Lori Lightfoot sparks criticism for touting Chicago as 'safe' city as crime rates rise
Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell asks Chicago residents if they feel safe in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s city as the police force has declined by 19% since her term began.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, lost her re-election bid Tuesday night, and critics are celebrating the end of her term.
Under Lightfoot, Chicago has seen soaring crime rates, which became a theme of her opponents' criticism. In 2021, homicides in Chicago rose to their highest numbers in 25 years, outpacing other crime-ridden cities like New York City and Los Angeles.
Throughout her tenure, the mayor has been blasted for her poor relationship with law enforcement, as the city's police department lost a significant number of officers in recent years amid the rise in crime.
Lightfoot faced challenges from eight other candidates in the mayoral race, but failed to make the runoff after finishing the election in third place.
CHICAGO OUSTS EMBATTLED MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT, AS RACE HEADS TO RUNOFF WITHOUT HER
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot came in third place in Tuesday night's mayoral election and will not make it to the April 4 runoff. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Chicago Public Schools CEO and city budget director Paul Vallas will face off against Cook County Board of Commissioners member Brandon Johnson in the April 4 runoff.
No candidate surpassed the 50% threshold to win the election outright.
After the mayor's defeat, critics wasted no time in expressing their pleasure on Twitter that Chicago will soon have new leadership, touching primarily on the city's crime wave.
Gianno Caldwell, a Fox News political analyst whose brother was killed in Chicago last summer, wrote that the Lori Lightfoot "experiment" is "officially over. Thank you, CHICAGO."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote, "Lori Lightfoot. Crime doesn't pay."
Former Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones, who lost his election for the U.S. House in November, exclaimed that the mayor "just got the FOOT!" He added, "Other Democrat mayors with run-away crime in your cities, take note. Even liberals are tired of being unsafe."
"There is hope for my home city yet," wrote Jonathan Turley, a criminal defense attorney and Fox News contributor. "Lori Lightfoot is out. The greatest potential improvement for the city since 1900 when the direction of the Chicago river was reversed."
Chicago has seen soaring crime rates under Mayor Lori Lightfoot. (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
Kayleigh McEnany, co-host of Fox News' "Outnumbered," highlighted remarks she made as White House press secretary in 2020, when she called Lightfoot the "derelict mayor of Chicago" for her handling of Chicago's crime wave and suggested the Democrat seek federal assistance to secure the city. Lightfoot responded on Twitter at the time by telling McEnany, "Hey, Karen. Watch your mouth."
"Lori Lightfoot lost her election," McEnany tweeted Tuesday. "Perhaps she should have woken up when I referred to her as the ‘derelict mayor of Chicago’ from the White House podium for ignoring victims of crime in her city! Instead, she said ‘Hey, Karen. Watch your mouth.’"
"Karen here, you lost," McEnany said of Lightfoot's defeat during an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity" on Tuesday night.
Outkick founder and radio host Clay Travis emphasized in a tweet that Lightfoot "was crushed in tonight’s Chicago mayoral race and didn’t even make the runoff. 84% of Chicagoans voted against her. 84%! That level of incompetence is tough to pull off for an incumbent. Congrats to her."
Homicides in Chicago rose to their highest number in 25 years in 2021 during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's tenure. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Contributing editor at The Spectator Stephen L. Miller wrote, "Perhaps Lori Lightfoot would have won if thousands of her voters had not been shot."
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Additionally, Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk said, "Goodbye to the worst mayor in Chicago history!"
With Tuesday's loss, Lightfoot became the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election.
Fox News' Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
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