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* The mayor-elect’s theme yesterday was unity…
“We are all Illinoisans and we all have the best interests of our constituents at heart. Working together, regardless of party or geography, I see new opportunities for all of us,” Lightfoot said from the speaker’s podium in the House chamber. “I-80 is just a stretch of pavement. It is not a border. We are all one state, and Illinoisans, wherever they live, want the same things for themselves and their families.” […]
Lightfoot did not lay out any specific initiatives, and afterward she said she would hold her cards longer on how she might seek budget and pension relief from state lawmakers during a legislative session scheduled to end May 31 — just 11 days after she takes office. She did, however, note many Illinois communities face similar challenges when it comes to pension funding, public safety and the need to rebuild infrastructure.
The mayor-elect also signaled to lawmakers that she comes to the office with a different background, having grown up in a low-income family in the segregated small steel town of Massillon, Ohio. Lightfoot will become the first person elected mayor not born in Chicago since Anton Cermak took office in 1931.
“I also wanted them to understand that, given my background, that I am like a lot of people from small towns all over this state who are struggling, looking for help and opportunity,” Lightfoot told reporters afterward. “When we solve those problems in Chicago, that certainly can be a template that can be used in other areas of the state, but also vice versa.”
* The people who believed that Lori Lightfoot’s campaign against Toni Preckwinkle somehow meant she’d be picking fights with every powerful machine character could’ve been disappointed yesterday…
Lightfoot campaigned against the Chicago political machine, so sitting next to House Speaker Mike Madigan — who is perhaps more emblematic of machine-style politics than anyone in the state — raised questions about how the two power players will work together.
“Look, the speaker occupies an important space in state government. I look forward and I have no question that we’re going to have a good productive working relationship,” she said.
She needs things from Springfield and almost everything she needs will go through Madigan’s office.
* Lightfoot appears to understand this…
She’ll need Springfield’s help to advance parts of her agenda – whether it be gun control legislation, a bill for an elected public school board, money to help pay for infrastructure upgrades, pension relief, extra revenue or approval for a casino in Chicago.
Lightfoot said she recognizes there can only be one mayor at a time, but she’s “not going to wait until May 20 (her inauguration date) to be active and engaged in the General Assembly.”
Still, she said she’s not putting her “cards on the table quite yet” when it comes to what she’s looking for from Springfield when it comes to revenue.
“But we’re looking at a range of options,” she said. “And obviously there’s limited powers regarding revenue that a mayor can exercise. A lot of the powers that we can tap into flow from Springfield. So when we think about what our menu of solutions are, obviously Springfield looms large and we’ll make sure that we’ll come up with solutions we can get through the General Assembly, with the help of the governor and the leaders.”
* But she’s not going overboard with the love…
She spent about 20 minutes meeting with Madigan, but a planned photo opportunity with perhaps the most powerful, yet unpopular lawmaker in the building was scratched without explanation.
No explanation needed, but she certainly wasn’t running late. In fact, she was early to almost everything yesterday. Statehouse types aren’t accustomed to that sort of thing. Everything, and I mean everything, runs late. “The hour of 2 o’clock having arrived” announced at 4:30 is the norm.
* In other news…
After the speech, lawmakers lined up to meet the Chicago’s history-making mayor-elect. Political observers kept a close eye on one meeting in particular: State Rep. Robert Martwick, who had a public confrontation with Lightfoot during the campaign, a moment that Lightfoot credited as a turning point.
“I don’t know if there’s a hatchet to bury,” she said. “I think he understood who I am and that he ought to be respectful of me as a woman and a person, and I’m sure we won’t have a repeat of the incident that happened previously.”
* And…
“I look forward to working with her, and I mean the city is going to have some immense challenges over the course of the next four years, she’s got a big job and I told her anything I can do to help, I’ll be there for her,” Martwick said.
* More…
“I want to have true parent representation on such a board. I don’t favor the Martwick bill. I think it’s highly problematic. And it also doesn’t address all of the details that are going to be necessary to flesh out, such as how are we going to get people on that board? What [is] going to be the criteria?” Lightfoot said. “I don’t want to turn an elected school board into another costly election, which is going to drown out the opportunity for parents to be participate in the process. That’s critically important to me. We’ve got to work out the details and the timing matters, but the details matter and I think getting that right is really important.”
Sounds like maybe a small-dollar, publicly financed election perhaps?
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 11, 19 @ 10:17 am
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“true parent representation” sounds better than the stuff she was saying the other day, but it’s probably the same idea. She wants to limit candidates to some special group. And the cynic in me thinks she wants to limit it to some group she’s connected with or has some influence over, though that is technically speculation on my part. Have open elections. If the constituents want parents on the board let them vote for parents.
Comment by Perrid Thursday, Apr 11, 19 @ 10:41 am
So far Ms. Lightfoot has been demonstrating to the people of Chicago and Illinois the positive attributes that got her elected Mayor.
Comment by DeseDemDose Thursday, Apr 11, 19 @ 10:49 am
I agree with Perrid. Or just be honest and say you want to just keep appointing the board.
Comment by Been There Thursday, Apr 11, 19 @ 11:03 am
Photo Op did not happen because media had left Room 300 when we had Mayor-elect, Speaker and House leadership gathered at 2:30 p.m.
Comment by Steve Brown Thursday, Apr 11, 19 @ 11:03 am
And no one had a phone? Makes sense in the case of one guy, but no one else?
Comment by A guy Thursday, Apr 11, 19 @ 11:43 am
*Mrs. Lightfoot. She’s married.
Comment by Anon E Moose Thursday, Apr 11, 19 @ 4:37 pm
I love the fact that she is on time or early. I can’t stand people who can’t be on time.
Comment by 32nd Ward Roscoe Village Thursday, Apr 11, 19 @ 5:04 pm
Lightfoot should ask for the legislation to terminate the entire board and let her appoint a new one, and then she can appoint one that meets her parent-centered requirements.
Comment by Just Me 2 Thursday, Apr 11, 19 @ 8:12 pm