Our Fair City
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever" Napoleon Bonaparte
I was looking for a clever way to get into it, but I think I'm just gonna talk my talk today...There's much to be said about effective leadership!
Chicago has had the opportunity to be led by Mayor Lori Lightfoot for just a little more than two years now, becoming mayor in 2019. For all the criticism that I feel that I could do of her performance, the one that's most critical to the city as a whole would be her ability to lead others.
Since Lori Lightfoot has become mayor, I've noticed how hard it seems to be for her to inspire her subordinates in partnering with her to make positive changes to the city, mainly the alderman. Recently, and most notable has been the public disagreement that looked very close to becoming physical between Mayor Lightfoot, and Alderman Jeanette Taylor, but this has not been the first time the mayor has been disagreeable.
In 2019 Mayor Lightfoot called the FOP Vice President a clown over the mic at a City Council Meeting. At the time it was perceived to be refreshing for many to hear our new mayor speak the language of the citizens, especially to a member of the FOP, but as there have been more and more incidents of disrespect and inability to compromise with those that she is in partnership with, it's beginning to get out of pocket.
My personal opinion began swaying of the mayor when she threw Kim Foxx under the bus after the rise of car jacking's in Chicago. To be fair the mayor had every right to asses the amount of time being given to car jacking offenders in hopes to come up with a solution, but to personally blame The State's Attorney's Office, as well as to allow her Chief of Police to publicly call out Kim Foxx during a press conference felt disloyal, specifically being two Black Woman supposedly fighting for change on the same side. The mayor later tried to smooth things over in a statement to the public, but I'm sure that was after a conversation with State's Attorney Foxx, which should have preceded the press conference in the first place.
Will things continue in the direction they are going for the mayor, I can't call it! I wouldn't take the job on of being The Mayor of Chicago for anything short of $10,000,000 a year... and I know that's not what the salary is for a city mayor! I also understand that the pressure has to be Overwhelming day to day, but that would be all the more reason to have as many allies as your integrity could handle.
As I would hope that someone would tell me when I was losing control, someone whom I'd listen to... I pray that Mayor Lightfoot finds that trusted voice that can reel her back in and help her change course as well, for her sake as well as the cities!
