The Latest Breaking News from Lori Lightfoot

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson can rescind Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s orders once he’s inaugurated Monday, but her 11th-hour move puts him on the spot to publicly slap down the lame-duck decrees.

Today’s update is about an eight-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Annette Guzman, budget director for Cook County, will be city budget director under Johnson. Jennifer Johnson, chief of staff at the CTU, where Brandon Johnson has been a paid organizer, will serve as deputy mayor for education.

Brandon Johnson held meetings at the White House and Capitol on Wednesday with the unions that bankrolled his mayoral run hosting a fundraiser for him.

Much of Grant Park will be closed to accommodate NASCAR. Now the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium have announced schedule changes because of road closures and expected crowds.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas, the mayor’s former floor leader, said the job should have been filled last fall, when he pressured the mayor to find $400,000 in the budget and reinstate the Office of Veterans Affairs that was disbanded in 2019.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s Chicago cop brother was denied duty disability benefits despite contracting COVID-19 on the job in 2020. Mendoza, who attended Wednesday’s ceremony, wiped away tears as she thanked the governor and others who helped get the bill passed.

Some political commentators have concluded that had Lightfoot been more personable, she might have been re-elected. Maybe. But if Lightfoot were a man, would she have been given a pass? Likely.

Today’s update is about an eight-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.