I can only hope they have a realistic plan for reducing the violence in Chicago... Chicago will elect a black woman as its mayor for first time https://www.wral.com/chicago-voters-head-to-polls-to-pick-rahm-emanuel-successor/18219255/ A former federal prosecutor and a county board leader will face each other in a runoff to become Chicago's first black female mayor after leading a large field Tuesday that included a member of the Daley family that has dominated the city's politics for much of the last six decades. Political outsider Lori Lightfoot, who was a federal prosecutor in northern Illinois, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were the top two vote-getters among 14 candidates, but neither received more than the 50 percent needed to avoid an April 2 runoff. The winner will succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel to lead the nation's third-largest city. Emanuel did not seek re-election. Among those they defeated was William Daley, who has never held major elected office but featured the most famous surname in the race. His father, Richard J. Daley, and brother, Richard M. Daley, held the city's top job for nearly 43 years of a 55-year span before Emanuel took the oath in 2011. Daley is a former U.S. Commerce secretary who, like Emanuel, served as White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama. Emanuel 's decision not to seek a third term drew some of the biggest names in state and municipal government as would-be successors, along with some political newcomers with strong support, in a transitional election for a lakefront metropolis still struggling to shed its reputation for corruption, police brutality and street violence. "What do you think of us now?" Lightfoot said Tuesday night to a crowd of her supporters. "This is what change looks like." Lightfoot, the first openly gay woman to run for Chicago mayor, has been critical of efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department in the wake of the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white police officer. Preckwinkle, who leads the county's Democratic Party, also made a campaign issue out of McDonald's shooting. "We may not be at the finish line. But, we should acknowledge that history is being made," Preckwinkle, who previously served 19 years on the City Council and was a Chicago Public Schools teacher, told her supporters. "It's not enough to stand at a podium and talk about what you want to see happen," she added, taking an apparent shot at Lightfoot. "You have to come to this job with the capacity and the capability to make your vision a reality." Turnout was low Tuesday. Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election, said by late afternoon turnout was around 27 percent of registered voters. The record low for a February mayoral election was 33.8 percent in 2007, when Emanuel was first elected. "It appears that some voters either just disengaged or are not willing to make a decision until they know who's in the runoff, assuming there is a runoff," Allen said. Businessman Willie Wilson, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and activist Amara Enyia, who received financial support from Kanye West and Chance the Rapper, rounded out the top vote-getters. Although a nonpartisan election, the candidates were all attached in varying degrees to the Democratic Party. The Republican Party has virtually disappeared from the city. "A problem is the absence of the Republican Party offering a different choice and different ideas," said DePaul University political scientist Larry Bennett. "Those running are all Democrats, offering odd claims of doing something different." The variety of candidates reflected the many issues facing Chicago's next mayor: poor neighborhoods in need of investment, overwhelming pension debt, low-performing public schools and a crime rate that is often pointed to as among the nation's worst. However, an issue that took center stage in the contest is the need to change how business is conducted at City Hall. For some that means an end to pay-to-play, paying off influential politicians in order to do business in the city. Since 1972, more than two dozen city aldermen have been convicted of crimes related to official duties. Last month, Edward Burke, a 50-year veteran and former chairman of the City Council's Finance Committee, was indicted after authorities said a wiretap on his cellphone captured him pressuring executives of a fast-food chain to hire his law firm in exchange for help with permits. Preckwinkle, Mendoza, attorney Gery Chico and Daley all sought to distance their ties to Burke, who had a comfortable lead in his race for re-election on Tuesday. Reforming the city's Police Department is a job the winning candidate can't dodge. A consent decree approved last month by U.S. District Judge Robert Dow Jr. is aimed at tightening supervision, improving training and fixing the department's disciplinary system. The decree is the most important consequence of the shooting of McDonald by now-former officer Jason Van Dyke. A video of the shooting sparked demonstrations and resulted in Van Dyke's murder conviction . Illinois' attorney general sued the city to force the court's involvement after years of inaction by the City Council, which dealt with systemic police misconduct in recent years by approving millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements. Emanuel's popularity plummeted after release of the McDonald shooting video and he eventually decided not to seek re-election, leading to the scramble to succeed him. Voters also chose among candidates for the 50-member City Council. The city has a tradition of having a dominating mayor and a City Council that isn't aggressive in serving as a separate branch of government, according to Bennett, the political scientist. That has meant the performance of various city departments hasn't received adequate scrutiny.
At least she admits there is an illegal gun problem. https://lightfootforchicago.com/wp-...01/LL-Position-paper_StrategyPublicSafety.pdf A new Gun Violence Prevention Task Force which will work with the CPD, as well as federal, state, and local law enforcement to proactively address gun violence and the import of illegal guns into Chicago from neighboring jurisdictions and aggressively disrupt gun trafficking activities that result in a high number of illegal guns on Chicago city streets. This task force will also take the lead on formulating and directing violence interruption efforts funded through city resources, as well as city-wide anti-violence public service campaigns.
And black men. I believe they've had two black mayors. Of course nobodys noticing that the last time a republican was elected Mayor, the great depression hadn't even happened yet.
Republicans may be able to make a move here, run a candidate for Mayor and have a actual chance at winning this time around. These two dems have the real money in Chicago scared shitless. Business knows they're going to get whacked. Taxes are going through the roof. They have no realistic answers to all of the many problems existing in the city right now. All they can do is whip up the ghetto dwellers into a frenzy. That said, I have no idea who that republican might be as they have all but abandon Chicago for years now, but there is an opportunity which normally doesn't occur.
Once you go Black, you never go back. Incumbents are tough to beat without a major scandal. A Republican Mayor in Chicago? When was the last time that happened?
William Hale Thompson (May 14, 1869 – March 19, 1944) was an American politician, mayor of Chicago for three terms, from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931. Known as "Big Bill" Thompson,[2] he is the last Republican to have served as mayor of Chicago to date. Historians rank Thompson among the most unethical mayors in American history, mainly for his open alliance with Al Capone.[3] However, others recognize the effectiveness of his political methods and publicity-oriented campaigning, acknowledging him as a "Political Chameleon" and an effective political machine.[4] TIME magazine said in 1931, "chief credit for creating 20th Century Politics Chicago Style" should go to William Thompson.[5] Thompson was known for his over-the-top campaigning and uncensored language that, along with his towering height and weight, earned him the nickname "Big Bill".[6] Though Thompson was a popular figure, his popularity escalated after his death, when two safe-deposit boxes were found in his name containing nearly $1.8 million in cash and bonds.[6] Prior to his death in 1944, Thompson, upon his reelection in 1919, was at the forefront of the movement for Chicago Public Libraries and education officials to censor and ban many texts and historical recollections coming from the United Kingdom.[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hale_Thompson
Not true. Harold Washington was followed by several Caucasian mayors. There is no incumbent running this time. Rahm is out. The opening is there for the right candidate.
I am just waiting for Trump to tweet - "Black women have never had higher employment as Chicago Mayors under any other President"