Who is Lori Lightfoot? | Lori Lightfoot Biography and Wiki
Lori Lightfoot (born Lori Elaine Lightfoot) is an American politician who has held various government positions in the city of Chicago, notably having served as President of the Chicago Police Board from 2015 to 2018. Lightfoot has also worked in private legal practice as a partner at Mayer Brown.
She is a candidate for the mayor of Chicago in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election. Lightfoot was the top vote-getter in the first round of the election, advancing to a runoff election which will be on April 2, 2019, against Toni Preckwinkle.
Lori Lightfoot Age and Birthday
Lightfoot was born on August 4, 1962, in Massillon, Ohio, United States of America. She celebrates her birthday on August 4th every year. Lightfoot will be 58 years old on Aug. 4th, 2020.
Lori Lightfoot Height and Weight
Lightfoot is a woman of quite short. She stands at a height of 5 feet 1 inch (1.5 meters). However, details regarding her actual weight and other body measurements are currently not publicly available. We are keeping tabs and will update this information once it is out.
Lori Lightfoot Education
Lightfoot is a graduate from Washington High School in Massillon, where she was class president. In 2013, her high school alumni association named her a “Distinguished Citizen”. Lightfoot received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, working seven jobs to afford her education.
She took jobs working for Congress members Ralph Regula and Barbara Mikulski before matriculating at the University of Chicago Law School, where she was awarded a full scholarship.
Lightfoot first gained fame as a law student at UChicago when she, as president of the student body, led a successful movement to ban a law firm from campus after the firm sent a recruiter who made racist and sexist remarks towards a student. She also served as a clerk for the Michigan Supreme Court. In 1989, she graduated from law school.
Lori Lightfoot Parents
Lightfoot is the youngest of four children. Her mother was a healthcare aide and school board member, and her father a factory worker and janitor. She grew up in a mostly white neighborhood on the west side of the city.
Lori Lightfoot Married
Does Lori Lightfoot Have A Biological Daughter | Is Lori Lightfoot Daughter Adopted
Lightfoot is married to her long term partner Amy Eshleman and the couple is blessed with one adopted child, a daughter, Vivian.
Lori Lightfoot Gay | Lori Lightfoot Lesbian | Lori Lightfoot 2019 Mayoral Candidacy
Lightfoot is the first openly gay African-American woman to be elected mayor of a major city in the United States as announced in 2019.
Chicago sworn in its first black female and first openly gay mayor, concluding Lori Lightfoot’s astonishing, yearlong rise from near anonymity to the leader of the nation’s third-largest city.
Lightfoot defeated Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in a landslide runoff election April 2, claiming 73% of the vote and winning all 50 wards. She also won a majority of the white vote, the black vote, and the Latino vote.
“We are going to transform our city,” Lightfoot said last week. “No one person, no one leader—even if it’s a woman—can change the city alone. We must do it together.”
The former federal prosecutor and political outsider drew little notice last May when she announced her longshot challenge to Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the Democratic mayoral nomination.
When Emanuel declined to seek a third term, several Democrats with far more name recognition than Lightfoot leaped into the political fray. But it was Lightfoot who claimed the most votes in the field of 14 in the February election, although she failed to gain the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff.
The runoff campaign grew bitter. Preckwinkle supporters tried to link Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, and city Police Board president, to police-involved shootings and a criminal justice system viewed as biased against African Americans.
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, who is black, had warned that the “blood of the next young black man” killed by police would be on the hands of Lightfoot supporters if she won.
“We can and we will build trust between our people and our brave police officers so that the communities and police trust each other–not fear each other,” Lightfoot assured supporters in her victory speech.
Lightfoot also inherits a public school system struggling with dwindling enrollment and poor academic results. Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey warned Friday that schools have reached a “breaking point,” citing a shortage of nurses, counselors, and social workers among other issues.
Lightfoot has promised a “reallocation” of resources and expansion of partnerships with community groups to increase the number of educational support positions.
Lightfoot is married to Amy Eshleman, a former assistant commissioner of the city’s public library system. They live on the near northwest side of the city with their daughter.
Lightfoot was the first of three openly LGBTQ candidates across the nation to win mayoral races within a few weeks. Tampa’s former police chief Jane Castor made history last month, becoming the first LGBTQ major elected in a southeastern U.S. city, and Satya Rhodes-Conway also was elected last month as Madison, Wisconsin.
Before their victories, only two out lesbian candidates, Seattle’s Jenny Durkan and Houston’s Annise Parker have served as mayor of one of America’s 100 most populous cities.
“A lot of little girls and boys are watching,” Lightfoot said in her victory speech. “They are watching us and they are seeing the beginning of something, well, a little bit different. They are seeing a city reborn. A city where it doesn’t matter what color you are . . . where it doesn’t matter who you love, just as long as you love.”
Lori Lightfoot Measurements and Facts (In bulleted list)
Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about Lori Lightfoot.
- Full Name: Lori Elaine Lightfoot
- Age: 57 years (2019)
- Date of Birth: August 4, 1962
- Place of Birth: Massillon, Ohio, U.S.
- Education: University of Michigan, University of Chicago Law School, University of Chicago, Massillon Washington High School
- Birthday: August 4th
- Nationality: American
- Spouse: Amy Eshleman
- Children: 1
- Height: 5 feet 1 inch (1.5 meters)
- Profession: Politician and lawyer
Lori Lightfoot Career
Lightfoot became a practicing attorney at Mayer Brown after graduating from law school. She first entered the public sector as Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
Lightfoot cites several reasons for entering public service, inclusive of a desire to represent the African-American community, a sense of injustice based on the murder of a family member in the 1920s by a Ku Klux Klan member and her older brother’s struggles with the law.
