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Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot urged black voters to help her ‘keep the seat’ from falling to white or Hispanic challengers, despite an appalling spike in crime.
As Lightfoot seeks a second term in the upcoming February 28 election, some business leaders concerned about the continuing crime wave say they don’t think she is up to the task.
In rallies on Saturday, Lightfoot told the South and West side residents who don’t support her to not bother voting at all.
‘Any vote coming from the South Side for somebody not named Lightfoot is a vote for Chuy Garcia or Paul Vallas,’ Lightfoot said. ‘If you want them controlling your destiny, then stay home. Then don’t vote. But we’ve got to do better.’
Lightfoot made the remarks naming the only white and Latino challengers in the race, Paul Vallas, a former Chicago public schools chief and past city budget director, and fellow progressive Rep. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia. She is also facing six black opponents in the race.
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot urged black voters to help her ‘keep the seat’ from falling to white or Hispanic challengers in the February 28 election, despite an appalling spike in crime
Lightfoot faces right opponents in the race including Paul Vallas (pictured), a former Chicago public schools chief and past city budget director, and Rep. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia
Lightfoot made history as the first black woman and first openly gay person to serve as Chicago mayor, sailing to victory four years ago as an outsider who vowed to rid City Hall of corruption and deliver a safer, more equitable city.
But her bid for a second term is very much in question amid concerns about continuing high crime in the nation’s third-largest city and accusations that she is overly hostile and sometimes flat-out mean — criticism she has dismissed as sexist and racist smears against a tough leader who is passionate about Chicago.
‘We need the South Side to come like a mighty roar to the polls,’ Lightfoot said at the rally on Saturday. ‘We don’t need to be the Israelites wandering in the desert for 30 years. We need to get to the promised land right now, right here, and we won’t get there if you don’t vote.’
Former U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, who supported her opponent in 2019, today joined Lightfoot at the rally leading residents in chanting, ‘keep the seat’ and ‘down with the wannabes and up with Lori.’
Vallas, one of Lightfoot’s opponents, who has been criticized for associating with the Fraternal Order of Police, told supporters that his campaign is ‘about taking back our city.’
Vallas, one of Lightfoot’s opponents, who has been criticized for associating with the Fraternal Order of Police, told supporters that his campaign is ‘about taking back our city’
Lightfoot, who was out campaigning this week, said in a statement she has been ‘a consistent and committed partner to the business community
The mayor’s other big opponent Garcia has criticized her on Twitter.
‘This is disqualifying rhetoric for anyone hoping to lead a Chicago that is a multiracial and multiethnic city,’ Garcia said. ‘We need unity not division.’
Lightfoot has run TV ads accusing Garcia of corruption, noting his House campaign took money from Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX accused of massive financial fraud. Garcia said he didn’t know Bankman-Fried, and his campaign returned direct contributions.
Garcia touts his record of working with communities across the city and playing well with others in a way that he says Lightfoot does not.
‘She is combative, unnecessarily. She is over the top,’ Garcia said.
Business leaders say Chicago cannot become more progressive.
‘I can’t see our city becoming more progressive or socialist than it already is,’ Craig J. Duchossois, executive chair of Duchossois Group Inc., told the Wall Street Journal. ‘That scares the business community.’
Lightfoot’s campaign said in a statement she has been ‘a consistent and committed partner to the business community.
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She also said that her leadership has helped Chicago improve its credit ratings and attract new businesses and expand others.
However, in May 2022, Boeing Co. said it was moving its headquarters to Arlington, Va., and the following month, Citadel LLC and Citadel Securities was moved to Miami, the WSJ reported. Crime wasn’t cited as the reason, but it was a consideration.
‘While Lori Lightfoot makes a lot of bold claims, she ignores the reality that businesses are being driven out of the city,’ the Vallas campaign said in a statement, according to the WSJ.
Crime has continued to go up in 2023, as dozens of businesses have vacated the city’s Magnificent Mile shopping district
After a year of rising crime and continued inflation, many Americans chose to exit the nation’s three biggest cities to head down south
There is concern about the rising crime in the city.
In Chicago, crime has continued to go up in 2023, as overall offenses are up a stunning 58 percent through the first two months as dozens of businesses have vacated the city’s Magnificent Mile shopping district.
Huge brands like Macy’s, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Gap, Uniqlo, and Timberland have all fled large premises since the 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.
Robberies and sexual assaults are up 23 percent compared to the same last time and thefts up 33 percent. Murders are down 22 percent while shooting incidents are down just four percent.
Homeless encampments have sprung up inside crime-riddled Chicago‘s O’Hare International Airport terminal leaving some concerned for their safety as images of people sleeping in filthy makeshift shelters have emerged.
Homeless encampments have overrun crime riddled Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, with some concerned for their safety as images of people sleeping in exits and filthy makeshift shelters continue to emerge
Thousands of people sleeping rough have sought refuge at the popular airport hub, where an average of 2,520 passengers travel each day, according to a study between 2000 and 2020
Thousands of people sleeping rough have sought refuge at the popular airline hub, with many setting up shelters inside the terminal buildings.
Shocking photos show one man collapsed inside an entrance vestibule, another slumped over with no shoes on and a group of half a dozen people who have taken over an indoor area next to the escalators.
O’Hare’s growing problem is just a snapshot of a citywide homelessness crisis bubbling under the surface of city decaying from soaring crime rates.
Lightfoot’s handling of crises has sometimes drawn praise, such as when she ordered lockdowns early in the coronavirus pandemic and an image of the stern-faced mayor became a popular meme. But at other times, Lightfoot’s actions have been questioned.
After the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police prompted protests and civil unrest, including smashing of storefront windows and fires, Lightfoot ordered the city to raise drawbridges over the Chicago River in an attempt to block protesters from entering the downtown area.
Some in the city saw it as elitist, a way of protecting upscale parts of the highly segregated city at the expense of neighborhoods with struggling business districts that also suffered serious damage.
But Lightfoot has taken the most heat for increased crime, with homicides hitting a 25-year high in 2021 with roughly 800. Lightfoot says she has a plan that is working, noting that homicides decreased last year. But they are still higher than when she took office, and concerns have grown about other violent crime in the city, including carjackings.
‘We’ve made progress year-over-year,’ Lightfoot said. ‘But I recognize that people in the city don’t feel safe.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
