The embattled former Chicago mayor who lost her re-election bid last month after serving just one term is set to teach leadership at Harvard.
Lori Lightfoot, 60, presided over four years, dominated by rising crime, war with teachers’ unions and police, and battles with the city council. She resigned on May 15 as the first mayor not to secure a second term in 40 years.
But on Thursday, the Harvard Chan School of Public Health announced that Lightfoot would be joining their faculty for a semester in the fall.
Michelle Williams, the dean, praised Lightfoot for her “strong leadership in advocating for health, justice and dignity for every resident of Chicago.”
Lori Lightfoot was seen last month on her last day as mayor of Chicago. She was the first mayor in 40 years not to be re-elected
Lightfoot will teach for a semester at Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health in the fall
Williams praised “her statement of structural racism as a public health crisis” and her “innovative initiative to bring mental health care to libraries and shelters.”
Lightfoot — who told Politico on May 10 that she was “thrilled about being a full-time mom, a full-time husband, and a full-time private individual” — said she was thrilled to land the prestigious job.
Michelle Williams, the school’s dean, celebrated Lightfoot’s appointment
She was a lawyer before entering politics, and had a bitter relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union, which saw an 11-day strike, and two actions during the height of the COVID pandemic.
Lightfoot has taught litigation courses at the University of Chicago and the Northwestern Law Schools.
“I’ve always loved teaching, and the chance to get back into it is something I’m excited about,” she tweeted.
“I look forward to sharing with the @HarvardChanSPH community the experiences and perceptions I’ve learned during one of the most challenging times in American history!”
Lightfoot said her wife, Amy, and daughter will remain in Chicago while she takes on the eight-week Harvard fellowship. Although this is a residential community, Lightfoot said she expects to travel back and forth from Chicago.
She follows in the footsteps of Bill de Blasio, the widely hated mayor of New York, who taught at Harvard last year when he stepped down.
Bill de Blasio, the former mayor of New York, was teaching at Harvard when he left
Lightfoot had a contentious relationship with the city council (pictured)
Lightfoot had a rocky relationship with the press: Combative Newsmax reporter William Kelly is seen wrestling the microphone from him in February 2022
Her appointment as a leadership teacher has raised eyebrows.
Lightfoot’s approval ratings in office have been consistently low: In January of this year, just 9 percent of Chicago residents said their city was moving in the right direction.
In the first round of elections, in February, she was the only candidate to have an unfavorable rating higher than her favorable rating: a net favorable rating of -10 percent.
She didn’t make it to the second round.
Lightfoot immediately clashed with members of the city council, leading to angry scenes. She also had an obviously frosty relationship with the governor, JB Pritzker – a fellow Democrat.
But she insisted it was necessary.
“I came into government with a mandate of 75 percent of the vote to break the status quo and make sure I do things and put the ordinary people of our city at the center,” she told Politico when she took office left.
‘With that mandate you are going to disrupt the status quo. You’re going to make some people angry.”
She was disliked by the press – the Politico discussion was her only exit interview, going against tradition; and in 2021, she announced that she was only giving interviews to journalists of color, deeming the press too white.
She was sued over the decision, which was condemned as a violation of the First Amendment.
Lightfoot was also attacked as heavy-handed in her COVID policies.
Thousands marched through Chicago in October 2019 during a teachers’ strike
Lightfoot’s tenure was marked by repeated clashes with education unions
She hosted a press conference with the police chief, David Brown, and warned that those who defy the restraining order will be punished. As she left the conference venue, she saw a group of black teens playing basketball and told them to go home and stay there — angering progressives with her heavy-handedness in a struggling neighborhood.
In February 2021, it emerged that she had used $281.5 million in COVID-19 federal relief funds to cover the cost of salaries and benefits for Chicago Police Department officers — a move that further infuriated progressives, who saw them police gave priority to the local population.
The police were not on her side either – despite her attempts to position herself as pro-police.
They complained about staff shortages and overtime, and she regularly clashed with the head of the police union, John Catanzara.
In May 2021, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police issued a symbolic vote of no confidence against Lightfoot, Brown, and the department’s second-in-command, Eric Carter, for reasons including cancellations of days off and extensions of duty.
And crime continued to rise.
During her time in charge of the city, overall crime increased 42 percent.
Crime under Lightfoot rose 42 percent overall in four years
Chicago police can be seen at the spot where a cop was shot dead on March 1
In the first three months of 2023, Chicago’s homicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 residents made it one of America’s deadliest cities — worse than New York and Los Angeles, according to a WalletHub survey
Murder under her rule rose 13 percent and shootings rose 10 percent.
Theft was up 30 percent and motor vehicle theft was up 204 percent.
Researchers found last month that gun shootings are so common in the city of 2.7 million that 56 percent of blacks and Hispanics will experience them before their 40th birthday.
In the first three months of 2023, Chicago’s homicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 residents made it one of America’s deadliest cities — worse than New York and Los Angeles, says a recent survey from WalletHub.
Lightfoot’s supporters say she was chosen to shake up the status quo, and she has done just that.
They also point to economic development on the neglected south and west sides, expanding the city’s rail system to the south side, advocating for an increase in the minimum wage, and mobilizing $1 billion for affordable housing.