Chicago City Wire

The daughter of former Illinois State Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) says she is "deeply ashamed" of her fellow Chicagoans for rejecting Mayor Lori Lightfoot's re-election bid.

In a Facebook post Tuesday night, Maggie Cullerton Hooper assailed voters for rejecting Lightfoot, calling Paul Vallas supporters "racist" and comparing them, and him, to former President Donald J. Trump.

"Please know that if you cast a vote for Paul Vallas, you no longer get to cling to your bystander justification. You are now just as racist and hateful and bigoted as Donald Trump," she wrote. "Make no mistake, that is exactly who you voted for and it would've taken so little effort for you to educate yourself."

Maggie Cullerton, daughter of former Illinois State Senate President John Cullerton, said Paul Vallas is like "Donald Trump." | Facebook

"Well, we white liberal Chicagoans sure do love our dog-whistles, don't we. I am just so, deeply ashamed of us," Cullerton Hooper wrote.

The 41 year-old Albany Park resident also threatened to publicly accost Vallas supporters.

"I SEE YOU. And now, I know exactly who you are. And I will make sure to remind you of that fact. Loudly. In public. Every time," she wrote.

Cullerton Hooper is active and opinionated on social media, often in opposition to voters backing anti-crime measures.

In 2022, in defense of the SAFE-T Act, she wrote on Instagram that "in order for us, white Americans, to FEEL safe, we sacrifice everyone actually BEING safe."

"Homicide kills 5X FEWER people than air pollution. If you are up in arms about violence and nothing else, it's not about human life," she wrote. "The folks who argue that bail reform will let dangerous 'criminals' out on the street... if you were really worried about public safety, I assume you have been up in arms, fighting against pre-trial release of anyone accused of a crime. Right?"

According to her LinkedIn page, Cullerton Hooper has worked for Lightfoot's office since Feb. 2019, most recently as her "chief philanthropy and partnerships officer."

She previously spent two years working for her father, as deputy finance director of the Illinois Senate Democratic Victory Fund, as well as as a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood of Illinois.

Cullerton Hooper is a graduate of St. Ignatius High School in Chicago and DePaul University. 

She also attended St. Mary's University of Winona, Minn.