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* Mayor Lightfoot went well beyond state rules and strictly limited indoor dining until late September. And now…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushed back late Tuesday on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order to suspend indoor dining and drinking in Chicago to stop a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases, the latest sign of a serious split between the officials leading the effort to stem the pandemic.
“Communication is the key to navigating through this crisis,” Lightfoot said in a statement to reporters. “We will continue our efforts to engage with the governor and his team to better understand their metrics so that we can forge targeted solutions to address the public health challenges here in Chicago and across the state.”
During an interview Tuesday evening on the “PBS NewsHour,” Lightfoot said she had asked Pritzker to reverse his order.
“If the governor’s order goes into effect, it’s shutting down a significant portion of our economy at a time when those same businesses are hanging on by a thread,” Lightfoot said.
But a clearly angry source close to the governor pushed back on the assertion that Lightfoot was blindsided…
The governor and the mayor were supposed to speak on Monday, but the mayor didn’t call the governor. Staff were briefed on the metrics.
Not to mention that all anyone had to do was look at the numbers and it was pretty crystal clear what was about to happen for days in advance.
* Greg Hinz…
Lightfoot immediately pushed back on that assertion.
“The mayor reached out on Monday to the governor” to schedule a meeting to talk about COVID and the state’s plans, said spokeswoman Jordan Troy. “The governor was traveling, so they didn’t talk but to accommodate the governor’s schedule a meeting was set for tomorrow (Wednesday). ” As a result, “There was no need for another talk.”
Team Pritzker is sticking with its story that Lightfoot was the one who was supposed to have called to finalize a time to talk. “The governor has been publicly warning for days about Chicago’s troubling numbers,” said the senior Pritzker aide.
…Adding… Hannah makes a very valid point…
The metrics have been the metrics since they were released on July 15. Tier I mitigations were tightened to include closing indoor dining/bar service on August 24. So these have been the mitigations for more than two months, and the metrics have been the metrics for >3 months. https://t.co/5ra6oBGxjT
— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) October 27, 2020
The time to address the “metrics” was in August, or September or even early October.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Oct 27, 20 @ 7:21 pm
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more chaos from Chicago’s mayor.
Comment by Bilandic >>> Lightfoot Tuesday, Oct 27, 20 @ 7:57 pm
He said, she said. All I know is that we’re in for one heck of a holiday season. Looking forward to the calendar burning for 2020. Keep doing carry out to help these folks.
Comment by park Tuesday, Oct 27, 20 @ 8:01 pm
We’ve been hearing about metrics and mitigation for months. Where has Lightfoot been? Clearly none of this is new. She seems to have been more focused on putting other states on her quarantine list then paying attention to the state’s metrics.
Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Oct 27, 20 @ 8:09 pm
So the Mayor had time to call the Speaker because she was bent out of shape about the Benton mailer and then had time to appear on PBS.
But did not have the time to connect with the Governor on behalf of her constituents regarding COVID and the rules that were well known in advance as to how the State would handle mitigation
She doesn’t like criticism but likes the national limelight. Dangerous combination.
Comment by Helm Tuesday, Oct 27, 20 @ 8:11 pm
Bailey and Lightfoot finally have something in common…Pritzker is destroying Illinois’ economy. To bad neither herhonor, nor the Gov, care about anything outside of Chicago and burbs’…maybe Bailey should set his next take back Illinois in the City.
Comment by Contrarian Tuesday, Oct 27, 20 @ 8:20 pm
“Metrics for thee but not for me” — Lori Lightfoot
Comment by harp5339 Tuesday, Oct 27, 20 @ 8:33 pm
I think the bigger problem is the second wave is just going to keep getting worse. This quarrel is going to look silly in a week or two. I just don’t see how the state and country and everyone have done enough to prevent community transmission and a bad second wave.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Tuesday, Oct 27, 20 @ 8:54 pm
To the post,
Mayor Lightfoot and her crew severely lack.
Let’s start there.
I’ll even give Lightfoot, mayors of Chicago and governors of Illinois have odd relationships, but the Governor is the big fish, the mayor is not.
Why Lightfoot continually has this Rauner-like need to be combative to whomever is seemingly “at odds” with her, I’ll never understand it. The city is not a victim either, as Hannah made the very smart and pointed observation to the metrics.
