nominated Annette Nance-Holt to be the city fire commissioner.
74.
On March 11,2020, Lightfoot joined Illinois Governor J B Pritzker to postpone of the city's formal Saint Patrick's Day festivities.
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On March 12,2020, Lori Lightfoot again joined Pritzker to issue, among other things, a ban on events attended by more than 1,000 people from being held over the next 30 days.
76.
On March 20,2020, Lori Lightfoot extended Chicago Public School closures beyond what had already been mandated by the State of Illinois.
77.
On March 31,2020, Lori Lightfoot announced that she had secured 300 hotel rooms in the city's downtown to house first responders, which they could use so that they would not need to go to their homes and risk spreading COVID-19 to their families.
78.
Lori Lightfoot's administration worked with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to establish a makeshift hospital at McCormick Place.
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Lori Lightfoot has participated in enforcing the state's stay-at-home order, personally partaking in patrolling the city and confronting violators.
80.
On November 12,2020, to be effective on November 16, Lori Lightfoot issued new restrictions, including a stay-at-home advisory.
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Lori Lightfoot was scrutinized for this decision as she had been seen in prior days at a large gathering celebrating Joe Biden's election victory.
82.
Lori Lightfoot further stated that police violence and brutality "demean the badge" and asked the public to report police misconduct.
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Lori Lightfoot said this was justified because she had received threats.
84.
On May 20,2019, Lori Lightfoot announced the retention of several administrators who had worked under the previous Emanuel administration, alongside a number of new hires.
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On September 30,2019, Lori Lightfoot hired former alderman John Arena as a special advisor in the city's planning department.
86.
In December 2019, Lori Lightfoot nominated Gia Biagi to serve as the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation.
87.
On May 28,2019, Lori Lightfoot laid out plans to pass "fair work week" legislation tightening rules surrounding workplace scheduling.
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On November 26,2019, the city council approved ordinances Lori Lightfoot had put forth placing restrictions on vehicle impoundment and lowering fines for illegal possession of cannabis.
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In late February 2020, Lori Lightfoot hosted a summit at University of Illinois at Chicago addressing the issue of poverty.
90.
On May 19,2021, Lori Lightfoot stated she would only choose reporters of color for interviews on the occasion of her two-year anniversary in office.
91.
On March 6,2020, shortly before the 2020 Illinois Democratic presidential primary, Lori Lightfoot endorsed Joe Biden's candidacy for president.
92.
Lori Lightfoot appeared in a video shown on the opening night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention which features Biden, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, activist Jamira Burley, activist Gwen Carr, and NAACP President Derrick Johnson.
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Lori Lightfoot was a 2020 Democratic United States Electoral College elector from Illinois, casting her votes for Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice-president.
94.
Lori Lightfoot has held Chicago Bears season tickets for 20 years, and is a Chicago White Sox season ticket-holder.
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Lori Lightfoot is a season ticket holder for the WNBA's Chicago Sky.
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Lori Lightfoot made an appearance on a TV mini-series called The Second City Presents: The Last Show Left on Earth.
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Lori Lightfoot is a Founding Trustee at Christ the King Jesuit High School in Chicago.
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Lori Lightfoot is a member of St James AME Zion Church.
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In June 2019, Lori Lightfoot was selected as one of several grand marshals of the Chicago Pride Parade.
100.
In October 2020, Lori Lightfoot was chosen by the National Minority Quality Forum to receive the NMQF Honorable John Lewis Lifetime Achievement Award.