Lori Lightfoot, '89: Tackling Obstacles to Become Mayor of Chicago

Lori Lightfoot looks to tackle obstacles to become mayor

June 6, 2018 Chicago Defender

Obstacles are nothing new to Lori Lightfoot.

For years, Lightfoot has sat in front of police reformers, police abolitionists, and families impacted by police shootings during her tenure as Chicago Police Board President. The families of Rekia Boyd, Quintonio Legrier, and Ronald Johnson passionately demanded justice for their loved ones to Lightfoot and her colleagues, yet their calls have remained unanswered.

In an era where Black Lives Matter protests are common and extrajudicial killings of Black people are hypervisible, Lightfoot aims to build positive inroads in Chicago’s Black communities while campaigning against the man who appointed her to head his taskforce on accountability. Lightfoot has a tall task–defeating a two-time Barack Obama endorsed incumbent and gaining the trust of the people who called on her for justice and accountability.

But again, obstacles are nothing new to Lori Lightfoot.

“I hope people look at my background and will recognize that when I talk about families that are struggling, I’m talking from the basis of personal experience,” says Lightfoot. “I’m the fourth of four kids. I’ve been in Chicago for almost 32 years, but I grew up in Ohio during the 60s and 70s in a small steel-town that was very segregated.”

That town is Massillon, Ohio. Massillon is a blue-collar town 50 miles south of Cleveland with a population of about 33,000. Lightfoot’s success is as rare as a mayor winning an election after setting the record for most closed public schools during their tenure in United States history. Not only is her hometown “overwhelmingly White,” but the most notable people are sports figures. Think the traditional Midwestern football towns that revolve around hard labor and Friday night lights (Lightfoot even played quarterback for her intramural league at the University of Chicago Law School). Like many Black Chicago families, Lightfoot comes from a home rooted in hard work but burdened by race.

“My mother was a housekeeper and she worked a midnight-shift at the mental institution…and then later at the nursing home. She would be classified as a low-wage worker,” recounts Lightfoot. “My father, who lost his hearing through illness, worked really hard to be the man of the house and provide for his family. Given the limitations of race, education, and ability, it was very hard for him. My dad had a full-time job but was often compelled to work two or three jobs.”