Chicago

History Will Be Made on Election Day in Chicago

Chicago stands on the brink of history.

Either Lori Lightfoot or Toni Preckwinkle will become the first black woman elected mayor of Chicago after voters head to the polls Tuesday.

The candidates have made their final pitches. Early voting has been low and surveys give Lightfoot a big edge -- but Preckwinkle has done this a time or two and knows how to get her supporters to the polls.

Preckwinkle -- entered the race after Mayor Rahm Emanuel choose not to run. She lead in the polls albeit facing criticism for the short-lived soda tax. She has strong union support, with the Chicago teachers donating $100,000 recently for a total of $288,000.

"We're going to have a good force out there tomorrow, to bring out our vote and we’ve worked hard to identify our voters," she said.

Lightfoot, the former federal prosecutor who started campaigning last May, benefited from having no ties to aldermen under investigation -- Ed Burke and Danny Solis -- but has also seen a last minute attack for her role in a botched fatal fire investigation.

"We've come a long, long way, nobody thought we would be here," she said.

The run off has been at times nasty. Now, it's the voters turn.

"This has been a hard fought campaign and I look forward to victory tomorrow," Preckwinkle said.

But Lightfoot's mantra is "don't let up."

"Don’t let anybody tell you, you got this, we don’t have anything 'til we see the numbers tomorrow night," she said.

Election Day is Tuesday and the new mayor will be sworn on May 20, less than seven weeks to put a new team in place.

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