While working as an assistant United States attorney, she assisted with Operation Silver Shovel, an FBI investigation into Chicago corruption. Lightfoot helped to convict alderman Virgil Jones.
Lightfoot was issued a warning for misconduct by judge Richard Posner based on a 1999 case where she allegedly misled a judge about the status of an order to extradite a suspect. She denied the allegation and she was exonerated after a Justice Department review.
Lightfoot was appointed in 2002, as the chief administrator of the Chicago Police Department Office of Professional Standards which is a now-defunct governmental police oversight group, by Mayor Richard M. Daley. Lightfoot held the position for two years.
While in the position, she was charged with investigating possible cases of police misconduct, including police shootings of civilians, though Lightfoot says her recommendations were often rejected by the Chicago Police Department.
Lightfoot went against Police Department orthodoxy in one notable case, by recommending the firing of officer Alvin Weems, who shot and killed Michael Pleasance, an unarmed man.
Initially, Weems was believed to have accidentally shot Pleasance, but after video evidence contradicting the initial claims was revealed, even Weems himself expressed feeling that the shooting was unjustified.
Chicago Police Department did not fire Weems but the city was eventually forced to pay a settlement to the Pleasance family. Weems later committed suicide.
In another controversial case where officer Phyllis Clinkscales shot and killed unarmed 17-year-old Robert Washington, Lightfoot determined that the shooting was justified. In doing so, Lightfoot reversed the order of her predecessor, who had called for Clinkscales’ firing. Clinkscales’ account of the events of the shooting had been found to contain untrue statements in an investigation.
Later, Lightfoot worked with the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications. She then moved on to work as deputy chief of the Chicago Department of Procurement Services, where Lightfoot and her boss, Mary Dempsey, investigated Chicago corruption, drawing Mayor Daley’s ire in the process.
Their investigations included probes of Blagojevich associate Tony Rezko and prominent Daley donor Elzie Higginbottom. Lightfoot worked at the Department of Procurement Services for a few months before subsequently returning to Mayer Brown.
Lightfoot defended Republicans as an attorney at Mayer Brown, in two cases protesting Democratic gerrymandering. She has also served on the boards of the Illinois chapters of NARAL and the ACLU. Lightfoot was a finalist in 2013, for the position of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, but the job went to Zachary T. Fardon.
Lori Lightfoot Chicago Police Board and Police Accountability Task Force
In 2015, Lightfoot returned to the public sector, when Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed her to replace 19-year incumbent Demitrius Carney as President of the Chicago Police Board. The main responsibility of the board is to make recommendations for or against disciplinary action on certain disputed cases of police misconduct. Under the leadership of Lightfoot, the board became more punitive, firing officers in 72% of its cases.
In the wake of the controversy over the murder of Laquan McDonald, Lightfoot was appointed by Emanuel as Chair of a special Police Accountability Task Force.
The Task Force, led by Lightfoot, filed a report critical of the Chicago Police Department’s practices in 2016. In May 2018, Lightfoot resigned from the Police Board, just before announcing her mayoral run
Emanuel.
Lori Lightfoot Policies
In order for Chicago to remain a world-class city, we need to create a new path. A path in which fairness and inclusion are our guiding principles. As our mayor, I will respect the experiences of all Chicagoans and ensure our city government works to uplift the quality of life for everyone.
We can, and we must, do better. We must do better to address the taxes and fees that burden middle- and low-income families. We must do better to halt the declining conditions of our neighborhood schools.
We must do better to change an education policy that does not view parents, teachers, principals, staff, or other stakeholders as valued partners.
We must do better by insisting on a comprehensive plan to invest in families and neighborhoods and to end the violence that plagues too many communities. We can do this, together. This is my commitment and promise to you. Please join me.
Lori Lightfoot Campaign Manager
Lightfoot’s team has hired Manuel Perez, the campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, as campaign manager. It’s a strategic hire as Perez is seen as the progressive force behind Garcia, who hasn’t made an endorsement in the race.
Hiring Manuel suggests Lightfoot is targeting the Hispanic vote. Manuel also ran Garcia’s 2015 campaign against Mayor Rahm Emanuel and more recently ran Tanya Patino’s campaign for the 14th Ward seat won by disgraced Ald. Ed Burke.
Lori Lightfoot Net Worth
Lightfoot earned has an estimated net worth of $500K. His career as a politician is the primary source of his income.
Lori Lightfoot Salary
In 2017, Lightfoot earned $173,236 as a Dentist Iv for Cook County Ambulatory/Community Hlth Ntwk. She had worked in this position since November 01, 1999.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lori Lightfoot
Who is Lori Lightfoot?
Lori Lightfoot is a well-known politician who has held various government positions in the city of Chicago, notably having served as President of the Chicago Police Board from 2015 to 2018.
How old is Lori Lightfoot?
Lightfoot is an American national born on August 4, 1962, in Massillon, Ohio, U.S.
How tall is Lightfoot?
Lightfoot stands at a height of 5 feet 1 inch (1.5 meters).
Is Lightfoot married?
Yes, Lightfoot is the first openly gay African-American woman to be elected mayor of a major city in the United States. She is married to Amy Eshleman and the couple is blessed with one child, a daughter.
How much is Lightfoot worth?
Lightfoot earned has an estimated net worth of $500K. His career as a politician is the primary source of his income.
How much does Lightfoot make?
In 2017, Lightfoot earned $173,236 as a Dentist Iv for Cook County Ambulatory/Community Hlth Ntwk. She had worked in this position since November 01, 1999.
Where does Lightfoot live?
She is a resident of Chicago, IL, USA, we shall upload pictures of her house as soon as we have them.
Is Lightfoot dead or alive?
Lightfoot is still alive and in good health. There have been no reports of her being sick or having any health-related issues.
Lori Lightfoot Interview
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