Chicago mayor elect Lori Lightfoot speaks during the election night party in Chicago, Illinois on April 2, 2019. – In a historic first, a gay African American woman was elected mayor of America’s third largest city Tuesday, as Chicago voters entrusted a political novice with tackling difficult problems of economic inequality and gun violence. Lori Lightfoot, a 56-year-old former federal prosecutor and practicing lawyer who has never before held elected office, was elected the midwestern city’s mayor in a lopsided victory. (Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP) (Photo credit should read KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
(Photo KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images)History in the windy city, Lori Lightfoot Becomes Chicago’s First Black, Gay, Female Mayor.
Voters on Tuesday chose Lori Lightfoot, a former prosecutor, to replace Rahm Emanuel. When she takes office in May, Ms. Lightfoot also will be the city’s first openly gay mayor.
Ms. Lightfoot, who has never held elective office, easily won the race, overwhelming a better-known, longtime politician and turning her outsider status into an asset in a city with a history of corruption and insider dealings. Ms. Lightfoot, 56, beat Toni Preckwinkle, a former alderman who is president of the Cook County Board and who had for years been viewed as a highly formidable candidate for mayor.
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