Chicago Elects First Gay Black Woman Mayor

Former federal prosecutor and political neophyte Lori Lightfoot made Chicago history Tuesday night when she won a runoff nonpartisan election to become Chicago's first black woman, and first openly-gay candidate, ever elected mayor. Winning with a staggering 74% of the vote after parlaying her leadership of a task force on police killings, Lightfoot's outsider status gave her a huge edge over her opponent, Toni Preckwinkle, the head of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and a former boss of the city's Democratic Party, who was also a black woman.

After Mayor Rahm Emmanuel declared he would not seek reelection in September as the city's precarious finances and the appearance of a coverup of police misconduct tainted his image, 14 candidates vied for the position during a non-partisan election, which led to Tuesday's runoff after none of the candidates managed to secure a majority in the first round. Both Preckwinkle and Lightfoot beat out Bill Daley, the brother of Emmanuel's predecessor, Richard Daley, and a member of a Chicago political dynasty, a sign that voters were fed up with the city's political class and its reputation for self-dealing.

Lightfoot triumphed despite being outraised by Preckwinkle, who touted her status as a political "boss" during her campaign, with Lightfoot starting the runoff with just $731,000 on hand, compared with Preckwinkle's $3.9 million. In addition to securing the support of the city's powerful unions, Preckwinkle also won the endorsement of Chance the Rapper, one of the city's most prominent figures in the entertainment industry, according to Politico.

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