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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 a dire spike in crime.
As Lightfoot seeks a second term in the upcoming election on February 28, some business leaders concerned about the continuing crime wave say they don’t think he is up to the task.
At rallies Saturday, Lightfoot told South and West Side residents who don’t support her not to bother voting.
“Any vote coming from the South Side for someone not named Lightfoot is a vote for Chuy Garcia or Paul Vallas,” Lightfoot said. ‘If you want them to control your destiny, then stay home. So don’t vote. But we have to do better.
Lightfoot made the remarks, naming the only white and Latino challengers in the race, Paul Vallas, former Chicago Public Schools chief and former city budget director, and progressive Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. She also faces 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 a dire spike in crime.
Lightfoot is facing the right opponents in the race, including Paul Vallas (pictured), former Chicago Public Schools chief and former city budget director, and Rep. Jesús ‘Chuy’ Garcia
Lightfoot made history as the first black woman and the 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 and more equitable city.
But his bid for a second term is in sharp doubt amid concerns about continued high crime in the country’s third-largest city and accusations that he is too hostile and at times downright mean-spirited, criticisms he has dismissed as sexist and racist smears against a tough leader with a passion for Chicago.
“We need the South Side to come with a mighty roar to the polls,” Lightfoot said at Saturday’s rally. ‘We don’t need to be the Israelites who wander 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 US Representative Bobby Rush, who supported his opponent in 2019, joined Lightfoot today in the rally that led residents to chant, ‘stay in your seat’ and ‘down with the hopefuls and up Lori.’
Vallas, one of Lightfoot’s opponents, who has been criticized for associating himself with the Fraternal Order of Police, told supporters his campaign is about “taking back our city.”
Vallas, one of Lightfoot’s opponents, who has been criticized for associating himself with the Fraternal Order of Police, told supporters his campaign is about “taking back our city.”
Lightfoot, who was campaigning this week, said in a statement that she has been “a consistent and committed partner with the business community.”
One of Lightfoot’s opponents, Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, touts her record of working with communities across the city and playing nice with others in ways he says she doesn’t.
García, the other great opponent of the mayoress, has criticized her on Twitter.
“This is disqualifying rhetoric for anyone who wants to lead a Chicago that is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic city,” Garcia said. ‘We need unity, not division’.
Lightfoot has run television ads accusing Garcia of corruption, noting that his House campaign took money from Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange FTX accused of massive financial fraud. Garcia said he did not know Bankman-Fried and his campaign returned direct contributions.
Garcia touts his record of working with communities across the city and playing nice with others in a way he says Lightfoot doesn’t.
‘She’s combative, unnecessarily. She is over the top,’ Garcia said.
Business leaders say Chicago can’t get any more progressive.
“I can’t imagine our city becoming any more progressive or socialist than it already is,” Craig J. Duchossois, chief executive of Duchossois Group Inc., told the Wall Street Journal. “That scares the business community.”
Lightfoot’s campaign said in a statement that she has been “a consistent and engaged partner with the business community.”
He also said his leadership has helped Chicago improve its credit ratings and attract new businesses and expand others.
However, in May 2022, Boeing Co. said it would move its headquarters to Arlington, Virginia, and the following month, Citadel LLC and Citadel Securities moved to Miami, the WSJ reported. Crime was not cited as the reason, but it was a consideration.
“While Lori Lightfoot makes many 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 continued to rise in 2023, as dozens of businesses left the city’s Magnificent Mile shopping district.
After a year of rising crime and continued inflation, many Americans opted to leave the country’s three largest cities for the South.
There is concern about the increase in crime in the city.
In Chicago, crime continued to rise in 2023, as overall crime rose an astonishing 58 percent over the first two months as dozens of businesses left the city’s Magnificent Mile shopping district.
Big brands like Macy’s, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Gap, Uniqlo and Timberland have fled large facilities since the Covid shutdowns and subsequent riots.
Many were driven away by increased crime and violence, and the vacancy rate in the once-swanky shopping area has increased 10-fold since 2016, when it stood at just 3.6 percent, to 30.1 percent. current.
Robberies and sexual assaults are up 23 percent compared to last time, and robberies are up 33 percent. Murders are down 22 percent, while shooting incidents are down just 4 percent.
Homeless encampments have sprung up inside the crime-ridden terminal of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, leaving some concerned for their safety as images of people sleeping in filthy makeshift shelters have emerged.
Homeless encampments have invaded the crime-ridden Chicago O’Hare International Airport, and some are concerned for their safety as images of people sleeping in exits and grimy makeshift shelters continue to surface.
Thousands of people who sleep outdoors have sought refuge in the popular airport hub, where an average of 2,520 passengers travel a day, according to a study carried out between 2000 and 2020.
Thousands of rough sleepers have sought refuge in the popular airline hub, and many have set up shelters inside the terminal buildings.
Shocking photos show a man collapsed inside an entrance hall, another collapsed without shoes and a group of half a dozen people took over an inside area next to the escalators.
O’Hare’s growing problem is just a snapshot of a citywide homelessness crisis bubbling under the surface of a city that is deteriorating due to rising crime rates.
Lightfoot’s handling of crises has sometimes drawn praise, such as when he ordered lockdowns early in the coronavirus pandemic and a stern-faced image of the mayor became a popular meme. But on other occasions, Lightfoot’s actions have been called into question.
After the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked protests and civil unrest, including smashing store windows and arson, Lightfoot ordered the city to erect drawbridges over the Chicago River in an attempt to prevent The protesters entered the city center.
Some in the city saw it as elitist, a way to protect the ritzy parts of the highly segregated city at the expense of neighborhoods with struggling business districts that also suffered severe damage.
But Lightfoot has gotten most of the heat from rising crime, with homicides hitting a 25-year high in 2021 at about 800. Lightfoot says he has a plan that’s working, noting that homicides are down last year. . But they’re still taller than he was when he took office, and concerns have grown about other violent crime in the city, including carjackings.
“We’ve made progress year after year,” Lightfoot said. “But I recognize that people in the city don’t feel safe.”