Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had a funny response when former Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown suggested Lightfoot run for governor someday.
“You must not like me if you want to send me to Springfield,” Lightfoot said in a text, obtained by the Tribune in response to a series of open records requests.
Lightfoot isn’t the first mayor of Chicago who isn’t a big fan of the state’s capital, but dealing with the Illinois legislature and governor is a key part of the job that has at times been a challenge for the mayor.
The Tribune obtained more than 21/2 years of Lightfoot’s text messages with aldermen and other high-ranking political leaders through a series of Freedom of Information Act requests — which members of her staff failed to comply with until the state attorney general admonished them and the Tribune threatened a lawsuit.
Earlier this month, the Tribune published a trove of text messages revealing the extent to which the mayor — who campaigned as a reformer aiming to unite the city — has sometimes resorted to name-calling and shaming of her perceived enemies as she governs the city.
Text messages with the state’s most powerful political leaders show the same combativeness that’s been a hallmark of her dealings with the City Council. In particular, Lightfoot has repeatedly clashed with Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Senate President Don Harmon, records show.
Although Lightfoot and Pritzker have tried to put a positive spin on their relationship when asked about it by reporters, their dealings have been strained, which the texts also reveal.
In spring 2020, for instance, Lightfoot texted Pritzker a news report analyzing tensions between their administrations as the city was negotiating for a Chicago casino and criticized his employees.
“Gov, this is petty and unnecessary and why we have serious issues with your staff,” Lightfoot texted. “Not smart.”
The next morning, Pritzker responded, “I woke up and saw your text. Texting probably not the best way to communicate. You should call me when you can.”
A day later, Lightfoot texted Pritzker a Sun-Times opinion piece with the headline, “Mayor’s gaffes won’t help Chicago get a lift from Pritzker and Springfield.”
“Super helpful,” she wrote.
Pritzker responded: “Mayor. I didn’t write this nor did I foster it. I get bad press too. Call when you would like.”
The mayor texted back, “It is your people. That is very clear. I would never (do) this to you. But now I get the rules of engagement.”
Pritzker said the mayor’s comments were “not accurate” and added, “On another note, I’ve been asking you to call me for two days. Let me know if you want to schedule it. Texting me isn’t helpful.”
Lightfoot did not text back, according to records released by the mayor’s office, but Pritzker followed up the next morning to tell her he’d be speaking at the Illinois Federation of Teachers convention over the weekend but hadn’t expected the Chicago Teachers Union to be on strike when he accepted the invitation to give a speech.
“I was endorsed by IFT, and they have been good allies. I cannot cancel. I plan not to take questions and I plan (to) not opine about the strike during my remarks. I have also respected the bargaining process overall,” Pritzker said. “Just wanted you to know so you don’t conclude that there’s any challenge intended toward you.”
She responded, “Ok.”
The records also document tensions between Pritzker and Lightfoot throughout the pandemic.
In April 2020, Lightfoot texted Pritzker to complain that a state official told one of her deputies “that you are announcing today new testing on the south side which no one from my office, CDPH or any where else knows anything about.”
“Please tell me that you are not announcing this without working with us first,” Lightfoot said.
An hour later, Pritzker texted her after a Tribune story about the dispute published.
“Ok now there’s no need to speak soon. The Trib article is out,” Pritzker said. “Not flattering for either of us and wholly unnecessary. We can talk tomorrow.”
One of the biggest conflicts between Lightfoot and Pritzker throughout the pandemic has been over indoor dining at restaurants. As the city reopened in June 2020, Pritzker messaged her about IDPH’s concern “about the potential spike we may see in COVID cases after this last 10 days of protests. I am concerned too.”
The mayor responded, “We are all concerned but by (allowing) churches to essentially gather with very few capacity limitations, I cannot see a distinction between those spaces and restaurants.”
Pritzker responded that his administration “issued guidance for churches and we cannot enforce on churches anyway,” citing a conservative legal challenge which went to the Supreme Court, where Justice Brett Kavanaugh signaled a willingness to hear the case.
“Literally we had Justice Kavanaugh itching to throw out our restrictions last week,” Pritzker added to Lightfoot.
