Lori Lightfoot elected Chicago mayor, becoming first black woman and first openly gay person....

[DonViejo]

Lori Lightfoot elected Chicago mayor, becoming first black woman and first openly gay person to win the office

By Mark Guarino and Mark Berman April 2 at 10:26 PM

CHICAGO — Voters in Chicago made history on Tuesday by electing Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, as the city’s first black female mayor. Her commanding victory capped a grueling campaign that saw Lightfoot, who will become the city’s first openly gay mayor, defeat more than a dozen challengers en route to winning her first elected office.

Lightfoot, 56, is now set to lead the nation’s third-largest city as it continues to grapple with gun violence, alleged public corruption, ongoing efforts to reform the police force and an exodus of black residents. In the runoff election on Tuesday, she defeated Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, in a contest fraught with historic meaning, given that it featured two black women vying to succeed outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The Associated Press called the race less than an hour after polls closed, with Lightfoot leading Preckwinkle by nearly 50 percentage points.

In her victory speech, Lightfoot said she was committed to ending the broken political culture of Chicago.

“We can and we will break this city’s endless cycle of corruption,” she said, raising her fist in the air. “And never again, never ever, allow politicians to profit from elected positions.”

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/chicago-voters-set-to-make-history-with-mayoral-runoff-election/2019/04/01/af90f7f0-5230-11e9-a3f7-78b7525a8d5f_story.html

[Soxfan58]

1. This makes me smile this AM

Congrats Madam Mayor Elect.