Mayor Lori Lightfoot accuses rival Paul Vallas of ‘dog whistle’ over ‘take our city back’ comments

Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks June 22, 2022, after a City Council meeting at Chicago City Hall.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks at a rally to denounce recent actions taken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a news conference from the agency's field office director, Robert Guadian, not pictured, in the 500 block of South Clark Street on Sept. 26, 2019.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivers an address from her office in City Hall to acknowledge the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 in Chicago on March 19, 2021.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot walks into an interview room after a televised mayoral debate at ABC 7 in downtown Chicago on Jan. 19, 2023.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot poses for a selfie as she greets and thanks commuters the day following the elections at the CTA station at Lake and State streets on April 3, 2019. Attorney Lori Lightfoot defeated Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in the election, making her Chicago's first Black female mayor.
Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot, back to camera, talks to the media after meeting with Gov. J.B. Pritzker in his office in the Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield on April 10, 2019.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot greets Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, as she tours construction of the new McCormick Place alternate care facility in Chicago on April 10, 2020.
Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot and mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle pray after a news conference with the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago on April 3, 2019.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks with Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt as she celebrates her 103rd birthday, Aug. 21, 2022, at Loyola University Chicago.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Lori Lightfoot speaks at a campaign office in Greater Grand Crossing as she runs for mayor on March 31, 2019.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot marches in a kilt for the St. Patrick's Day Parade along South Columbus Drive on March 12, 2022, in Chicago.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, left, speaks with Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Sept. 9, 2019, following an announcement that Uber Freight will be located at Chicago's Old Post Office.
Michael Blackshire / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot shows signatures as she files her nominating petitions for her 2023 mayoral reelection bid on Nov. 28, 2022, at the Board of Elections in downtown Chicago.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot conducts a virtual City Council meeting from her office at City Hall on June 17, 2020.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot holds a news conference about a homicide tip line in the 6500 block of South Ellis Avenue in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood on Oct. 30, 2021. The news conference took place in front of a building where 4-year-old M.J. Moultry was killed when someone shot into an apartment where he was staying on Sept. 3.
Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot gives an update on reopening plans for Chicago Public Schools at City Hall on Jan. 31, 2021.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot holds a signed Elton John jersey as she arrives to see Elton John perform at Soldier Field on Aug. 8, 2022.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot arrives for a Chicago City Council meeting on Dec. 18, 2019. Lightfoot beat back an attempt by Black aldermen to stall the start of recreational marijuana sales in Chicago for six months, setting the stage for the city's legal weed bonanza to start Jan. 1.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks with Ald. Scott Waguespack on June 22, 2022, during a City Council meeting.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot attends the 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Chicago Fire Department's Engine 42 Station on Sept. 11, 2020.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot walks the room on Feb. 23, 2022, before a City Council meeting at City Hall.
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune
A portrait of Mayor Lori Lightfoot is displayed outside Council Chambers at City Hall after she was inaugurated on May 20, 2019.
Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks to the media at the South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago on Feb. 8, 2021, after attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the Sisters in Cinema Media Arts Center.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Michel Adelien watches Mayor Lori Lightfoot speak during the Chicago Public Schools virtual graduation on June 14, 2020, from his Chicago home.
Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot presides over a City Council meeting at City Hall on July 20, 2022. Chicago aldermen failed to overturn her unpopular speed camera rules.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot walks by Chicago police recruits on Jan. 25, 2023, at the new Public Safety Training Center on the West Side.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot leaves following an IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 1220 strike event outside the WTTW studios in Chicago on March 21, 2022.
Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks on Feb. 11, 2023, at a campaign event in the Austin neighborhood.
Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot meets Emani Rodriguez, 6, at a campaign event on Feb. 11, 2023, in the Austin neighborhood.
Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot, left, walks with Gov. J.B. Pritzker in his office in the Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield on April 10, 2019.
E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune
Mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot photographed in the Chicago Tribune studio on Jan. 15, 2019.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks at Chicago Police Department headquarters on Jan. 4, 2022.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot enters the room during a petition launch party for her reelection at Plumbers Local 130 in the West Loop on Aug. 30, 2022.
Camille Fine / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot takes photos with community members during the MLK Lights Lighting event organized by My Block, My Hood, My City in the Washington Park Field House on Dec. 14, 2019.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson speak to the media as they announce a deal with the Chicago Teachers Union to end the strike and have students return to class.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot says goodbye to her wife, Amy Eshleman, after they cast their ballots during early voting Feb. 20, 2023, at Northeastern Illinois University El Centro in Avondale.
Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot leaves on Jan. 12, 2023, after discussing the issue of campaign recruitment emails sent to CPS students.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her wife, Amy Eshleman, far left, walk into Lake Michigan on March 6, 2022, during the 22nd annual Chicago Polar Plunge at North Avenue Beach.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and wife Amy Eshleman wave to the crowd at the Pride Parade in Chicago on June 26, 2022.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks with parade participants at the Chicago Labor Day Parade on South Ewing Avenue in the East Side neighborhood on Sept. 3, 2022.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot arrives to speak about the Anjanette Young raid and other issues with Celia Meza, left, a senior legal adviser in the mayor's office who was named interim corporation counsel, on Dec. 21, 2020, at City Hall.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot greets a guest before the Wendell Phillips Academy High School Hall of Fame and gymnasium unveiling ceremony in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Sept. 7, 2022.
Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot kicks off her reelection campaign at the Starlight Restaurant in the Ashburn neighborhood, June 8, 2022.
Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during an early vote kickoff event at the Greenwood Oasis on Feb. 18, 2022, in Grand Crossing.
Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune
