Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot was elected Chicago mayor, becoming the first black woman and first openly gay person to lead the nation's third-largest city.
Chicago mayoral candidates Lori Lightfoot, right, and Toni Preckwinkle participate in a candidate forum in Chicago last month.
Chicago will become the largest U.S. city to elect a black woman as mayor when Lightfoot is sworn in May 20. She will join seven other black women serving as mayors in major U.S. cities, including Atlanta and New Orleans.She emerged as the surprising leader in the first round of voting in February when 14 candidates were on the ballot to succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who decided against running for a third term.
Chicago mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle campaigns in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago on March 24. In one ad, Preckwinkle criticizes Lightfoot's oversight of the emergency communications in 2004 when a fire killed four children. A judge ordered Lightfoot to preserve 911 tapes after questions were raised about how the emergency call was handled. The ad notes some of the tapes were destroyed, prompting the judge to rebuke Lightfoot.
"My whole career has been about change, and change is action and results, not simply words," said Preckwinkle, who asserts her experience makes her better positioned to lead a city with financial problems and poorer neighborhoods that are racked by gun violence.
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