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Embattled Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her re-election bid after failing to curb Chicago‘s soaring crime rate
Lightfoot, the first black woman and openly gay mayor of the Windy City, is now the first Chicgao mayor in 40 years to lose a re-election after trailing behind in third place with only 16.8 percent of votes as of Tuesday night.
She faced a tough race against eight candidates, including Paul Vallas, a former Chicago Public Schools CEO and budget director, who has gotten 35 percent of the votes so far.
Brandon Johnson, a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, is currently in second place and will join Vallas in the run-off election scheduled for April 4.
Throughout her term, Lightfoot has been criticized for her soft-on-crime approach, which has led to massive increases in violence in the city, which is up 52 percent from last year.
Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her re-election bid over criticisms of her soft-on-crime approach amid a steady spike in violence
Paul Vallas (left) and Brandon Johnson (right) are headed for the run-off election in April
Chicago residents made their choice on Tuesday, with Lightfoot only getting 16.8 percent of the votes, less than half of the leading candidate
With 90 percent of the votes in, Vallas secured his place in the run-off election with nearly 168,000 votes so far, with Johnson earning more than 99,000 votes.
Johnson was able to beat Lightfoot, who fell behind with less than 83,000 votes.
Speaking to her supporters on Tuesday night, Lightfoot said: ‘Obviously, we didn’t win the election. But, I stand here with my head held high and my heart full of thanks.’
‘You will not be defined by how you fall. You will be defined by how hard you work and how much you do for other people,’ she added.
‘I will be rooting and praying for the next mayor of Chicago.’
Championing his message of returning law-and-order to the city, Vallas told his supporters: ‘We will have a safe Chicago. We will make Chicago the safest city in America.’
Lightfoot had faced intense backlash after she joined calls from Democratic mayors in 2021 to cut the budget of police departments, a movement that also resulted in officers quitting the force and violent crime to spike.
The embattled mayor then committed to a U-turn, opting instead to ‘refund the police’ and hire more officers, but the move has done little to curb crime.
According to the Chicago Police Department’s latest report, rapes have shot up by 16 percent so far this year compared to the same time in 2022.
Robberies are also up 13 percent, with aggravated battery and burglaries both up 11 percent.
Theft in the windy city is up 31 percent, and vehiclethefts, specifically, have soared up 143 percent.
Homicides and shooting incidents were the only category to see decreases, falling by 18 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
Lightfoot made history as the first black woman and openly gay person to be mayor of Chicago. She has come under immense fire, however, for her soft-on-crime approach and her war with teachers in the city
While overall violent crime is up 52 percent from the same time last year, it’s up 102 percent when compared to 2021.
Ultimately, there was a 59 percent increase in murder citywide when comparing the 9th week of 2023 to the same time-period four years ago, which is right when Lightfoot was heading to a runoff with Toni Preckwinkle.
The four-year change also shows a 27 percent increase in robbery, 31 percent increase in theft and a massive 270 percent increase in the number of motor vehicle thefts.
As crime continued to soar through the last year of her term, Lightfoot was heavily criticized for promoting other matters than public safety, incluing a citywide karaoke contest and dancing in the street during a festival.
In addition to rising crime – Lightfoot has overseen vacancy rates of nearly 30 percent after flagship stores on the Magnificent Mile bailed.
Huge brands like Macy’s, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Gap, Uniqlo and Timberland have all fled large premises since Covid shutdowns and ensuing riots.
Many were driven away by soaring crime and violence, with the vacancy rate on the once tony shopping strip rising 10-fold since 2016, when it sat at just 3.6 percent, to the current 30.1 percent vacancy rate.
The Magnificent Mile’s vacancy rate was under five percent just six years ago, according to NBC Chicago.
Lightfoot (pictured third from right) faces a crowded primary field. She must win an outright majority, or at least finish top two to force an April runoff
Vallas and Johnsons’ histories working with schools in the city is playing to their advantage in the race after Lightfoot went to war with teachers over returning to teaching full-time in person.
‘We know that the safest place for kids to be is in-person learning in schools. We’ve got to get the teachers union to get real and get serious about getting back into in-person learning,’ she said in a January 2022 interview.
After casting his ballot on Tuesday morning, Vallas, 46, told reporters: ‘The city clearly is in crisis and people want a crisis manager who can come in and focus on getting things done.’
This year, the teachers union has endorsed Lightfoot rival Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner and former Chicago teacher and union organizer.
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