First published on Mon 3 May 2021 06.00 EDT
On 20 May 2019, the freshly elected Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot delivered her inauguration speech to a jubilant audience.
It was imbued with promises of fundamental change â tailored care for blighted neighborhoods, solutions to government corruption and endemic violent crime, an ambitious agenda for tackling deep-rooted faults in the city.
âFor years theyâve said Chicago ainât ready for reform. Well, get ready, because reform is here,â Lightfoot, Chicagoâs first Black woman and openly gay mayor, and a former federal prosecutor, said.
She pledged to reform the Chicago police department, promising to âcontinue the hard but essential work of forging partnerships between police officers and the community premised on mutual respect, accountability and a recognition that the destinies of police and community are inextricably intertwinedâ.