“I know, we followed the litigation very closely and I would guess you rightfully guessed you had limited options given the move by Kavanaugh,” Lightfoot said. “Let’s talk and (we) can sort it out.”
In October 2020, Lightfoot and Pritzker feuded publicly after the governor shut down indoor dining. Lightfoot initially objected, before dropping her opposition and pledging to enforce his order.
On the day Pritzker ordered indoor dining closed again, he texted Lightfoot a heads up.
“I’m sure you’ve heard already that Chicago has tipped our metrics for resurgence mitigations. Our teams have been in contact …” Pritzker said. “This current upswing (COVID storm) is going to be with us for a while I think.”
Lightfoot texted back that she has “big concerns” about the state criteria to discuss and that her team is working to set up a meeting.
“Happy to discuss. I can’t change them on the fly before Saturday but always looking for best ideas for keeping people safe going forward,” Pritzker responded. “Pls have your staff call mine to put a meeting or call in the schedule.”
“We have been trying to get a meeting and Allison (Arwady) has been reaching out to Dr. Ezike,” Lightfoot said. “We need to get on the same page and right now we are not.”
They did not get into the substance of the dispute further in the text messages.
In July 2020, Pritzker also asked Lightfoot about a news conference she had scheduled.
“Talking about the rise in cases, where they are coming from, concerns about 18-29 cohort and if ready by then, some of our new strategies to reach this group,” Lightfoot said. “We are toying with a mandatory mask order for Chicago. I will also say that we will not hesitate to shut down or fine businesses for non-compliance.”
Pritzker responded that the law was already in place.
“Just want you to know we already have a statewide mandatory mask order. It is the law right now during the emergency,” Pritzker said. “We issued it May 1.”
“We thought so, but no one knows that in Chicago,” Lightfoot responded. “We will amplify it.”
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After the August 2020 round of looting in downtown Chicago, Lightfoot and Pritzker kept in touch to coordinate efforts between city and state police agencies.
Later in the year, Lightfoot texted Pritzker, “we should talk about vaccine messaging and delivery. Seeing some big obstacles in polling across the US regarding acceptance.”
In January, Pritzker texted Lightfoot a Block Club story about a big maskless party in Old Town.
“How brazen? This looks ripe for a visit by CPD. !!!” Pritzker texted.
“On it,” Lightfoot replied.
Records show Lightfoot hasn’t been shy about confronting Pritzker on other issues.
“Just hearing from one of my city council chairmen that your team is trying to move something on Thompson Center without presenting a plan to me and my team,” Lightfoot texted him in March. “We should discuss because that will not happen.”
In May, Lightfoot texted, “I would like to talk about the paid sick leave bill. We strongly oppose. Let me know when you can talk.”
The bill, which Lightfoot argued would weaken paid sick leave laws on the books in Chicago, didn’t pass.
“We do not agree to the stunt to try and take over the Choose Board. Tell Heinz to stand down,” Lightfoot said, in an apparent reference to a dispute over the Choose Chicago tourism board and former Deputy Governor Dan Hynes, whose name she misspelled.
Pritzker did not text back to either message.
The mayor has had a cordial texting relationship with Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch but her dealings with Harmon, the Senate president, have been more contentious.
In January, Lightfoot texted Harmon, “my folks are bringing me comments that are concerning … if there is a personal issue that is of concern, let’s put it on the table.”
Harmon, of Oak Park, did not text back.
After the state Senate passed a bill that supporters said put Chicago firefighter pensions on par with suburban and downstate systems but which Lightfoot argued would increase pension costs and could lead to property tax hikes, the mayor sent a critical text to Harmon.
“A courtesy call regarding the fire pension bill would have been helpful, particularly since there is no funding for it,” Lightfoot said. “When that pension fund collapses, I will be talking a lot about this vote.”
Four hours later, Lightfoot texted him again: “Wanted to give you a heads up that we are sending a strongly worded statement to the media about the fire pension bill.”
He did not text back to either message. Lightfoot also badmouthed the bill to other officials, including Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter, records show.
In a text to him in 2020, she called the pension bill “the ‘(firefighters union president) Jim Tracy and (then-House Speaker Michael) Madigan are about to F—Chicago (Taxpayers) bill.”
This story has been updated to clarify the mayor’s stated position on paid sick leave laws.
