(UPDATED) Beating All The Odds: Chicago Elected A Gay Black Woman As Mayor Last Night
(SEE UPDATE: Farther down the page...)
(I'm reposting much more than I should of this piece, as it is; but, there's a great story that I hope you'll take the time to read, in its entirety, immediately below.)
Last night, beating all the odds, the City of Chicago elected Lori Lightfoot--a gay black woman and former federal prosecutor who had never held elected office and was a political unknown, just 13 weeks ago--as its 56th mayor. She was, by far and away, the underdog in the race. Meanwhile, Wednesday's edition of the NY Times is reporting that "...she appeared to win all 50 of Chicago’s wards..."
Lori Lightfoot Is Elected Chicago Mayor, Becoming First Black Woman to Lead City
By Julie Bosman, Mitch Smith and Monica Davey
NY Times (Page A1)
April 2, 2019CHICAGO — Chicago became the largest American city ever to elect a black woman as its mayor as voters on Tuesday chose Lori Lightfoot, a former prosecutor, to replace Rahm Emanuel. When she takes office in May, Ms. Lightfoot also will be the city’s first openly gay mayor.
Ms. Lightfoot, who has never held elective office, easily won the race, overwhelming a better-known, longtime politician and turning her outsider status into an asset in a city with a history of corruption and insider dealings. Ms. Lightfoot, 56, beat Toni Preckwinkle, a former alderman who is president of the Cook County Board and who had for years been viewed as a highly formidable candidate for mayor.
For Chicago, Ms. Lightfoot’s win signaled a notable shift in the mood of voters and a rejection of an entrenched political culture that has more often rewarded insiders and dismissed unknowns. For many voters, the notion that someone with no political ties might become mayor of Chicago seemed an eye-opening counterpoint to a decades-old, often-repeated mantra about this city’s political order: “We don’t want nobody nobody sent.”
As Ms. Lightfoot took the stage in a downtown ballroom on Tuesday night, she acknowledged the unlikeliness of her resounding victory, in which she appeared to win all 50 of Chicago’s wards. “We were up against powerful interests, a powerful machine and a powerful mayor,” she said. “Nobody gave us much of a chance.”
For some of Ms. Lightfoot’s supporters, the significance of her victory was monumental, going beyond a single candidate or city. “Look, nothing personal, but it’s not the good old boys club anymore,” said Kimberly Smith, 40, who was born and raised on the South Side and said she thought the election marked a turning point in Chicago politics. “I feel empowered.”
National advocates for gay rights celebrated Ms. Lightfoot’s win. “Now young queer women and women of color can see themselves reflected in a position of major political leadership,” said Stephanie Sandberg, executive director of LPAC, an organization that works to build the political power of L.G.B.T.Q. women.
Ms. Lightfoot’s rise was unexpected only weeks ago, when 13 other candidates were vying to run the nation’s third-largest city, many of them far better known — with decades of experience in Chicago politics and with dynastic names like Daley. Ms. Lightfoot is a lawyer who has served in appointed positions, including as head of the Chicago Police Board and as a leader of a task force that issued a scathing report on relations between the Chicago police and black residents, but she was not widely known around the city until recent months...
# # #
(UPDATE: I've added some content from a second NYT piece, published online today, to provide a little more detail on Lightfoot.)
...Ms. Lightfoot, 56, who held city government jobs under two mayors, presented herself on the campaign trail as an antidote to Mr. Emanuel’s eight years in office and as an answer to the city’s far longer tradition of machine politics. She criticized Mr. Emanuel’s decision to close dozens of schools, mainly in Hispanic and black neighborhoods, and focused especially on promises to overhaul the Chicago Police Department and reduce gun violence.
“People feel like the violence is out of control and that there’s no plan,” Ms. Lightfoot said in an interview last year.
Just a few years ago, Mr. Emanuel turned to Ms. Lightfoot during the biggest crisis of his tenure. A Chicago police officer, Jason Van Dyke, had just been charged with murder in the death of a black teenager, Laquan McDonald, and protesters were calling for Mr. Emanuel’s ouster.
In the months that followed, Ms. Lightfoot was chairwoman of a panel that met with residents and produced a scathing report. The document accused the Police Department of systemic racism and found that officers had lost the trust of residents and failed to instill a sense of safety.
“What we heard from people all across the city is they felt like they didn’t even have a claim to the geography in front of their house, on their street, or in their neighborhoods,” Ms. Lightfoot said when the report was released in spring 2016.
