Anita Padilla | Facebook
Anita Padilla | Facebook
A veteran Chicago television reporter said all Chicago political leadership positions are held by blacks, but they fail because they aren’t held accountable by the city’s black community. Anita Padilla made the comments on the Chicago Way Podcast.
“You have a black mayor, black (police) superintendent, black state’s attorney, a black Cook county board president, and a black chief judge. Why is the black community hurting so bad in Chicago?” Padilla said. “You see the frustration that they have.”
“We need to hold them accountable. The community needs to hold them accountable,” Padilla said.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (elected April 2023), Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling (appointed Sept. 2023), Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle (elected 2010), Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx (elected 2016) and Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans (appointed 2001) are all black.
Chicago’s previous mayor, Lori Lightfoot (2019-2023) was also black. Its last two police superintendents— Eddie Johnson (2016-2019) and David Brown (2020-2023) were black.
Cook County hasn’t had a non-black county board president since 1994, when John Stroger (1994-2006) replaced Richard Phelan (1990-1994). Stroger’s son, Todd, served in the position before Preckwinkle.
A native of Waukegan, Padilla worked for NBC 5 (1997-2007) and Fox 32 (2007-2023). In Dec. 2023, she resigned to take a position with Florida Voice News.
The Chicago Way Podcast is hosted by former Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass and WGN Radio’s Jeff Carlin. It is produced by WGN Radio.
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