Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot presided over her first meeting of City Council on Wednesday – and there were certainly fireworks. NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern has the details.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot presided over her first meeting of City Council as mayor Wednesday.
She'd already brought a major shake-up to City Hall, signing an executive order laying out a process to end aldermanic privilege, which allows individual members of City Council to block city ordinances within their own wards.
She reiterated her intent to curb aldermanic power and push for long-deferred ethics reforms on Tuesday.
During a speech Tuesday before the City Club of Chicago, Lightfoot said her administration would push for reforms to prevent officials from personally profiting off their elected positions. She added she wants to strengthen the city's inspector general's office and raise penalties for ethics violations, among other measures.
Lightfoot also emphasized the need to reduce Chicago's gun violence.
Seven people were killed and 34 wounded during the Memorial Day weekend despite an additional 1,200 police officers on the street. Lightfoot said she had no illusions on what would happen. She said there is no waving a magic wand that would reverse trends in the making for a long time