After the report was made public, Ms. Lightfoot drifted away from Mr. Emanuel, eventually resigning her role as president of the Chicago Police Board, which oversees officer discipline, and entering the mayoral race in May.
At the time, Ms. Lightfoot was one of only a handful of figures willing to run against Mr. Emanuel, who was widely expected to appear on the ballot until announcing in September that he would not. As the field of candidates grew more vast, including the entrance of Ms. Preckwinkle, Ms. Lightfoot forged ahead with her campaign.
There were reasons for skepticism: Ms. Lightfoot was relatively unknown in the city’s political realm, and her ballot petition signatures were briefly challenged last year. But she surged in at least one poll in the final days before the February election, and was endorsed by The Chicago Sun-Times.
“She has the vision, values, qualifications and policies to be an effective leader for the whole city, from the hedge fund managers to the fast food workers,” the newspaper’s editorial board wrote. “She is calm, focused, principled and independent.”
In the weeks since, as the race took on a venomous tone, Ms. Lightfoot tallied up endorsements across the city, including from several of her former opponents.
Ms. Lightfoot repeatedly portrayed Ms. Preckwinkle, with whom she agrees on most major policy issues, as a part of the Democratic machine that long dominated Chicago government...
# # #
Comments
Interestingly, many hours after the election was over...
...this story was only getting nominal coverage/interest at "that well known political blog." Maybe it was because the establishment candidate lost?
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
Nothing, zilch, nada
at Down With Tyranny either, a blog which I used to like but which is still suffering from extreme Trump Derangement Syndrome, and bought the Klinton/anti-Russia koolaid.
Mary Bennett
I deleted my DWT months ago
after reading it daily for years.
It got to be too much of a joke with its habit of finding a way to put Putin as part of every tRump story no matter what tRump was doing at the time including things very much not in Russia's interests.
Comments about it proved useless on that site because seldom does anyone comment on an article and I never got the impression that anyone running the place reads them after calling them out so often and calling them the Russia Maddow show online. I once mentioned that if DWT posted weather reports they would find a way to Putin in there somewhere and saying that was no stretch of the imagination.
I was tempted to check them out after Barr released that summary but felt it would be pointless just like trying to talk sense to David Cay Johnston who on a prior Democracy Now's show called tRump a "Russian agent" (walked it back to Russian asset) and ignored what Glenn Greenwald said on a later show with him...
"...How can you say Donald Trump is a stooge of the Kremlin when he’s right now trying to remove one of Vladimir Putin’s client regime states in Venezuela? Or when he’s trying to bully Angela Merkel out of buying Russian natural gas, probably the thing that’s most important to the Russian economy? Or when he sold lethal arms to the Ukrainians, something Obama refused to do on the grounds that it would be provocative to Russia? Or when he bombed Putin’s client state in Syria? Over and over, the Trump administration has taken actions far more adverse and aggressive and belligerent to the Russians than the Obama administration did. That’s why this whole narrative that Trump all along was being blackmailed by Putin, that he’s an asset of Russian intelligence, this is idiocy. It is completely irrational. It is contrary to all facts."
All of that was ignored in Johnston's reply where he just changed the subject, talking about some articles he wrote in the 60's.
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/25/as_mueller_finds_no_collusion_did
Lightfoot's opponent, Toni Preckwinkle, runs the Cook County Dem
Party. Lightfoot won against Toni Preckwinkle, the head of the Cook County Democratic Party. Arguably, the most corrupt Democratic organization in the U.S. Yet, folks in the threads of this post are questioning why Lightfoot worked with a few Republicans in her campaign, despite having Chuy Garcia's campaign manager running it? The people of Chicago resoundingly voted for change last night. The fact of the matter is that both the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago are a mess right now. For a group that, generally, is proud of the fact that they are as critical of Dems as they are of GOPers, I'm rather astounded about some of the comments, down below.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
So, what kind of program did she support?
would like to know her program more than I would like to knwow about her melanin level and sexual orientation. Isn't the program she would stand up for more import than how dark her skin is or who she goes to bed with would be?
Of course I would celebrate her win, but not for her skin or sexual orientation, bur for what she stands for politically, which isn't per default miraculously the one I think would be mine. Any of the articles covers what program she supports?
Well, I could imagine two queer, black woman, which would support two different political programs, and that means I look at their programs they suggest to work on and am rather uninterested of them being gay or black.
Sigh.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Well, if you read the article...
