By AFRO Staff
History will be made April 2 when Chicago elects its first Black female mayor.
Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle topped the field of 14 candidates who vied for the city’s mayoral seat during elections on Feb. 26. Since no contender garnered the required 50 percent of votes, the pair will meet again in a runoff race in April.
Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. (AP Photos)
“This, my friends, is what change looks like,” Lightfoot told cheering supporters election night. <http://fortune.com/2019/02/27/new-mayor-of-chicago-2019/?fbclid=IwAR1UbQDOP-T6fATMnPIu1fDbNsLldMVhQgd-d8hc3OiokMfPipaWiFtkvlw>
If Lightfoot is elected she would usher in even more change by becoming the first openly gay mayor ofAmerica’s third largest city. The attorney was president of the Chicago Police Board and the city’s Police Accountability Task Force. She has vowed to challenge the corruption inherent to Chicago’s politics and has condemned Preckwinkle’s alleged ties to the city’s political machine.
Preckwinkle, meanwhile, has challenged Lightfoot’s history as a law firm partner and her alleged ties to conservative Republicans. The former teacher and longtime politician has the backing of organized labor.