Marshall Hatch Jr., a youth minister at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church poses for a portrait in the Austin neighborhood Wednesday, Octoin Chicago, Illinois. Now, many of those who put stock in Lightfoot’s candidacy are waiting with cautious optimism to see whether she can resolve challenges that have bedeviled Chicago for decades.
It’s a huge undertaking, particularly as the city grapples with a historic budget shortfall, union demands, and a host of other hurdles. The mixed sentiment underscores the tough choices facing Lightfoot as her administration moves to implement a sweeping anti-violence strategy that strikes a balance between smarter policing and community-based programs. While Lightfoot retains support from many leading figures in Chicago’s burgeoning violence prevention movement, some advocates have begun to express frustration over indications that the mayor is backpedaling on her campaign rhetoric. More recently, Lightfoot released a 2020 budget blueprint that was criticized as not going far enough in addressing a shooting epidemic that she has repeatedly labeled her top priority. A former federal prosecutor, Lightfoot’s decision to flood neighborhoods with police officers in 2019 during the often violent Fourth of July weekend, coupled with her support of a crackdown on repeat gun offenders, was interpreted as a retreat to the “tough-on-crime” policies pursued by her predecessors. Photo by Liz Farina Markel for WTTWīut the mayor has also drawn rebukes. Mayor Lightfoot, WTTW News Mayoral Forum in 2019.
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