Redlining Political Communities in Chicago and the United States: Part 3 - Projections of Mayor Lightfoot's Response to Intersectional Identity Appeals Based on Her Campaign Image and Priorities

This is part 3 of how don't how long series of essays that I've titled Redlining Political Communities in Chicago and the United States. The series takes up the topic of two separate racist "encounters" that erupted around one weekend at the end of May 2019 between two business owners in Chicago's boystown and the black LGBTQ+ community of Chicago as a way to analyze how geography and segmenting of populations can influence politics in Chicago and allegorically to the United States.

If you want to catch up and not start in the middle, you can read Part 1 first and also Part 2.

In addition to taking into account the influence of the Black LGBTQ+ voting bloc on Mayor Lightfoot, an appeal to the Mayor in this case might have an additional factor that could benefit the Black LGBTQ+ community. Mayor Lightfoot is the first openly gay and first female black mayor of Chicago. Mayor Lightfoot has something of a personal stake in this conflict and getting it resolved in a manner that benefits both her intersectional identity and advancing society seeing, hearing, and respecting marginalized identities could attract her. Lightfoot's identification with the cause and embodiment with the cause on a macro level could push her to take action.

However, two factors work against having faith that Mayor Lightfoot would take up this cause: her public history and she is the mayor to the whole city, not just one voting bloc or community. Lightfoot ran for mayor on a platform of police reform. A fair amount of the public instantly had thoughts about police murdering black people with minimal, if any, cause, after which the perpetrators often received minimal, if any, repercussions. While serving as something of a watchdog over the police in her pre-Mayoral career, though, Lightfoot hadn't shown the most empathy or urgency to families and victims, giving preference to order and prudence:

• ”Behind Lori Lightfoot’s image as police reformer, her past reveals complicated picture” - Chicago Tribune
  
  
• ”Chicago Police Board Fails Rekia Boyd’s Family Again” - Black Youth Project 100
  
  
• ”Notes from Chicago Police Accountability Task Force Community Forum #4” - Smart Chicago @ Medium
  
  
• ”After saying #ByeAnita, Chicago's young black organizers continue calls for justice” - Chicago Reader
  
  
• ”Don’t Get Too Excited About Chicago’s New Black Lesbian Mayor” - Outr
  
  
• ”Rekia Boyd's Bloody Hair Shown to Police as Activists Take Over Meeting” - DNA Info Chicago
  
  
• ”Lori Lightfoot Is a Pragmatist. Chicago Needs a Revolution.” - Intelligencer
  
  
• ”Rekia Boyd Case Sparks Shouting, Pushing at Police Board Meeting” - DNA Info Chicago

Even now after Lightfoot vowed during her campaign to release information regarding the Laquan McDonald "cover up", Lightfoot refuses to release them even in the face of Freedom of Information Act requests. Apparently a gag order prevents the release, the strongest among three legal reasons to prevent the release of information. As with past actions before becoming mayor, Lightfoot puts a lot of focus on order and prudence, not showing her hand in a litigious risk management manner. Opposite to Lightfoot's tact, this route could be simultaneously followed while showing heart, empathy, and a balance of psychological face, but Lightfoot doesn't.

Mayor Lightfoot answers to a different calling than emphasizing her own identifications and emphasizing her own personal/social justice. She comes from a marginalized background in which she learned to “not to use her race, gender, or economic status as an excuse for anything short of excellence.” This approach becomes a double-edged sword. It values truth and equal treatment while being a leader to everyone.

At the same time, however, this perspective can cause a blindness to identifying when discretion in unique situations can

• Increase equitable justice
• Smooth relations
• Build trust and good will
• Use/take advantage of learning moments

Maintaining order and emphasizing equal reward for equal effort, however, can often maintain the status quo and intensify tensions and bad faith between parties.

Mayor Lightfoot has also demonstrated in these kinds of issues an approach that Barack Obama used regarding these kinds of situations, as encapsulated by his quote: “I’m not the president of black people, I’m the president of everyone.” Lightfoot’s refrains to saying that she has to look at all the facts before making a comment without any words of support or consolation shows how careful she tries to not say anything she’ll regret or face attacks from any angle.

In regards to these two particular issues, the rap ban and a prejudiced store owner in Boystown, Mayor Lightfoot would likely not consider them high ranking on her list of priorities. Lightfoot has mentioned many times how she wants to prioritize developing run down parts of the city with little commercial or community activity. Taking into consideration the increased violence in the city since Memorial Day, Lightfoot likely sees crime as a problem to fix, too. Add to that Lightfoot’s trips to California, Washington DC, and New York City to try brainstorming ideas to fight crime and violence (and be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), these problems might not impress Lightfoot as important issues that will help bolster her approval among the voters.

Part 4 has been completed and posted! Please feel free to move onto the next parts.

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