Julie Bosman and Mitch Smith

On her lunch break in the Loop, Denise Thompson, 54, had a different view.

“We’re making history, sure,” she said. “But a black woman running the city will be just like anybody else.”

On Tuesday, Chicagoans were headed to the polls to vote for a successor to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Residents were choosing between two African American women, guaranteeing that Chicago will become the largest U.S. city to elect a black woman as its mayor.

Competing in the runoff election are Lori Lightfoot, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor, and Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board and chairwoman of the county’s Democratic Party. Both women beat out 12 other candidates in an election in February, a who’s who of well-known names that made up the most crowded ballot in municipal history.

As the voting began, the historic nature of the election was greeted in Chicago with both pride and nonchalance, a sense that electing an African American woman as mayor would be significant, but not seismic.

Maybe it is because Chicago has already seen such milestones, sending the first African American president, Barack Obama, to the White House; helping elect the first African American woman to the U.S. Senate, Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois, in 1992; and making Harold Washington the city’s first black mayor in 1983.

“It is tremendous,” said Josie Brown Childs, a civic leader who worked for Washington in the 1980s. “But Chicago has been on the forefront of certain black politics, whether it was with Harold or Obama. We’ve been in the lead on those things.”

In interviews around the city during the run-up to the election, Chicagoans said they were carefully weighing the platforms and promises of Preckwinkle and Lightfoot, watching their performances in televised debates and considering what kind of leader the current moment in Chicago demands.

“For me, personally, I’m asking, ‘Who is going to be the break from politics as usual in Chicago?’” said Jordie Davies, a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago whose dissertation focuses on political activism. “I’m excited about two black women. But I’m looking at records. I’m looking at who is going to offer the most holistic platform for addressing problems in Chicago.”

Deidre Baumann, 50, a lawyer who cast her vote Tuesday at a library in the Budlong Woods neighborhood on the North Side, said she would be happy with whichever candidate prevailed.

“Either way, this is a historic election,” she said.

She watched the debates and studied the candidates’ records carefully, she said, deciding in the end to vote for Lightfoot, who she believed would bring her experience as a federal prosecutor to push for criminal justice reform.

“We have to make this city safe for all the citizens and the police,” Baumann said. “On the other hand, we cannot continue to incarcerate black and brown people in disparate numbers.”

In her eyes, Preckwinkle represented an older political model. “I’m disturbed a bit by her ties to the machine,” she said. “She always touted herself as the progressive candidate. She’s had to move away from that as she navigated the political system in Chicago.”

The new mayor must contend with a host of complicated issues in the nation’s third-largest city, including a deep pension crisis, persistent violent crime, reform of the Police Department and the question of how to spur investment and growth in long-neglected and segregated neighborhoods on Chicago’s West and South sides. Under Emanuel, the downtown has boomed, flourishing with tech companies, high-rise hotels, a sparkling riverfront and luxury apartments. But many African American residents have moved out of the city in recent years. Emanuel, who was elected to two terms, did not seek a third term in office.

Polls have suggested that Lightfoot has a commanding lead over Preckwinkle, who entered the race last September after Emanuel announced that he would not run again. Preckwinkle garnered endorsements from powerful labor groups — the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union — and from prominent black leaders including Jesse White, the secretary of state.

In the part of Chicago’s South Side that Preckwinkle once represented in the City Council, voters remembered her tenure fondly. Bob Kurth, 76, a longtime resident of the Kenwood neighborhood, said Preckwinkle came through years ago when he complained about a hole in the street near his condo building.

“She was approachable: If you had a problem that was part of the ward, you called her, and you had a meeting with her,” Kurth said Tuesday after voting for Preckwinkle. “You saw her on the street; she always had time to talk to you.”

Preckwinkle’s long stint in government was not a deterrent.

“With Toni, she didn’t start as a politician, and that means a lot to me,” said Kurth, a retired salesman. “She’s learned how to play the game, but I don’t consider her a part of it.”

Others saw Preckwinkle’s years in political office as a concern. The fact that Lighftoot had not served in elective office helped her earn the vote of Michelle Saulnier, 29, a doctoral student.

“It’s a good thing, especially in Chicago where there’s known to be a lot of corruption,” Saulnier said after casting her ballot in the Logan Square neighborhood, where Lightfoot lives and her campaign signs abound. “I think that’s really important to try to break some of these cycles that we’re in.”