...you would have answered at least some of your concerns. It was very late, I posted the article to inform fellow C99P'ers. I'm not going to apologize for this. It happens to be news. And, btw, police and gang-related violence is a huge issue throughout the country, and especially in Chicago.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
I never thought you had to apologize for anything
especially not for posting the news you gave us. I am sorry if I sounded offensive to you.
Your headline read as if - because she was black and lesbian - she won against all odds. I just doubted that she couldn't have won, because of her racial or sexual orientation. Lots of black and openly gay/lesbian men and women have been elected, so it's not anymore an important issue that defines the odds of winning. At least I believed so.
I didn't know the candidate and who she run against. From what I read in the comments, she won apparently, because she ran against some questionable figure who was known to be corrupt and people wanted to get rid of that figure.
Other than that I don't know a lot of people, who care for sexual orientation, religious affiliation, ethnicity or gender these days. That is to say I don't really know how Americans view those things as a basis of their vote for or against against a candidate. The odds shouldn't be less good by default.
Again I didn't mean to offend, just wanted to know what the woman was all about, ie what her program ideas were.
Nothing for Ungood. We can go along easily. So, peace, please.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Well, well, well...
Funny how that works for some. And the ‘source’’? Well known for lying. Not fudging the facts, but outright lying. Tsk tsk.
This woman is no ‘Progressive’. She’ll fit right in with TPTB that really run Chicago, a useful tool.
Glowing stories coming from the NYT about her ‘liberal’ creds is a pretty good sign.
For years it’s been “Vote for the LOTE”. Now the trend is voting per melanin content and gender.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
I'm truly fascinated by the response to this post...
...folks here focused upon the fact that I used a derivation of the NY Times headline (to go with the article), and not bothering to read past it. I guess those that are taking the potshots would rather have the head of the Cook County Democratic organization--one of the most corrupt organizations in U.S. political party history--continuing to run the City of Chicago. Advocating--indirectly or otherwise--for the status quo at C99P? Amazing! Who knew?
(Luckily, the folks that are closest to the story--Chicago voters--appear to differ with those at C99P, if a rather massive landslide victory is any indication of reality on the ground in the windy city.)
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
If you'd prefer, we can just not say anything at all.
I usually do that.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
I don't "prefer" anything. Obviously...
...all at C99P are both welcomed and entitled to "speak" their mind. That being said, I see folks proverbially shooting from their hip, sometimes, in this online community. It's a reflexive thing. I get it.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
She tends Center-Right
As far as I can tell. Large business donors and staffers from the Chris Kennedy campaign.
However on the positive side she ran as an anti-machine anti-corruption candidate and beat the Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party ( a powerhouse position since Richard J. Daley in the early '50s) by three to one! Most impressive to me is though her opponent ran a dirty negative campaign stressing that Lightfoot was gay (with a gay marriage) to the point of handouts at the polls, the City of Chicago just ignored this as totally irrelevant and voted their revulsion with the status quo and politics as usual.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Chuy Garcia's campaign mgr was Lightfoot's campaign mgr...
I have no problem with Lightfoot having some support from a few Republicans. It's no secret that both the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago are--for lack of a better word--a mess. The fact of the matter, as far as this election was concerned, was that the public was fed-up with a massively corrupt status quo...per Politico...
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
I don't either
Also five DSA members were elected as aldermen. It's only 10% as there are 50 aldermen.
But Imagine if there were 43 DSA Congressmen and 10 DSA Senators.
This is the way to build a party - from the ground up. You can't build a party with only Presidential/Gubernatorial candidates.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Totally with you per your line of thought! Right on! n/t
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
After working to elect a black man president, I’m so
over appearances. I want to know what she wants to do. Nothing else matters.
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
She was, definitively, the anti-establishment candidate n/t
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
So was Obama....
Please don't take the skepticism personal. You brought us news. We thank you for thinking of us. You do not have to account or explain the lack of info or subterfuge in the article you brought us. Heck, some folks might be so happy she's black and lesbian, they really don't care what she does when she is in office.
We have been spoon fed lies and wolves in sheep clothing for too many years to trust or feel much enthusiasm for any pol. If I had to pick one label for the folks here, I would pick fed up/bordering on anarchy.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Lightfoot was, definitely, the better candidate.