Josephine Wade kisses Amy Eshleman's hand as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot kicks off her reelection campaign at the Starlight Restaurant in the Ashburn neighborhood on June 8, 2022.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks with city Transportation Department workers as she kicked off the construction season by discussing infrastructure improvements and road maintenance on March 30, 2022, at the AIS Heavy Duty Vehicle Maintenance Facility.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot inspects a new firetruck, March 30, 2022, at the AIS Heavy Duty Vehicle Maintenance Facility.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and U.S. Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia listen to speakers during an announcement Nov. 21, 2022, about the modernization project and building of the global terminal at O'Hare International Airport.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Members of the Chicago Teachers Union and supporters march from the Willis Tower to the Thompson Center for a rally on the fifth day of a strike in Chicago on Oct. 23, 2019, the same day Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivered her 2020 city budget proposal.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a mayoral candidate forum on Feb. 8, 2023, at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her wife, Amy Eshleman, greet people in her office after being inaugurated on May 20, 2019, at City Hall. At left is Lightfoot's head of security and former U.S. Marshal James Smith.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks with a colleague before the Bud Billiken Parade on South King Drive on Aug. 13, 2022.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot leads a virtual City Council meeting while in her office at City Hall on April 15, 2020.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot participates in a group photo taken before the start of the Chicago Police Department's recruit class graduation and promotion ceremony at Navy Pier's Aon Grand Ballroom on March 29, 2022.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune
Chicago police interim Superintendent Charlie Beck, center, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot sit for group photos with the newest members of the Chicago Police Department prior to a graduation ceremony at Navy Pier on Dec. 18, 2019.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago first lady Amy Eshleman vote early for the midterm election at NEIU El Centro on Nov. 3, 2022.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
An interview with Mayor Lori Lightfoot at her office in Chicago City Hall on May 24, 2019.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot marches during the 2022 Fourth of July parade in Chicago's Hyde Park.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Congresswoman Robin Kelly, left, and mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot celebrate Kelly's endorsement of Lightfoot for mayor of Chicago at the South Shore Brew in Chicago on Feb. 21, 2019.
Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune
Lori Lightfoot, right, is hugged by her wife, Amy Eshleman, after Lightfoot was sworn in as mayor at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on May 20, 2019.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot is joined by her wife, Amy Eshleman, left, and their daughter, Vivian, to cast their ballots during early voting Feb. 20, 2023, at Northeastern Illinois University El Centro in Avondale.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot arrives for a news conference marking her first two years in office in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on May 20, 2021.
Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
Malik Hicks, 21, left, talks to Mayor Lori Lightfoot at Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Chicago on Feb. 21, 2020, after Lightfoot held a news conference on reducing youth involvement in gun violence. Hicks benefited from the Choose to Change (C2C) program, which offers year-round services for students at the highest risk of being involved in gun violence. Choose to Change will be expanded over the next three years.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot listens as aldermen debate her $16.4 billion 2023 budget on Nov. 7, 2022.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot marches at a St. Sabina Catholic Church peace march to kick off the beginning of summer, on June 17, 2022.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker arrive at Kennedy-King College for a discussion on landmark legislation that improves economic equity across Illinois on March 26, 2021.
Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune
The Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks with Mayor Lori Lightfoot at Harold Washington's centennial event in honor of the former mayor at the Harold Washington Library Center on April 12, 2022.
Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot enters a Lightfoot campaign meet-and-greet on Feb. 11, 2023, in the Austin neighborhood.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot greets people before marching Jan. 29, 2023, at the Lunar New Year Parade through Chicago's Chinatown.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
An address to the city by Mayor Lori Lightfoot is broadcast inside Chicago's Best Barbershop in Logan Square on March 19, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is photographed as she kicks off her reelection campaign at the Starlight Restaurant in the Ashburn neighborhood. The Starlight is part of Lightfoot's five-tour stop throughout Chicago on June 8, 2022.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot arrives Nov. 15, 2022, for INVEST South/West groundbreaking ceremonies in Chicago's Austin neighborhood.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot presides over a City Council meeting at City Hall on March 23, 2022.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot visits with students affected by the Chicago Public Schools work stoppage at Kennicott Park in Chicago on Oct. 30, 2019.
Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, flanked by her wife, Amy Eshleman, left, and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, attends the Rev. James Meeks' last sermon at Salem Baptist Church at the House of Hope on Jan. 8, 2023, in Chicago.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot marches with her wife, Amy Eshleman, on June 30, 2019, at the 50th Chicago Pride Parade.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson gets emotional while answering questions as Mayor Lori Lightfoot looks on during Johnson's retirement announcement at a news conference at police headquarters on Nov, 7, 2019.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot clenches her fist after she receives her second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a Gage Park vaccination site in Chicago on Feb. 19, 2021.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is seen after an announcement about the modernization project on Nov. 21, 2022, at O'Hare International Airport.
Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot shakes hands with Shaad Syed while attending an iftar, a breaking-of-the-fast dinner during Ramadan, at the Muslim Community Center of Chicago, on April 19, 2022.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot smiles on Feb. 22, 2022, as she announces the city will be ending its indoor mask requirement in most locations on Feb. 28.
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune
Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot picks up Taraji Amira Smith, 5, while greeting friends on May 19, 2019, outside Resurrected Life Church International in the Hermosa neighborhood.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot mingles on Jan. 25, 2023, during a ribbon-cutting event for the new Public Safety Training Center on Chicago's West Side.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot visits with children at McCormick YMCA in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2019. Children were dropped off at this YMCA because of the first day of a strike by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot visits a classroom at Hawthorne Elementary School as K-5 students return to in-person classes on March 1, 2021, in the Lakeview neighborhood.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot gives an update on the Chicago Public Schools reopening plan at City Hall in Chicago on Feb. 4, 2021.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot defends the vaccine mandate before Chicago aldermen voted down an ordinance to give the council control over "all policies, rules and regulations governing discipline of city employees" and make the mayor's vaccine mandate "null and void" during a special meeting at City Hall on Oct. 29, 2021.
Vincent D. Johnson/for the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is silhouetted by a video screen at the start of the City of Chicago Community Safety Town Hall, at Richard J. Daley College, in Chicago on April 4, 2022.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot leaves after talking to the media following a House Democratic caucus meeting on Nov. 12, 2019, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot fist-bumps Ald. Roberto Maldonado, 26th, following a City Council meeting at Chicago City Hall on Jan. 18, 2023.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot greets supporters while visiting the National Night Out gathering at Moore Park in the Austin neighborhood on Aug. 6, 2019, in Chicago.
Michael Blackshire / Chicago Tribune
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, with Chicago first lady Amy Eshleman, smiles as she is greeted by cheering supporters before filing her nominating petitions for her reelection bid on Nov. 28, 2022, in downtown Chicago.

