Read what Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle said after Lightfoot clinched the runoff election for Chicago mayor – Chicago Tribune

Let me say that again: where it doesn’t matter who you love, just as long as you love with all your heart.

In the Chicago we will build together, we will celebrate our differences. We will embrace our uniqueness, and we will make certain that all have every opportunity to succeed.

Every child out there should know this: Each of you, one day, can be the mayor of Chicago.

Want to know why? Just look right here.

One day, you will stand on my shoulders, as I stand on the shoulders of so many:

The shoulders of strong, black women, like Ida B. Wells, Gwendolyn Brooks and Annie Ruth Lowery.

The shoulders of LGBTQ-plus trailblazers, like Dr. Ron Sable, Vernita Gray and Art Johnston.

And the shoulders of political giants, like the late, great Harold Washington.

And, kids, you will stand on the shoulders of your families, just as I have.

Now, my parents didn’t have it easy.

My dad got really sick and slipped into a coma for a year — a whole year — and woke up without the ability to hear anything. He lived the rest of his life with his disability, worked as a barber and a janitor, and put up with the racism in our small, segregated steel town. My mom worked low-wage jobs in mental hospitals and nursing homes.

My parents didn’t have much money, but they had their dignity and their dreams. Dreams for their children, dreams for me.

They taught me the value of honesty, decency, hard work and education. And they gave me faith — the faith that put me where I am today.

My mom is watching this tonight with more than a little pride in her little girl.

My dad isn’t with us anymore. But, Dad, wherever you are, look at your daughter, and look at everyone here, and look at our great city.

Thank you, Dad. Your sacrifices have been born anew. We made it.

And I sure wouldn’t have made it without my wife, Amy, and our daughter, Vivian.

I want to thank you both for your endless inspiration, your support at the toughest times and your undying love. You are my all, my everything.

Now there are too many people to thank individually, but I’ve got to mention a few.

First, I have to thank our great campaign staff. Those who have been with us from the very beginning and those that joined us along the way, your efforts have been tireless, determined and your enthusiasm contagious. I am honored by your sacrifice and your service, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

And I must also thank our incredible volunteers. If you gave an hour or a thousand, it all mattered and helped propel us to this moment.

And I must also thank our friends in organized labor, the backbone of this great city. You truly make Chicago work like none other, and I thank you.

And I particularly want to thank all those teachers out there who have supported me. Thank you.

And of course I want to thank our family and close circle of friends here and elsewhere. You sustain me and Amy and Vivian today and every day.

Now, my friends, what I want you to do is grab the hand of the person next to you.

You may be strangers, but in this room, in this city, we are all neighbors. I want you to feel that power, neighbor to neighbor, that comes when we unite and join together as one Chicago, indivisible and united for all!

When I was a little girl, I remember singing the song “This Little Light of Mine, I’m Gonna Let It Shine.”

We’ve said it’s time to bring in the light, and it’s sure shining on all of us tonight.

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

Thank you very much! God bless you all, and God bless Chicago.

See how your ward voted in Chicago’s historic mayoral election »

Toni Preckwinkle

A few minutes ago, I called Lori Lightfoot to congratulate her after this hard-fought campaign.

This may not be the outcome we wanted, but while I may be disappointed, I’m not disheartened.

For one thing, this is clearly an historic night. Not long ago, two African-American women vying for this position would have been unthinkable.

And while it may be true that we took different paths to get here, tonight is about the path forward.

For I still believe in the power of public service. It’s why I’ve dedicated so much of my life to it. It’s why I’ll continue to dedicate my life to it.

I wake up every day, including tomorrow, just as I have for the last 25 years, fighting to advocate for and work for and fighting for my constituents.

That’s my motivation. And I will take it with me as I proudly continue to serve as your Cook County Board president.

We’ve made previously unthinkable change a reality, and there’s more we can do.

We’ve expanded health care access to hundreds of thousands of residents. But if we want truly healthy communities, we have to move beyond the walls of a doctor’s office.

We’ve overhauled cash bonds so that thousands fewer people stand behind bars simply because they’re too poor to pay for their freedom.

We must continue to work collaboratively with all the stakeholders, especially our community partners, to address the factors that bring too many of our African-American and Latinx residents in contact with the criminal justice system in the first place.

We’ll continue to fight for economic equity and infrastructure improvements; and we’ll reach for new goals around sustainability, demand more opportunities for the underemployed and the unemployed.

At the end of the day, that’s what’s truly historic about this election: It’s not simply gender or race, but about our values.

This campaign was about real issues, of working-class families throughout our neighborhoods.

This was a campaign where support for an elected school board was a benchmark; where a commitment to affordable housing was a requirement; where we focused not solely on big business but real, living wages; where we didn’t just talk about being a world-class city, we acknowledged the long-term, institutional inequities that stop many of our communities from feeling that they were ever truly part of our city and what it has to offer.

That’s historic. That’s something to be proud of.

While those issues didn’t always dominate the press, they did shape this campaign. That’s why the work we’ve done, the values we fought for, that doesn’t end tonight.

And that’s because of you. My thanks to my fellow public servants, our faith leaders and community organizations, the countless individuals who called, donated, knocked (on) doors, talked to neighbors and friends, and came out to vote. I’m so grateful, I’m so grateful to have earned your support.