Do a little research on her, and avoid the "Stop Lightfoot" (and similar) crap, because it's just a very thinly-veiled, pro-establishment ruse (even though it's being widely-quoted in this thread). When you're running against the establishment, in a big U.S. city, you're running against the media, too. Among other positions, Lightfoot was a very tough, outspoken voice when it came to criticizing Chicago's police department during her service on the Police Review Board.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
Lightfoot's platform
I haven't been following the Chicago mayoral election, but I went to Lori Lightfoot's campaign website, and here are the links to her platform and policy positions:
https://lightfootforchicago.com/policies/
https://lightfootforchicago.com/issues/
She appears to be focusing on police violence (Rahm Emanuel was destroyed partly due to his mishandling of the Laquan McDonald incident), controlling urban gentrification, affordable housing, marijuana legalization, and the environment, among numerous other issues. Her website describes her plans of action to address these issues.
I don't know whether she's the real thing or just another neoliberal in sheep's clothing. If she's authentic, more power to her for taking down the entrenched Chicago political establishment.
Another one bites the dust. First New York, now Chicago. A further indication that We the People are fed up with the establishment.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
Precisely!
It was late, I saw the story running in today's NY Times, prior to going to bed, so I posted it, pretty much as is. (It was breaking news, and it wasn't getting a lot of coverage in the blogosphere.)
Lightfoot has an excellent record when it comes to defending the poor and the disadvantaged. If folks read the NYT article and bothered to research a bit more on their own--via their preferred information sources--they'd begin to realize this, as well.
Regrettably, some people here rant first and then, maybe, a few do their research later.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
NYT? Now, there's a reference - not.
I think they sold WMDs, Russia, and Venezuela. There is seriously no respect for the NYT, WaPo or the rest of the establishment press here.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
So, you speak for the whole community?
For the record, I have no respect for the WaPo, either. The New York Times...occasionally nominal respect; not much more than that. But, election results are, by definition, NEWS. How that news is reported is another matter, altogether.
However, being a story with a statistical outcome, election results news articles are comparable to similar pieces in the sports section.
Is all news slanted? Yes, by definition, all reporting is slanted--some is absurdly so, other stories on a much more nuanced basis; and then there's everything in-between. A landslide is a landslide, as was the case in last night's Chicago mayoral race outcome.
The fact that the Chicago Democratic political machine--one of the most powerful and corrupt in U.S. history--got their asses kicked is also NEWS; just like the fact that it was the first time in the City's history that an African-American woman--not to mention a gay African-American woman--was the winner of the election is also NEWS.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
They the machine didn't get their asses handed to them at all
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/04/chic-a04.html
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
You quote the opinion of the journalist...
...which is in no way supported by any facts on the ground. (The WSWS journalist does this quite frequently in their post, btw--they mix unsupported opinion with "news" throughout their post.) In fact--the reality of the matter was--when Lightfoot first announced her candidacy, her main opponent was Rahm Emanuel, who didn't withdraw from the race until many months later! She was--quite clearly--the one running against the machine, despite efforts by a few to paint her otherwise. The fact that she specialized in corporate litigation as a lawyer, and worked to oversee police brutality charges against the CPD belie the reality that Lightfoot has--and has always had--a reputation of working closely with everyone (and
this goes for her campaign contributiors, too). However, at the same time, her history also includes the refreshing reality that she has often pushed-back quite forcefully against these same folks, whenever the situation dictated that type of response.
Case-in-point: She worked with Rahm Emanuel (who appointed her to lead the Police Review Board, where she led the group in authoring an extremely critical report on Chicago Police Department brutality; and ended up almost doubling the number of CPD officers who were either fired or forced to resign during her time running the Board). Reiterating, as I noted above in another comment and even in this one, she ended up running against him for Mayor, earlier in the just-concluded campaign season, prior to Rahm's withdrawal from the race. The lady appears to be--and maintains a record of being--that rare breed of politician that actually maintains a strong (and truly progressive) ethical compass.
Last but not least, it appears (with a few more votes left to count) THAT LIGHTFOOT WON EVERY WARD IN THE CITY, in a race where the ONLY machine candidate (contrary to the bullshit in the WSWS "news" story-cum-opinion piece), was Preckwinkle, who's campaign has been reported to have been very poorly run, above and beyond all of the FACTS I've supported in this comment.
The story you're using to support your point is nothing less than a really poor piece of work, full of bullshit, and self-made "facts." It's really quite pathetic.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
What could be pathetic is being blinded by a narrative
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/04/05/identity-rules-a-report-from-red...
