Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is running scared and lashing out at fellow Democrat Jesus "Chuy" Garcia in the race for the mayor’s office.
Lightfoot’s comments come as she is lagging in polls and not likely to make the runoff.
“He's the same person that agreed to take money from Sam Bankman-Fried, the indicted crypto king, until he was indicted and then says, ‘Oh, no, no, no, I didn't have any contact with him.’ Well, why were you bragging to the Sun-Times in June about the fact that you had this relationship? Why on earth did he give $200,000 to a guy that was unopposed in the board of elections simply had such,” Lightfoot told reporters.
Amy Jacobson asked Lightfoot about Garcia’s connections to former house speaker Michael Madigan who is soon going to trial to face.
“Well, look, I've said this before. When your name shows up in federal criminal documents, you better take that seriously. The federal government doesn't mess around. And if I were him, I would have long ago contacted a criminal defense attorney experienced in federal criminal matters.”
“But look, here's the truth. Here's a person who cut a series of backroom deals with Mike Madigan, even when the federal investigation was swirling around Madigan, even when the #MeToo allegations in Madigan's organization, he stood strong. Not only that, he supported him publicly twice. That's not this campaign making things up. That's the things that he has done that obviously we and others have shown a light on. And then let's go back to the red light camera deal that was in the paper over this weekend, the same company that was illegally bribing public officials.”
“That's a person that he took a campaign donation from and then the very next day cast a decisive, decisive vote for them to be able to get a contract with Cook County.”
“There's a long history here, unfortunately, with Mr. Garcia. And I've said this before, and I'll say it again, it seems quite clear after he lost in 2015 that he decided if you can't beat em, join em. And he tried to make the machine his own. That's not made up. It's documented evidence about him and the corrupt people that he has around him and a corrupt relationship that he has embraced with the crypto king, the indicted former speaker, and the disgraceful criminal red light camera company. Why is he doing that, if that's not true?”
“Chuy Garcia knocking on the door of City Hall would be like the Trojan horse bringing all these corrupt influences to City Hall. The voters of the city said very clearly four years ago they want a clean break from the corruption of the past. Voting for Tewa Garcia is bringing all of that to the fifth floor. We can do better. We should do better. We should reject Chuy Garcia, mayor. “
Garcia is Illinois' 4th Congressional District congressman.
He was referenced in the public corruption case against former house speaker Michael Madigan who schemed to get one of Garcia’s political associates – Juan Ochoa – a lucrative job on the state utility board.
While Garcia is not named, his longtime affiliation with Madigan is well known.
“García’s name surfacing — even superficially — in one of the biggest political corruption investigations in Illinois history could make waves in the upcoming city election, where García is running as a progressive and is widely considered to be the strongest challenger in a crowded field seeking to unseat Mayor Lori Lightfoot,” the Chicago Tribune reported.
Candidates for office include Lightfoot, García, former CEO for Chicago Public Schools Paul Vallas, businessman Willie Wilson, 26th District State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), Cook County commissioner for the 1st District Brandon Johnson, Obama-backed 4th Ward Alderman Sophia King, 6th Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer and BLM-protestor Ja’Mal Green.
Lightfoot is struggling in polls of Chicago residents many of whom find her deeply disfavorable.
According to a recent M3 Strategies poll: ‘If the election were held today, Paul Vallas (26%) and Jesús "Chuy" García (19%) would make the runoff’
M3 Strategies recently released a poll finding Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is a longshot to re-win the job she’s held for the past two years.
The survey included 531 likely Chicago voters. Its margin of error is 4.25%.
The poll’s key findings include:
“• If the election were held today, Paul Vallas (26%) and Jesús "Chuy" García (19%) would make the runoff. However, 20% of voters are still undecided.
• Mayor Lightfoot comes in fourth place with 10%. This poll shows the Mayor's support slipping despite spending over $3 million last quarter. Our December 13th poll showed Mayor Lightfoot with 14.5%.
• Support for Jesús "Chuy" García has also dropped. He comes in at 19% in this poll, compared to 27.6% in our December poll.
• Paul Vallas saw his support grow to 26% in January, up from 19% in December.
• Commissioner Brandon Johnson is building support. He comes in third place in this poll with 12%, up from 3% in December.”
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