Here’s the sitch; if Lightfoot didn’t know her crew was briefed, then that crew better find a way where they decide how to… communicate… with the mayor and each other.
The other? If the mayor already knew and is playing she didn’t know, that’s equally as bad as the dysfunctional mayoral crew that either can’t communicate amongst themselves or make clear to the mayor “the score”
There’s a pattern of dysfunction in Lightfoot’s office, it makes it easy to see the Governor’s crew honesty to the situation.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Oct 27, 20 @ 9:43 pm
Maybe the Mayor can do the reading next time? Or does she have someone else she has to lecture and talk down to? Mayor Scott Drury.
Comment by Precinct Captain Tuesday, Oct 27, 20 @ 11:13 pm
It would serve Lightfoot well to one day resist her compulsion to fight unnecessarily with people who should be her allies.
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 12:00 am
I mean, she saw the numbers. How was this a surprise? She could have called the Governor at any point and he would have returned her call.
OW, the comparison to Rauner is good, but she really has a lot of Trumpian instincts. With Bruce it was at least about his agenda. With Lori and Trump, it’s all about personal slights. She also is willing to lie and throw people under the bus.
But her team will tell you all about her poll numbers and her 75% win… without stopping to think for a second that the woman they beat (Prekwinkle) had those exact same numbers.
It’s total amateur hour at City Hall. The want to fight with everyone. DSA Aldermen, downtown Aldermen, northwest side Aldermen, Toni Prekwinkle, Kim Foxx. According to Lori, they are are all misinformed. Now we can add the Governor to the list. Maybe when everyone disagrees with you, you may actually want to assess how your approaching your job.
I legitimately feel bad for staff. What a disaster.
Comment by Wizzard of Ozzie Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 12:15 am
=== but the Governor is the big fish, the mayor is not.===
Hah how times have changed. Just kidding.
But don’t they both have each others cell numbers by now?
Comment by Been There Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 12:26 am
===and her 75% win===
And what she may forget is Pritzker won the city with 81 percent, and he doesn’t forget it. lol
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 12:52 am
Did Lori and her public health department think they could wall off the city from covid with their stricter rules for dining all summer plus the travel ban list? News flash: when Wisconsin, suburban, and Indiana covid spread goes up, Chicago covid spread goes up. I actually think it would be more reasonable to not single out bars/restaurants and close all indoor spaces (see what Toronto did 3 weeks ago) - otherwise you’re just delaying the inevitable. Europe is about 2-3 weeks ahead of us too.
Comment by Matt Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 6:44 am
Would any of you be surprised if Mayor Lightfoot decides to challenge the Governor in the March 2022 primary?
Comment by Chatham Resident Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 8:19 am
==Mayor Scott Drury.==
Drury lives in Highwood, not Chicago
Comment by Chatham Resident Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 8:22 am
=== Would any of you be surprised…===
Super-Super surprised
Does Lightfoot have $300K for about 180 days, every day, for a primary run?
That’s about what’ll take to beat a billionaire incumbent governor polling above water… in a statewide race… where “Chicago” and “Chicago Mayor” are both negatives, Dem primary or not.
I change my mind… it’s Super-Duper-Super surprised.
===Trumpian instincts===
You’re not wrong, at all. I chose Rauner as Rauner more than Trump refused “wins”, at least Trump’s bluster still had compromises, albeit after angst, anger, and frustration. Rauner purposely refused wins, Lightfoot’s fights and angst aren’t driven towards any resolution of that angst.
Still, you’re not wrong. Nope.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 8:34 am
In some ways, Pritzker gave her a gift. She was already getting grief for the restrictions she just put on, so now she can be the defender of restaurants and bars and make the Gov out to be the bad guy. It’s to her benefit to say she is advocating for the Gov to change his mind. He isn’t going to do it -really? make an exception for Chicago but no where else? - so she gets the protections the city needs and to pretend she is fighting for others.
This is very similar to when she was “battling” with the governor about shutting CPS down in the spring.
Comment by Montrose Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 11:24 am
Don’t forget, Lightfoot was slow to close down, just like Cuomo and DiBlasio. She has also focused on odd things, like keeping people from outdoor trails, parks and beaches, instead of the more risky stuff (mostly to avoid photos of north siders having fun, imho)
Comment by Molly Maguire Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 6:20 pm
BTW, I think Montrose may be on to something there.
Comment by Molly Maguire Wednesday, Oct 28, 20 @ 6:22 pm