Rahm and Daley don't hire people just cuz it looks good
And this from people who live in Chicago
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
This statement alone
3.Decentralize city operations by relocating city agencies to our neighborhoods
from her campaign website would likely have gotten my vote. I also liked the photo, which showed an honest and capable woman, I thought.
A bit lower down in the same list of proposals was to encourage professional apprenticeships. Yes!!!
What I like about this woman, so far, is that she appears not to overlook the obvious.
I don't give a damn what consenting adult she lives with or dates. None of my business.
Mary Bennett
Harold Washington tried the same thing...
back in the Eighties with some initial success.
Then Washington died and Richie Jr. won the next election and moved all the agencies back downtown.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
There was actually a good piece about her this morning
on DemocracyNow!
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/4/3/electoral_history_in_chicago_first...
First, she is a rousing speaker (but so is Obama). The person interviewed, Barbara Ransby, a historian, was generally positive but cautious. It is wonderful that historic prejudices have been put aside (I hope forever). I will allow myself to be cautiously optimistic about her (but then I allowed myself to be cautiously optimistic about Obama). Working with the Chicago political machine to get good things done will be a challenge.
"former federal prosecuter"...hmm.
Isn't that what Kamala is?
Know nothing about this person or election, which sounds interesting from the headline. Took a cursory look on Twitter and just beneath the stream of laudatory stuff about firsts is revealing something else:
Who is she? Charlene Carruthers is the author of "Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements."
From her own Twitter page I found this group, Stop Lightfoot, who rendered this criticism:
This is kind of what I thought right off the bat. "Political outsider" label seemed ridiculous, when she was a federal prosecutor.
But Mother Jones, The Root, etc are all following suit to talk about her identity first and foremost.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
+100
Your comment nails it, nothing to be happy about.
She's a wolf in sheep's clothing.
What's most remarkable about this election for me
anyhow, was a voter turnout of 30% and that's with
early voting being open for 2 weeks prior(not 100% sure)
and she won all 50 wards.
It all smells so manufactured.
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Mark, that's a pretty weak rebuttal, frankly.
Twitter? You get your information from Twitter? Seriously? She's a lawyer who knows other lawyers? The nerve of her!
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
Says the guy whose first link goes to dailykos
"killing the messenger" is not my favorite defense of position. Can you try something else? What indy media exists in Chicago? I don't know.
If Chicago liked Lori Ligthfoot they should've voted for her, apparently a lot of older people did just that... which is better than a cow kicking over a lantern I guess. Low voter turnout and duopoly go hand in hand, nothing to cheer about in my view. The millenials or zs did not show up much as far as I can tell, still unrepresented. Thanks
peace
Says the commenter who is making this personal...
...from the get-go, instead of realizing that Lori Lightfoot just defeated the head of the Cook County Democratic Party, arguably, the most corrupt Democratic Party organization in the country, at least historically speaking!
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
You are quoting establishment sources that were backing...
...the establishment candidate (not Lightfoot). You'll find lots of "good," anti-Lightfoot rhetoric in recent Chicago media. Have fun!
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
Caruthers' quote is the ONLY exception to my comment.
I've read your other links. Quoting opposition (establishment) sources is easy. Reiterating, the fact remains that Lightfoot was the anti-establishment candidate; yet, she did/does work within the system.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
I repeat. So was Obama.
Being labeled the anti-establishment candidate by the establishment is no endorsement of how anti-establishment any person is. "Bernie is a commie giving away free stuff."
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Your "argument" has very little to do with the...
...reality of the subject matter. Should you--just like yours truly--be skeptical? Absolutely. But, perhaps you should read some (relatively) unbiased sources before commenting? Reiterating, when you're running against the establishment, you're running against the media, as well. (So, you'll find lots of great cannon fodder to support your position. But, the fact remains that when you do a deeper dive on most of that anti-Lightfoot media--some of which is quoted in these threads--you'll realize there's just not that much "there" there.)
Obama was NEVER an anti-establishment voice. All he did was rant about "hope and change." Many voters--especially big-city voters--are far more skeptical than they were, just a little over a decade ago. And, yeah, (to say the least) it's smart to be skeptical when it comes to U.S. politics. But, please don't be naive. People are quoting a lot of pro-Preckwinkle/pro-establishment propaganda in these threads to make their "case." Nowadays, (at least some) voters are more discerning, and they have a tendency to see right through the bullshit and these related propaganda charades.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
BO's YUPPIE stripes were showing before he ran.
