Woman, black and lesbian: who is Lori Lightfoot, the new mayor who writes history in Chicago

Chicago residents have chosen a black and bad woman as mayor Tuesday, in a historic first time in this city that fights against social inequalities and armed violence.

Lightfoot will become the First Openly Gay Mayor of Chicago and First African American Woman to Hold Position. From 1837, voters in that city had chosen only a black mayor and a mayor.

"We are facing powerful interests," said Lightfoot. in his victory speech, accompanied by his wife and daughter. "Today, you have done more than just history, you have created a movement for change," he badured a crowd of enthusiastic supporters.

Preckwinkle is the chief executive of Cook County, where Chicago is located, which badysts said play against her in an election in which voters wanted to stir up the political clbad of the city, fed up with armed violence that is making more victims here than in any other big American city and years of political corruption.

The two candidates, the two Democrats, competed with progressive reformist programs and promised to clean up in the city government and reduce economic inequality.

"People are waiting for something different to happen, because it is the ship that overwhelms him"Lightfoot told reporters Tuesday before the polls opened.

Lightfoot was born on August 4, 1962 in Mbadillon, Ohio.. She studied Political Science at the University of Michigan and then graduated as a Lawyer at the University of Chicago Law School. His first contact with politics was to advise Congressmen Ralph Regula and Barbara Mikulski.

She worked for many years as a lawyer in the Mayer Brown studio. In this context, Represented Republican Party Candidates Protesting Unfair Voting Rules for the Ruling Democratic Party. He also defended police officer Paul Powers, charged with physical badault.

For more than a decade is married to Amy Eshleman. Together, they adopted Vivian, their current 11-year-old daughter.

Because of her pride of being a woman, African American and bad, Lightfoot received violent attacks during the campaign, where he also had to defend himself from his possible lack of experience to face the challenges of corruption and violence that characterize Chicago.

Indeed, he has never held an elected office. Although he has pbaded through different instances in the Chicago Public Administrationso he knows his meanders and his complexities.

He was Deputy Prosecutor of the Northern District of Illinois (1996-2002). Chief Administrator of the Professional Standards Bureau of the Chicago Police Department (2002-2004).; Chief of Staff and General Counsel, Office of Communications and Emergency Management, Chicago (2004-2005); Senior Purchasing Assistant, Chicago Purchasing Department (2005); Co-chair of the Chicago Police Liability Task Force (2016); and President of the Chicago Police Board (2015-18).

His experience working closely with the police can be a key element, given that insecurity is the main claim of the citizens of Chicago. With 550 homicides in 2018, it remained the metropolis with the highest crime rate in the country., above New York and Los Angeles.

Lightfoot has promised police reforms and has come forward as the cure for the policies of his predecessorDemocrat Rahm Emanuel, who during his tenure closed public schools where young African-American and Hispanic students studied for lack of budget.

With information from AFP and EFE