By Alice Yin | ayin@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune and Gregory Royal Pratt | gpratt@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune

PUBLISHED: February 20, 2023 at 7:25 p.m. | UPDATED: February 21, 2023 at 8:21 p.m.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot voted for herself Monday afternoon for a second term, then criticized rival Paul Vallas for telling crowds that his campaign for mayor is about “taking our city back,” which she called “the ultimate dog whistle.”

“He’s saying in certain audiences that we have to take our city back. What does that mean?” Lightfoot said.

The mayor referenced white Republican Bernie Epton’s 1983 campaign against Black Democrat Harold Washington, where Epton’s slogan was, “Before it’s too late.”

“We don’t need that in our city,” Lightfoot said. “And ‘take our city back’ meaning what? To what time? And take our city back from whom?”

The Tribune first reported Vallas’s comments last week, where he said at a campaign appearance in Garfield Ridge, “This whole campaign is about taking back our city, pure and simple.”

Vallas invoked that refrain throughout his remarks as the crowd soaked it in and cheered. In addition to campaigning against Lightfoot, Vallas repeatedly criticized State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.

At one point at the rally, Vallas told the audience, “My favorite quote is help me help you. Help me help you. Because that is what it is about. It’s us together taking back this city, and not doing it in five years, or 10 years or 15 years. Doing it now.”

Later, Vallas returned to the line to note Foxx has been elected twice and urge residents not to do the same with Lightfoot.

“Taking back our city begins at the ballot box,” Vallas said. “Help me help you do that.”

His campaign has denied any racial motivation for his comments and released a statement Monday evening: “Four years of failure are catching up to Mayor Lightfoot and she’s desperately lashing out in every direction to cling to a spot in the runoff, even going as far as to suppress the vote if it helps her politically. Paul Vallas is a lifelong, pro-choice Democrat and champion for LGBT rights running to put crime reduction and public safety first. He’s not going to let Mayor Lightfoot or anyone else distract him from that message.”

Lightfoot’s comments Monday follow rallies over the weekend where the mayor made her own controversial comments about race and voting as she rallied Black voters against the white and Latino candidates in the race.

“Any vote coming from the South Side for somebody not named Lightfoot is a vote for ‘Chuy’ Garcia or Paul Vallas,” Lightfoot said, naming the only Latino and white challengers in the race.

“If you want them controlling your destiny, then stay home. Then don’t vote. But we’ve got to do better.”

Those remarks came at a rally that frequently tapped into the historic disinvestment that South Side neighborhoods have suffered, with the mayor once again saying the “destiny” of Black Chicago is on the ballot. Lightfoot has walked back her “don’t vote” comments as a misstatement.

Politics |
Mayor Lori Lightfoot accuses rival Paul Vallas…

Politics |
Mayor Lori Lightfoot accuses rival Paul Vallas of ‘dog whistle’ over ‘take our city back’ comments

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