He was a Raygun fan so that spoke volumes right there. I voted for him cos why not--history. Plus, the GOPukes were worse. Now, as far as entrenched city and/or state political corruption go, Floridumb is right up there with the worse of them. Rec'd!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Most excellent!!
I read an article on her before I read this thread and saw that she has too many connections with police issues. Don't remember all the details, but I didn't see anything in it that made me think that she was going to be doing anything to stop the police abuses. If this country doesn't get a handle on letting cops murder people, over 1,000 almost every year, then when the poo hits the fan there are going to be lots of people sitting in the private prisons that are out of control here. If her top issue was police reform then maybe, but that isn't what I got out of the article.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
You should read my update to this post...
...When she was on the Police Review Board, the report they issued on the Chicago Police Department was, in a word: scathing! Police reform was one of Lightfoot's most important--if not THE most important--issues. Lightfoot has been extremely critical of the CPD.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
well, there's this:
So?
The school should just sit there and rot, becoming an eyesore? Or maybe it should be sold to one of Betsy DeVoss's private charter schools?
She's not proposing to close a school, just retool an already closed school for a municipal purpose. I'm not certain but I think Chicago's police academy is presently a private corporation.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
and you can't imagine better
alternative uses for those schools? i'll the neighborhood citizens could. free health clinics, offices for public defenders, cooperative ventures of whatever sort (vertical gardeniing, food coops, etc.), neighborhood libraries, thrift stores, non-religious soup kitchens, there must be a thousand better possibilities.
on edit: come to think of it, the author at that piece at southside weekly had offered these:
I remember how happy the city was when Detroit
elected its first black mayor back in 1974. Ol' Coleman Young was corrupt as ever, but he served for years followed by a procession of other black mayors one more corrupt than the other. Can you say Kwame? Detroit elected its first white mayor again in 2013, the year it went into bankruptcy. He is still in office.
I hope the people of Chicago are not disappointed. I can understand why they threw all the bums out. Looking at her policy page, it looks like all the same ol' same ol' rhetoric. I sincerely hope she gets the backing of the city to make it happen. With her prosecutor background, maybe she can actually reform the Chicago cops. That's a union that needs to be busted.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
For sure
When I saw the FOP go all out for a cop who shot an unarmed man SIXTEEN TIMES, NINE OF THEM IN THE BACK, I was thoroughly disgusted. I was equally disgusted with the judge who gave him less than 7 years for MURDER. Proud though of the jury who found him guilty of second degree murder.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I like what I see on first look, keeping in mind I am not her
constituent. Opposition from the angry SJW contingent sounds like sour grapes to me. If we get city jobs we might have to go to work in some grungy poor neighborhood instead of downtown where the fancy restaurants are.
Will she put a stop to police receiving military materiel? How about making the Swats train in Illinois rather than Israel?
Mary Bennett
Unfortunately, when one runs against the establishment...
...they're running against the media, too. So, there's lots of negative press about the winner; and it's being widely quoted in this thread. (i.e.: "Stop Lightfoot" = elect the establishment candidate.) And, yet, folks whose opinions I respect here at C99P are using that propaganda in their comments. Thankfully, some of those anti-Lightfoot quotes are from articles that are relatively even-handed in their coverage; but they're not being represented in the comments. And, so it goes. (I hope folks read the links presented, in their entirety, at least before they rant otherwise.) It's pretty clear to me that Lightfoot was the better candidate.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
Public / Private Lightfoot PU Chicago Business
Followed Mark's linky and gosh darn it this smells familiar. identity stench
Should Lightfoot's GOP work be an issue in mayor's race?
And London Breed is Mayor of PU San Francisco, is she not. The big club is filling up fast, they are going to have to innovate a superhost class to differentiate their D-Public opinions from their D-Private actions. clintonian retreads
Kabuki 2020
UniParty Wins!
"If everyone can fly business class, why have coach" AOA
Lawyers work for their clients.
And when you work for a law firm, you represent the clients you are assigned to.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Thanks for this.
I don't think you deserve the grief you're getting bobswern.
People criticizing the post need to remember it's Chicago...everybody is connected in some way, but any time the machine backed candidate loses it's always breath of fresh air because it short circuits the patronage system that fuels the corruption.
Whatever Lightfoot does or does not do with her time in office, just beating the machine is a step in the right direction.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
People in this thread need to understand that Lightfoot was...
