🎵 We are neighbors … we are neighbors … whether we wanna be or not. 🎵
I’m still humming this tune from the Chi-Lites days after Tuesday’s elections in Chicago and other cities and towns around the state. It was the final note, too, of our election night Twitter takeover by our reporter Mick Dumke, who offered insight, analysis, local news stories and even some cat cameos.
No matter what happens this evening, just remember: It has to be better than watching last night's 6-error loss by @Cubs. Or last night's late-inning collapse by @whitesox. Or last night's 57th L of the season by the depleted @chicagobulls. Or last night's @NHLBlackhawks L in OT. pic.twitter.com/o1dzLa3NS7
— ProPublica Illinois (@ProPublicaIL) April 2, 2019
“This is quite possibly the most Chicago tweet I’ve ever seen,” @HeratyLaw tweeted at us. Point taken. And while Chicago’s mayoral election did make history, as Lori Lightfoot’s resounding victory secured her spot as the city’s first black woman and openly gay mayor, history was made for the state as a whole, too.
Chicago has long been among the most segregated cities in the country.
— ProPublica Illinois (@ProPublicaIL) April 3, 2019
But with today's elections, residents in Chicago & Illinois will now have African Americans serving as:
IL lt gov
IL atty gen
Cook Cty Board prez
Cook Cty state's atty
Chicago mayor
Chicago treasurer
Additionally, the Cook County chief judge, circuit court clerk and Cook County clerk are African American, the Chicago city clerk and Illinois comptroller are Latina, and one of our U.S. senators is an Asian American woman.
What about elsewhere in Illinois? Here’s some important election news from around the state:
In Cairo, voter turnout was higher than usual — 40 percent — for a municipal election year, reports Molly Parker for The Southern Illinoisan. And the city voted for sweeping new leadership, too: Only one incumbent will return to the City Council. Cairo will soon have a new mayor, Thomas Simpson, and four new City Council members. Read more from The Southern Illinoisan.
In Springfield, Mayor Jim Langfelder was elected to a second term with 58 percent of the vote. According to the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Langfelder said his administration will continue to focus on economic development, developing a secondary municipal water source and relocating railway traffic in an ongoing $315 million project. Read more from the State Journal-Register.
In Harvey, in a mayoral race “surrounded by controversy, scandal and corruption,” Alderman Christopher Clark beat opponent Anthony McCaskill, the city’s park district president, with more than 61 percent of the vote, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The Cook County sheriff’s office had been investigating claims that some Harvey residents were paid up to $40 to vote for McCaskill; McCaskill has denied any wrongdoing. Read more from the Chicago Sun-Times.
What else? Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin announced he is joining the push to scrap the Electoral College. “The Electoral College is a relic from a shameful period in our nation’s history,” Durbin wrote in a news release, “and allows some votes to carry greater weight than others.” Read more from Capitol News Illinois, via The Southern Illinoisan.
What’s happening where you live, election-wise or otherwise? We want to hear about it. As always, email us at [email protected]. We’re all ears.
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