Equality Illinois PAC endorses Lori Lightfoot for Chicago mayor

CHICAGO — Equality Illinois PAC formally endorsed Lori Lightfoot for Chicago mayor on Thursday.

Lightfoot is one of a dozen candidates for mayor and the first out LGBTQ mayoral candidate. If she wins, she will be the first LGBTQ mayor of one of the country’s three largest cities.

She is a former Assistant United States Attorney, former Chief of Staff and General Counsel of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), former First Deputy of the Chicago Department of Procurement Services, former President of the Chicago Police Board, former Chair of the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force, and former Senior Equity Partner in the Litigation & Conflict Resolution Group at Mayer Brown LLP.

Lightfoot announced her candidacy in May 2018.

“The Equality Illinois PAC is proud to endorse Lori Lightfoot for Mayor of Chicago,” said John Litchfield, chair of the Equality Illinois PAC, in a statement. “She is blazing an historic trail as the first openly LGBTQ person to run for chief executive of the Windy City. At a time when the Trump Administration is attacking the rights of LGBTQ people, we have the opportunity to keep Chicago moving forward. We believe Lori Lightfoot is the right candidate for the job.”

LGBTQ Victory Fund and LPAC have also endorsed Lightfoot.

“We also know how important representation in the halls of power is for LGBTQ people,” said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois. “None of America’s three largest cities has elected an openly LGBTQ person to be mayor. Yet, we know that when LGBTQ people are seated at tables of power, they are able to share their stories and contribute to policies that affirm our lives. We can make history in Chicago, and show that representation matters at the highest level of municipal government.”

The PAC said in a press release that endorsements are based on a candidate’s record in office and responses submitted on the Equality Illinois PAC’s candidate survey.