...running against Toni Preckwinkle, the freakin' head of the Cook County Democratic Party! Arguably (and, almost definitively, from a historical standpoint), the most corrupt Democratic Party organization in the U.S. The voters in Chicago were fed up with rampant corruption throughout City government.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Bob
I'm simple minded. It sounds good to me that an unknown anti-corruption candidate beat the machine in Chicago, and beat it soundly. It is news.
Told my brother-in-law today. He who has been in intensive care
since March 13. He smiled and stuck up his left thumb. Smiled broader when I told him she beat Preckwinkle three to one. It's Preckwinkle that has played identity politics. "Vote for me. I'm black!" "Vote for me! I'm straight!"
The white and Latino wards were heavy for Lightfoot.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
It's been reported that Lightfoot won every ward in the City!
White, Latino and African-American, etc., etc.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
I heard that too
But also that Preckwinkle's strength was concentrated in the black wards. Perhaps she only lost by small or smaller margins there.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
As I commented in Arendts essay
https://caucus99percent.com/content/how-does-one-fight-internet-infested...
"Vote for the plumber, the barrista, the streetsweeper.
Weaponize the money.
People are fed up with anyone who has the stench of establishment about them.
From either side of the aisle.
We must demonize politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists.
The will to "clean house" is abundantly clear.
It started with "Drain the Swamp". Now is the time. IMHO
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Spot-on! Exactly! n/t
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
Drain ALL the swamps, D, R, plutocrat and Deep State alike. n/t
There ain't no
grief being given here-it's called PushBack! A narrative is being Sold in this post and I ain't buying.
Simple.
Head of the Chitown Police Board-outsider?
Appointed by Rahm E-outsider?
During the MacDonald case?-
Worked on GOP issues in the Illinois legislature?-outsider?
Maybe Not the Machines pick-but NOT an outsider.
Federal prosecutor? Really? Outsider? I'm feeling a warm and fuzzy-
Wait! My Bad.
Just smoke up my ass.
Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .
Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .
If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march
Maybe you should checkout my update to this post...
...she was running against Rahm Emanuel for the mayoral gig, prior to Emanuel dropping out of the race. Lightfoot's biggest issue was police violence (and violence throughout the City, in general). The report her Board issued on the Chicago Police Department was, in a word, scathing.
I'm not "selling" anything. It's called: news. Or, would you be more comfortable with the status quo--represented by none other than the head of the Cook County Democratic Party--running the City?
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
Wasn't Toni Preckwinkle a big advocate of the infamous . . .
. . . extremely regressive soda pop tax that was very short-lived?
If so, I would imagine that people didn't remember it too fondly?
Did it become an issue?
I don't know. n/t
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
I read one report
on the CapitolFax blog of a voter bringing in a can of Coke labeled "Preckwinkle Soda". Now that's electioneering and he shouldn't have done it, but it does indicate that that was an issue.
Did you see my other comment about 5 newly elected aldermen who belong to to the Democratic Socialists of America? Maybe the times, they are a-changing.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Yup, I saw that.
I've done about six hours of research on the issues differences between Preckwinkle and Lightfoot, and there's really not a lot of sunlight between the two, except on a few issues; and statements in the press that reference how Preckwinkle's much more status quo-oriented (a major part of "the machine") than Lightfoot. And, from what I've read--generally speaking--Lightfoot's commentary, issues-wise, is significantly deeper than Preckwinkle's. Furthermore, the entire line--mentioned multiple times in the threads here--about Lightfoot supporting the conversion of 38 shutdown schools into Police Training Centers is FALSE! Lightfoot walked it back soon after she suggested it. The folks in the threads of the post putting forth this "issue" totally failed to mention that Lightfoot noted that she said she would NOT move forward on any initiative of that nature without massive community input/direction, first and foremost. It really irks me how some folks here occasionally provide "quotes" out of context to, supposedly, prove "their point." There are an easy 100-200 recommends in the comments of this post referencing this supposed "fact" about Lightfoot. Lightfoot is very much about putting a lot of money into effective police training (along the lines of what'a occurring in Oakland, CA and Boston, MA, right now), including intensive administrative and practical support of the Chicago Police Department's federal consent decree.
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
I read about 4 DSA aldermen elected in Chicago
Maybe another or others had been previously elected.
See: https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/04/03/democratic-socialists-ready-to-w...
Some races still being counted.
I misread "as much as five"
DSA gains ground in aldermanic races
EDIT:
I heard on TV news that Deb Mell being defeated is "unprecedented", but apparently counts are less than a hundred votes apart almost assuring a recount plus there are many mail in ballots to be counted still. It might be a week before we know even without a recount.
