Judge Orders Mayor Lightfoot to Clarify New Race-based Interview Policy

MacLean Center / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)

June 8, 2021| By: Sally Kent

A Chicago judge has ordered Mayor Lori Lightfoot to clarify a recent policy where she says she will only grant one-on-one interviews to journalists of color going forward. The comments raised eyebrows and then soon followed lawsuits over the constitutionality of Lightfoot’s race-based interview policy.

The Daily Wire reports:

“Conservative watchdog Judicial Watch asked the court for an injunction against Lightfoot’s policy last week, saying it was unconstitutional, but Lightfoot’s attorneys said at a remote hearing Monday that the policy was not in effect and the request was unnecessary,” Fox News reported. “Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against Lightfoot on behalf of the Daily Caller News Foundation last month, alleging Lightfoot violated White reporter Thomas Catenacci’s equal protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment when she didn’t respond to multiple requests for interviews, as well as his First Amendment rights.”

News broke in late May that Lightfoot would only be granting interviews to journalists who had black or brown skin color.

NBC 5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern made the initial allegation on Twitter, writing: “As ⁦ @chicagosmayor ⁩ reaches her two year midway point as mayor, her spokeswoman says Lightfoot is granting 1 on 1 interviews – only to Black or Brown journalists.” Chicago PBS news anchor Paris Schultz responded: “I was told the same thing.” Chicago PBS political reporter Heather Cherone said that she could “confirm” what Ahern was alleging.

In trying to explain her actions, which some blacks called “racist” and “embarrassing,” Lightfoot appeared to demonize white people, saying that it was a “shame” that the media was so overwhelmingly white.

Lightfoot’s new policy has already drummed up multiple lawsuits from white journalists across the country.

Poster Comment:

Abe Lincoln said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”