RECKLESS: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Shuns Mask Mandate at Surprisingly Crowded WNBA Game

The Democrat violated her own health and safety protocols, which do not specifically exempt politicians posing for photos

Andrew Stiles • October 18, 2021 1:20 pm

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot violated her own health and safety protocols on Sunday while attending a surprisingly crowded WNBA game at Wintrust Arena.

The Democrat posted a photo of herself celebrating the Chicago Sky’s championship-clinching victory over the Phoenix Mercury in game four of the WNBA Finals. Unlike the vast majority of attendees, Lightfoot was not wearing a face mask, a reckless decision that endangered the lives of her fellow citizens.

The Wintrust Arena website states that the venue “is following all state and local mandates which require guests to wear masks indoors at all times, except when eating or drinking.” There is no known exception for political photo-ops. Lightfoot, who was not eating or drinking in the photograph, appeared to be posing for the camera.

The city’s stringent mask mandate has been in place since August, when Lightfoot announced that face masks would be required in indoor public spaces for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status. “Mask up to keep daily cases down,” she wrote.

Lightfoot, one of the country’s most controversial Democrats in an increasingly competitive field, is best known for advocating for racial segregation in an effort to promote “diversity and inclusion.” Earlier this year, the mayor announced that she would only grant interviews to “Black or Brown journalists.”

Meanwhile, the city of Chicago has experienced a surge in violent crime on the mayor’s watch. As of September, the city was on pace to record its highest annual murder tally since 1996.

Though Lightfoot may be reluctant to crack down on violent criminals, the mayor is notorious for taking a hardline approach toward subordinate staff members. “I need office time everyday!” Lightfoot wrote 16 times in a row in a January email to her now former scheduler.

“If this doesn’t change immediately, I will just start unilaterally canceling things every day,” Lightfoot wrote, five times. The mayor concluded by writing, “Have I made myself clear, finally?!” a total of 13 times.

Lightfoot is hardly the only Democrat to shun the mask mandates they constantly demand others follow. Rep. Sean Casten (D., Ill.) was recently spotted without a mask at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. The congressman has insisted that wearing a mask and following the rules was “the most responsible thing to do” and “the right thing to do scientifically.”

Over the weekend, President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden (Ed.D.), violated the Washington, D.C., mask mandate while dining at an upscale Italian restaurant. The Bidens were photographed walking through the establishment without masks, despite local requirements that restaurant patrons wear masks at all times “except while eating and drinking.”

More than 312,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 since Biden took office, which is more than the total number of U.S. combat deaths during World War II.