Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to Grant Interviews Only to Black, Brown Journalists

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s spokesperson has reportedly announced that she will only give interviews to “Black or Brown” journalists on the occasion of reaching the halfway point in her term as mayor.

The news came through local NBC 5 reporter Mary Ann Ahern:

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 pic.twitter.com/PAUsacD9Gj

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) May 18, 2021

Fox News noted that others confirmed that they had heard the same, including Paris Schutz of public TV station WTTW:

I was told the same thing.

— Paris Schutz (@paschutz) May 18, 2021

When Alderman George Cardenas of the 12th Ward, on the city’s southwest side, expressed disbelief, another WTTW journalist,  political reporter Heather Cherone, confirmed the report:

I can confirm, alderman

— Heather Cherone (@HeatherCherone) May 18, 2021

It is not clear whether the mayor’s racial policy applies only to one-on-one interviews, or whether it will extend to future interviews.

Lightfoot, the city’s first black female mayor, and also the first lesbian mayor, has been a target of public criticism for her harsh policies during the coronavirus pandemic, her failure to manage the Black Lives Matter riots, and a sharp rise in crime throughout the already-violent city.

Earlier this week, as Breitbart News reported, Lightfoot said that Chicagoans who had received the coronavirus vaccine should still wear masks, despite new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance suggesting that it is not necessary to do so.

Last year, Mayor Lightfoot referred to then-White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany as a “Karen,” a term that is often used to refer specifically to suburban white women.

McEnany had called the mayor “derelict” for her mismanagement of the city, including the crime wave.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new e-book, The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it). His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.