Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is at the mid-point of her four-year term and has experienced some highs and lows. Not only has she faced big challenges such as the pandemic but fallouts from the shameful Anjanette Young raid by Chicago police that should have never happened. Police wrongly raided Young’s home in February 2019 and she was handcuffed while naked as police searched her apartment. She repeatedly pleaded with the officers, telling them they were in the wrong home.
Recently the Board of Directors of the Fraternal Order of Police issued a vote of no confidence for Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and the heads of the Chicago Police Dept Supt. David Brown and First Deputy Supt. Eric Carter. The officer’s frustrations grew from having their off days canceled and switching to 12-hour shifts during times of civil unrest in the city.
Many say Lightfoot’s lack of communication with her administration and her promise to institute police reforms are some of the reasons she’s been given such low scores on her performance. Lightfoot campaigned for mayor on her record as police reformer and has had many opportunities to address the Chicago Police Department’s culture of misconduct since taking over as mayor in 2019.
Lightfoot was among a group of mayors who unveiled a multi-city police reform plan in mid-2020 that called for greater transparency, stricter use-of-force policies, and more accountability among existing police departments – but rejected defunding the police.
N’DIGO sat down with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and talked about her accomplishments and her plans for the city of Chicago.
N’DIGO: What is your best accomplishment as Mayor of Chicago?
Mayor Lori Lightfoot: I feel like my proudest moment has been the navigation of the pandemic. I did not come into the office of the mayor thinking of a pandemic. We met the crisis head up. We rose to the occasion with the health care community. We didn’t panic and we saved a lot of lives with our strategies.
Why is your key staff making exits at City Hall?
People come and go. The last year has been hard. I think there is a lot of exaggeration. People are taking stock of their lives post-pandemic. People are having conversations with themselves and their loved ones and are rethinking their lives. We build teams. The work does not stop. The work continues to be done.
What are your plans to develop Chicago’s central business district, namely the Magnificent Mile and downtown State Street?
We are working with a business group to attract new tenants and to reimage some of the spaces. Many of the spaces in the area were in transition before the pandemic. We are talking to different landlords to allow the reimagination of the space. Some of those spaces could be turned into incubator spaces for retail to provide opportunities to showcase their wares. For example, one of the new ventures is ‘State Street on Sundays’. The street will be closed and turned into a festival atmosphere. We have to look for opportunities.
Tell me about the casinos planned for Chicago and is there a minority fulfillment for the new industry?
Yes, the casinos will have a minority fulfillment requirement. The casino operators will fulfill a minority requirement and the casino will be built with unionized labor. The RFP opens in late July for the interested bidders. We will create an entertainment-type resort and a destination with Chicago being a global force in the entertainment business. The value of Chicago is it is a transportation hub. We made the case for Chicago to get a broad stroke from local interest, Las Vegas and Europe. The participation will be 26% minority. Women and Chicago-based businesses in construction. Fifty percent of the work will be done by Chicago residents, and 7% from the Chicago surround area. The timeline for the award is September.
What about Chicago Public Schools, who will replace CEO Janice Jackson?
Janice has built a formidable legacy coming out of a series of previous leadership controversies with Barbara Bennett and Forrest Claypool. She brought educators into the mix. Her story is incredible where she has been from preschool as a student to the superintendent of the system. I am looking for someone who understands minority students. The achievement gap is profound. I am looking for a confident leader, with experience, who will take on challenges. We are conducting a national search for educators. We have hired an experienced search firm. This will not be a rubber stamp process. The search firm is looking nationally for educators. We have a process. The timeline to complete this is July so that the new person can be ready for the school year.
When do you think Chicago will be totally restored to “normal?”
I don’t think we will ever be been fully restored to normal as in 2019.
The loss of jobs is profound. We have had an incredible experience that we will talk about for the rest of our lives. We are looking at a new normal. People have been impacted emotionally, economically, and in their health care. The city lost tourism. We have a lot of work to do to rebuild a better place as a result of going through the experience of Covid-19.
Are you running for re-election?
Let me get through the next two years. People want me to work every day and to be responsible for the moment. Politics will take care of itself. I am focusing on people for now.
