Mayor Lori Lightfoot Articles

Illustration of a progression of mugshots as a young person ages through the criminal justice system.

For kids arrested in Chicago, the city has little to offer

While youth arrests are way down, Chicago has failed to fix its long-broken approach to providing support for kids who get arrested, lagging far behind mayoral promises and serving only a fraction of kids who might need help.

by Dan Hinkel and Kelly Garcia June 26, 2024July 23, 2024

Housing

Tenants and advocates call for Just Cause Ordinance to end no-fault evictions

An ordinance that has stalled in the Chicago City Council would protect renters from being evicted through no fault of their own and require landlords to provide relocation assistance.

by Grace Asiegbu October 29, 2021January 8, 2024

Police

No one knows how many Chicago cops are vaccinated against Covid-19

How many cops have gotten their vaccine shots? The question has a definite answer. But no one in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office or the police department seems able to put a number on it.

by Carlos Ballesteros and Josh McGhee August 30, 2021January 8, 2024

An activist Naira poses for a photo, holding her braids.

Essential Work: ‘Where did we agree to sign away our identities when we decided to fight for freedom?’

Injustice Watch has relaunched its Essential Work project about young Black Chicago activists. In this essay, an organizer known as Naira reflects on the summer uprisings and pushes back on the dehumanization of Black radicals and protesters, from Assata Shakur to today’s Black youth.

by Naira March 24, 2021January 8, 2024

Chicago mayor’s ‘pandemic budget’ passes, but with the most opposition in 30 years

After a historic budget season, 21 City Council members voted against the mayor’s proposed budget last week. City Bureau spoke with organizers and members of City Council about their plans moving forward.

by Grace Del Vecchio, Kelly Garcia, Corli Jay and F. Amanda Tugade December 2, 2020January 26, 2024

Police

4 actual proposals for cutting Chicago’s police budget right now

We likely won’t see the 75% cut that organizers have asked for, but there are some proposals on the table.

by Grace Del Vecchio November 23, 2020February 5, 2024

Black Chicago has been looted for decades

Three weeks ago, the nation was transfixed on images of people running out of downtown stores with their hands full. But the historic plunder of Black Chicago deserves our attention, too.

by Carlos Ballesteros September 1, 2020January 8, 2024

Police

Chicago Is Spending $1.6 Billion on 13,000 Police. Is It Worth It?

With shootings and murders on the rise and President Trump sending federal agents to the city, community organizers and criminologists point to a police hiring spree from just four years ago to show that more cops on Chicago’s streets aren’t the answer.

by Carlos Ballesteros July 30, 2020February 5, 2024

Police

‘How was she a threat?’ Chicago police attack on Black youth leader Miracle Boyd outrages activists, officials

Miracle Boyd, 18, is an organizer with GoodKids MadCity and a rising Chicago youth leader. An unidentified police officer struck her in the mouth Friday at a Black, Indigenous American rally, breaking several of her teeth.

by Adeshina Emmanuel July 18, 2020January 8, 2024

Police

Chicago has nearly tripled per capita police spending since 1964, data show

For activists and city leaders calling on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to cut the police budget, it’s clear that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

by Carlos Ballesteros June 9, 2020December 5, 2023

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