I believe Mell was defeated because she holds her seat by being the daughter of a very powerful machine politician of the previous generation. And this election was a revolt against the machine.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I'll say it again: there is no city/county/state
more full of entrenched political corruption than the one I live in: Floridumb!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Louisiana? N/T
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I lived in Chicago many years.
Chicago has finally overcome the Machine in electing an outsider. Good for them. Best of luck to the new mayor!
I had just moved to Chicago when Harold Washington died. I stayed up all night watching the City Council elect a successor. It was all on television! It was absolutely riveting as the various factions maneuvered for the position: standing on tables to get recognized, banging shoes on tables, and small groups gathering in different parts of the chamber. Some of the best television ever! Eugene Sawyer finally beat Tim Evans at around 5 am.
Of course race was central to the whole proceedings...
Couldn't handle reading all the comments . . .
I lived there for three years in the late 80s and loved that city. Got my MA and taught in Cicero district 99. Those were fun years. A teacher group we called the "Fun Group" would go out to supper and attend plays and concerts. Downtown museums, art galleries, and shopping were fabulous. Street musicians everywhere. Festivals in the summer. Season tickets to Orchestral Hall Jazz Series. The best food in the best restaurants (especially compared to DFW and the Twin Cities). And sailing on the lake.
I just hope she is the real deal!
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
I remember working on the '92 Clinton campaign
it felt so good to be hitting back. I don't regret it, even though he proved to be a Judas Goat. It still was better to do something than to accept being a peon.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Thanks bobswern.
Good info and some reasonable push back in comments. I remain hopeful.
The Chicago DSA also Won Aldermatic seats
There will be a Dem Soc Caucus of 4 or even more:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/04/03/democratic-socialists-ready-to-w...
Is something happening here?
Thanks for the post (and updates), bobswern. I had no idea any of this was going on in our third largest city ... which perhaps says something about me.
I just read an article in The Intercept, Socialists Leave Rahm Emanuel Legacy in Tatters in Chicago Elections that is pretty informative. I liked a statement in the article from Emma Tai, executive director of United Working Families:
Another article in the Sun Times headlines: Democratic socialists now control one-tenth of the Chicago City Council
Think about that for a bit... One tenth of the city council in the nation's third largest city are now openly proclaimed socialists. And evidently most of them didn't just squeak in, although one race was close. The mayoral race was a total blow out. The Sun Times said this (my bold):
One of the winners, Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, stated:
None of this sounds like status quo to me.
Thanks again, bobswern! So glad you posted this story!
Yup! It IS a big deal!
Meanwhile, take a look at some of the outrageous comments in this post!
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson
If I were a Chicago voter
I would want to know a bit more about the spouse of the mayor-elect. Specifically, I would want to know that the lady is NOT going to be a backdoor channel to the likes of Mercer, Soros, Adelson, et al.
BTW, I have similar, not concerns, exactly, but let us say, a healthy curiosity about about Rep. Gabbard's spouse.
In both cases, I would want to know what is the family background, who introduced the couples and so on. What are the spouses' cultural backgrounds and what are their alliances? These type of questions, which should have been asked and investigated in 2016 about Mrs. Trump--how did she make a living prior to the marriage, what about her former relationships--have nothing to do with people's rights to love whom they like, or with misguided prudishness; citizens need to know and understand what kinds of influences, from what quarters, are likely to affect the views of our elected officials.
Mary Bennett
If her history is indicative of her efforts going forward...
...and based upon doing a fairly deep "research dive" on Lightfoot, I can say she has a history of working closely with everyone (and this goes for her campaign contributiors, too). However, at the same time, her history also includes the refreshing reality that she has often pushed-back quite forcefully against these same folks, whenever the situation dictated that type of response.
Case-in-point: She worked with Rahm Emanuel (who appointed her to lead the Police Review Board, where she led the group in authoring an extremely critical report on Chicago Police Department brutality; and ended up almost doubling the number of CPD officers who were either fired or forced to resign during her time running the Board), but ended up running against him for Mayor, earlier in the just-concluded campaign season, prior to Rahm's withdrawal from the race. The lady appears to be--and maintains a record of being--that rare breed of politician that actually maintains a strong (and truly progressive) ethical compass.
Personally, I sincerely admire that! (And, there are other instances of this type of positive behavior that I found in my research on Lightfoot, as well. i.e.: It's not about ruthless/opportunistic political behavior!)
"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson