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CHICAGO (AP) — Lori Lightfoot made past arsenic the archetypal Black pistillate and archetypal openly cheery idiosyncratic to service arsenic Chicago mayor, sailing to victory 4 years agone arsenic an outsider who vowed to escaped City Hall of corruption and present a safer, much equitable city.
But her bid for a 2nd word is precise overmuch successful question amid concerns astir continuing precocious transgression successful the nation’s third-largest metropolis and accusations that she is overly hostile and sometimes flat-out mean — disapproval she has dismissed arsenic sexist and racist smears against a pugnacious person who is passionate astir Chicago.
Ahead of a crowded Feb. 28 election, Lightfoot has been forced to spell connected the antiaircraft successful a heated contention that has turned into some a property contention and a argumentation debate.
“We person started to alteration Chicago astir for the better,” Lightfoot said during a caller debate. “I privation to decorativeness the occupation that we person started.”
With 9 candidates successful the race, it is improbable that anyone volition transcend the 50% threshold needed to triumph the officially nonpartisan predetermination outright. That means the victor is apt to beryllium decided successful an April 4 runoff betwixt the apical 2 vote-getters.
Were she to lose, Lightfoot would beryllium the archetypal Chicago politician successful decades to tally for reelection and fail. And dissimilar her predecessors, Lightfoot doesn’t bask a fundraising vantage implicit her apical rivals.
The predetermination volition beryllium an aboriginal trial this twelvemonth of however transgression factors into mayoral races successful big-city Democratic strongholds. Other large cities electing mayors this year, including Philadelphia, are besides grappling with however to equilibrium progressive ideals with residents’ day-to-day concerns astir keeping their families safe.
Lightfoot, a erstwhile national authoritative who had ne'er earlier tally for governmental office, emerged from a crowded field successful 2019 to decision acold amended known candidates with enactment from voters weary of governmental corruption and coverups.
She says her medication has made factual advancement connected captious issues, from putting wealth into neighborhoods that person seen decades of disinvestment to taking amerciable guns disconnected the streets. But she notes that the past 4 years haven’t been easy, with a planetary pandemic and protests implicit constabulary unit that she said represented “some of the toughest times that we’ve ever faced” successful Chicago.
Lightfoot’s handling of crises has sometimes drawn praise, specified arsenic erstwhile she ordered lockdowns aboriginal successful the coronavirus pandemic and an representation of the stern-faced politician became a fashionable meme. But astatine different times, Lightfoot’s actions person been questioned.
After the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis constabulary prompted protests and civilian unrest, including smashing of storefront windows and fires, Lightfoot ordered the metropolis to rise drawbridges implicit the Chicago River successful an effort to artifact protesters from entering the downtown area. Some successful the metropolis saw it arsenic elitist, a mode of protecting upscale parts of the highly segregated metropolis astatine the disbursal of neighborhoods with struggling concern districts that besides suffered superior damage.
But Lightfoot has taken the astir vigor for accrued crime, with homicides hitting a 25-year precocious successful 2021 with astir 800. Lightfoot says she has a program that is working, noting that homicides decreased past year. But they are inactive higher than erstwhile she took office, and concerns person grown astir different convulsive transgression successful the city, including carjackings.
“We’ve made advancement year-over-year,” Lightfoot said. “But I admit that radical successful the metropolis don’t consciousness safe.”
Lightfoot’s astir formidable hostile whitethorn beryllium two-term U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a erstwhile subordinate of the Chicago City Council, authorities Senate and region committee who mislaid a runoff 8 years agone against then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Lightfoot has tally TV ads accusing Garcia of corruption, noting his House run took wealth from Sam Bankman-Fried, the erstwhile CEO of cryptocurrency speech FTX accused of monolithic fiscal fraud. Garcia said helium didn’t cognize Bankman-Fried, and his run returned nonstop contributions.
Garcia touts his grounds of moving with communities crossed the metropolis and playing good with others successful a mode that helium says Lightfoot does not.
“She is combative, unnecessarily. She is implicit the top,” Garcia said.
Elected arsenic a reform-minded outsider who would escaped the metropolis of pay-to-play politics, Lightfoot was criticized erstwhile a run staffer sent retired an email to nationalist schoolhouse teachers seeking students to unpaid for the run successful speech for people credit. Lightfoot apologized, calling it a mistake. Inspectors wide are reviewing for imaginable argumentation violations.
Some of Lightfoot’s biggest battles person been with the Chicago Teachers Union, which backed her archetypal tally for mayor. The 2 sides butted heads during an 11-day teachers onslaught successful 2019 and bickered implicit returning to in-school instruction during the pandemic.
This year, the teachers national has endorsed Lightfoot rival Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner and erstwhile Chicago teacher and national organizer. Johnson, who has criticized Lightfoot for moving arsenic a progressive and past breaking run promises, wants to displacement wealth distant from the constabulary section and toward amended intelligence wellness attraction and different services for long-neglected neighborhoods similar the 1 wherever helium lives connected the city’s West Side.
Lightfoot has besides clashed with the Chicago constabulary union, the Fraternal Order of Police. At a City Council meeting, Lightfoot was caught connected a microphone referring to a national person arsenic “this FOP clown.”
The constabulary national has endorsed mayoral campaigner Paul Vallas, a erstwhile metropolis fund manager and schools person who served arsenic an advisor to the constabulary national during negotiations with City Hall. He’s repeatedly called for much constabulary officers, saying, “Crime is retired of control.”
Lightfoot has criticized Vallas arsenic a Republican successful disguise, noting helium has received run contributions from GOP donors. Her run blasted him for being excessively cozy with the constabulary union, calling its person a “notorious bigot” and protagonist of erstwhile President Donald Trump.
Lightfoot has accrued her enactment successful immoderate areas of the city. Former Rep. Bobby Rush, a large professional during her archetypal run turned salient booster this year, joined Reps. Danny Davis and Robin Kelly — whose districts see predominantly Black neighborhoods — successful praising her committedness to investing successful the areas. Lightfoot maintained that commitment, Rush said, adjacent “under the toughest of circumstances.”
The politician points to a grounds of achievements that see pushing done a $15 minimum wage that labour unions had sought for years and support of a long-sought casino that’s expected to bring millions successful gross and thousands of jobs. She besides has budgeted implicit $3 cardinal to support entree to abortion, including for radical who question to Chicago from states wherever the process is illegal.
In summation to Garcia, Vallas and Johnson, the different candidates moving are affluent businessman Willie Wilson, Chicago City Council members Sophia King and Roderick Sawyer, activistic Ja’Mal Green and authorities Rep. Kambium “Kam” Buckner.
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This communicative has been corrected by deleting the notation to Atlanta arsenic among the large cities electing a politician successful 2023.
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