Lori Lightfoot

Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American politician and attorney who was the 56th mayor of Chicago from 2019 until 2023. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as a partner at Mayer Brown and held various government positions in Chicago. She served as president of the Chicago Police Board and chair of the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force. In 2019, Lightfoot defeated Toni Preckwinkle in a runoff election for Chicago mayor. She ran again in 2023 but failed to qualify for the runoff, becoming the city's first incumbent mayor to not be reelected since Jane Byrne in 1983. Lightfoot is the first openly lesbian black woman to serve as mayor of a major city in the United States, and the second openly lesbian woman (after Annise Parker) to serve as mayor of one of the ten most populous cities in the United States. She is also the first black woman, the second woman (after Byrne), and the third black person (after Harold Washington and Eugene Sawyer) to serve as mayor of Chicago. Early life and education Lightfoot was born in Massillon, Ohio, the youngest of four children. Her mother, Ann Lightfoot, was a nighttime healthcare aide and school board member, and her father, Elijah Lightfoot, was a local factory worker and janitor. She grew up in a primarily white neighborhood on the west side of the city. She is a graduate of Washington High School in Massillon, where she was a trumpet player in the school band, sang alto in the choir, point guard on the basketball team, volleyball player, softball player, yearbook editor, and Pep Club member. She was elected high school class president three times. Her campaign slogan while running for high school class president was "Get on the right foot with Lightfoot". Her high school alumni association named her a "Distinguished Citizen" in 2013. While in high school, Lightfoot helped organize a boycott of her school's lunch program over the quality of its pizza. Her boycott was a success as the school provided more flavorful pizza. Her punishment for the boycott was detention.