Chicago City Wire

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker heard from some unhappy constituents as they walked in the South Side Irish Parade on Sunday.

“The South Side Irish Parade — people enjoy themselves, and start enjoying themselves sometimes very early. So there were some spirited comments,” Lightfoot said to FOX 32. “But I certainly didn't experience any of the things that you said. And my security team didn't whisk me away.”

The 16th & 17th District Chicago Police Scanner tweeted a video showing parade attendees booing loudly as Pritzker and Lightfoot passed by.

Politico reported that Pritzker was booed by the parade crowd, and noted that Lightfoot received some “grief” as well. Republican gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine was warmly received by the crowd.

The South Side Irish Parade attracted the largest crowd out of Chicago's four separate St. Patrick's Day parades, Fox 32 News reported. 

Several days after the parade, Lightfoot took to Twitter to mark the second anniversary of the onset of the pandemic: “Around this time two years ago, our city was in a very different place. We experienced a lot of loss and hardship — little did we know, this was only the beginning of our battle against what would be the worst public health crisis in 100 years. Despite the economic and health challenges, we’ve worked incredibly hard to ensure we never have to suffer these incredible losses again. Today, we acknowledge that work and look forward to our future.”