CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Mayor Lori Lightfoot was trumpeting the city's economic strengths and progress on several fronts at a big speech Tuesday. But she avoided declaring plans for a possible second-term.
In what sounded like a warm-up for a re-election announcement, Mayor Lightfoot told a City Club of Chicago luncheon that Chicago has faced a host of unprecedented challenges in the past couple of years and has met them all. The city is strong, she said.
The Mayor railed against what she called a narrative that the city was not good for business, noting that Chicago has a lower unemployment rate than some other big cities, and in 2020 alone, she said, 173 companies decided to open operations in the city, move here or expand operations.
"As a city government, we have been doing everything possible to strengthen our economic base, get people back to work, and expand the population in our city, and do it with a continued focus on equity and inclusion," the mayor said.
When the Mayor asked how many in the business-oriented audience knew all that, few raised their hands, and she said that's an issue.
"We need to own our own narrative," Lightfoot said.
