CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Lori Lightfoot, the soon-to-be former mayor of Chicago, offered this assessment of being voted out of office. “As soon as we get in, the rules change.” She says her third-place finish is because the city wouldn’t accept a black, female, gay mayor.
That’s incorrect. Chicago voters embraced her four years ago, and didn’t turn into racist, sexist, homophobes by the next election.
Lori Lightfoot is actually a victim of bad COVID choices.
Her city has a violent crime problem. Each weekend there are news stories of blood running through the streets of Chicago. Yet Chicago has 700 police officers who were fired or suspended because they didn’t want to take the COVID shots. The obvious choice is to hire them back. But three years later, the mayor continues to hold onto a bad COVID policy over public safety.
Perhaps you remember that Chicago teachers went on strike, calling for even stricter COVID mandates. The tail wagged the dog, and the mayor was unable to get her city’s schools open.
There are other areas still impacted by poor COVID choices. Airlines had to fire staff that didn’t get their shots. And while you can train new flight attendants and airport staff in a few months, flights are being canceled because unvaccinated pilots are no longer in the work pool. That’s why so many flights are canceled. Supply chain? Truckers and railroad workers who didn’t get their shots aren’t working. So shipping containers are backed up at the docks. When I take my vacation next month, why is my train two sleeping-cars short? Because Amtrak fired their conductors and attendants who wouldn’t get vaccinated. Norfolk Southern and other freight railroads dismissed or retired their non-vaccinated employees. Perhaps the next toxic derailment will involve a train crew that was just hired and has less experience.
The simple postmortem on Lori Lightfoot’s defeat is that crime is up and the powerful teachers union was against her. But smarter people know that her COVID policies were overbearing and wrong, and her political career is over because of it.
Chris Conley
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