Lori Lightfoot

Lori Lightfoot
Lightfoot in 2023
56th Mayor of Chicago
In office
May 20, 2019 – May 15, 2023
DeputyTom Tunney
Preceded byRahm Emanuel
Succeeded byBrandon Johnson
President of the Chicago Police Board
In office
May 2015 – May 2018
Appointed byRahm Emanuel
Preceded byDemetrius Carney
Succeeded byGhian Foreman
Personal details
Born
Lori Elaine Lightfoot

(1962-08-04) August 4, 1962 (age 62)
Massillon, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Amy Eshleman
​
(m. 2014)​
Children1
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)
Signature

Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962)[1][2] is an American politician and attorney who was the 56th mayor of Chicago from 2019 until 2023.[3] She is a member of the Democratic Party.[4][5] Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as a partner at Mayer Brown and held various government positions in Chicago. She served as president of the Chicago Police Board and chair of the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force.[6][7][8] In 2019, Lightfoot defeated Toni Preckwinkle in a runoff election for Chicago mayor.[9][10] She ran again in 2023 but failed to qualify for the runoff, becoming the city's first incumbent mayor to not be reelected since Jane Byrne in 1983.[11][12]

Lightfoot is the first openly lesbian black woman to serve as mayor of a major city in the United States, and the second openly lesbian woman (after Annise Parker) to serve as mayor of one of the ten most populous cities in the United States. She is also the first black woman, the second woman (after Byrne), and the third black person (after Harold Washington and Eugene Sawyer) to serve as mayor of Chicago.[note 1][13][14]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference STbio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Hurley, Caroline; Schiffman, Lizzie; Asiegbu, Grace (August 3, 2021). "Chicago City Council: Learn More about Your City Council Member". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  3. ^ Yin, Alice; Pratt, Gregory (February 28, 2023). "The battle for City Hall is on: Paul Vallas will face Brandon Johnson to become Chicago's next mayor". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  4. ^ "The Latest: Lightfoot begins life as Chicago's mayor-elect". Associated Press. April 3, 2019. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019 – via The Washington Post.
  5. ^ "New Face and Longtime Politician Vying for Chicago Mayor". Associated Press. April 1, 2019. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019 – via WTTW.
  6. ^ "Mayer Brown partner Lori Lightfoot recognized by Chicago business and legal groups". Mayer Brown. June 7, 2017. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  7. ^ "Police Accountability Task Force Members". Chicago Police Accountability Task Force. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  8. ^ Dardick, Hal (May 8, 2018). "Lightfoot on Emanuel challenge: She'll be progressive candidate who makes City Hall serve everyone". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  9. ^ "Here's how Chicago's historic Election Day unfolded". Chicago Tribune. February 26, 2019. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  10. ^ "The Latest: 2 black women advance in Chicago mayor race". Associated Press. February 26, 2019. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  11. ^ Bauer, Kelly (March 1, 2023). "Mayor Lori Lightfoot Loses Reelection Bid, First One-Term Mayor In 40 Years". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  12. ^ Korecki, Natasha (March 1, 2023). "Lori Lightfoot becomes the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election". NBC News.
  13. ^ "Chicago's historic election: Lori Lightfoot appears to have swept all 50 wards in the city's mayoral race". Chicago Tribune. April 2, 2019. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  14. ^ Ruthhart, Bill (April 2, 2019). "Lori Lightfoot elected Chicago mayor, making her the first African-American woman to lead the city". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.


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