Lightfoot had a head start on the campaign trail, declaring her candidacy for mayor in May 2018, when it was widely believed that she would face off against Emanuel.

A relatively unknown figure who has never held elective office, Lightfoot has spent time introducing herself to voters as a candidate who would focus on overhauling the Police Department, curbing street violence and rebuilding neighborhoods beyond the affluent downtown and North Side. Ra Joy, an entrepreneur in Chicago who was a candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018, endorsed Lightfoot early in the race, he said Saturday at a candidate forum at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition on the South Side.

A mayoral contest between two African American women has scrambled the usual political calculus in Chicago, or what Joy called “tribal voting,” in which politicians could count on support from voters of their own race.

“It’s turned that notion on its head,” he said, adding that the successful candidate would have to build coalitions of Latinos, whites and African Americans in a city where the population is almost evenly divided among the three groups.

Celestine A. Strain, 46, a hospital technician, brought her granddaughter Kalicia, 9, to the forum at Rainbow PUSH, hoping Kalicia would someday remember seeing two black women running for mayor of Chicago.

“It’s amazing for her to see,” Strain said, adding that she was hoping Preckwinkle, who has been a familiar face in county government for years, would emerge victorious Tuesday. “I really believe that she has the right experience.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson offered no endorsement in the race, saying that he hoped to be more of a peacemaker after what played out in recent weeks as a bitter campaign. On stage Saturday, he urged both candidates to sign a statement agreeing to appear together the morning after the election. “I wanted to play a reconciling role,” Jackson said in an interview in his office at Rainbow PUSH. “The campaign ends. Let the healing begin.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/02/us/chicago-election-lightfoot-preckwinkle.html" id="06a5483b-4742-30b6-ac5f-f80caae86433">The New York Times</a>.

Chicago Votes on a New Mayor. Either Way, an African American Woman Will Win.

CHICAGO — Adrianne Burton, 38, believes that the next mayor of Chicago will have a sharper, more empathetic eye on the public schools. Carolyn Davenport, 62, is confident that the new mayor will be a superior manager, accustomed to running a career and a household without any fuss.

The gunman, whom authorities identified as Gary Martin, 45, of Aurora, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers.

His sister, Tameka Martin, said Gary Martin had worked at the Henry Pratt Co.'s industrial warehouse for about 20 years before he was let go two weeks ago.

Police said they believed Martin had lost his job even more recently, on Friday.

A worker suffered injuries that were not life-threatening in the shooting at the company’s warehouse, where valves and control devices used in water and power systems are designed.

Scores of law enforcement authorities swarmed the facility in Aurora, about 40 miles west of downtown Chicago; sections of the city were cordoned off; and schools were forced to keep students inside for more than an hour.

By late Friday, officials said they were notifying the families of those who had died, and would not yet release their names.

Four hospitals reported treating at least seven people who were hurt. Among the wounded were five Aurora police officers who were shot and a sixth officer who was injured responding to the gunfire inside the warehouse. The officers’ injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

The first calls of a shooting at the warehouse began pouring in at 1:24 p.m. local time, Kristen Ziman, Aurora’s police chief, said. The first officers arrived four minutes later, rushing in and immediately being shot at, she said. Two of the first four officers to arrive were shot.

Ziman said officers from other departments converged on the site, and teams were assembled to search for the gunman inside the sprawling, 29,000-square-foot building. When they eventually found him about 90 minutes after the search began, they shot and killed him, she said. Police said he was armed with a handgun.

John Probst, an employee who was in the building at the time, told ABC 7 Chicago that he recognized the gunman, a co-worker, “running down the aisle” with a pistol that had a green laser attached to it.

He said he saw one person who was shot and “was bleeding pretty bad.” He believed there were others who had been shot in the office. He said he and another co-worker ran out the back door, and he heard more shots once he was outside.

Officials from Mueller Water Products, of which the Henry Pratt Co. is a subsidiary, issued a statement late Friday expressing shock and sadness.

“Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones, the first responders, the Aurora community and the entire Mueller family during this extremely difficult time,” the statement said. “Our entire focus is on the health and well-being of our colleagues, and we are committed to providing any and all support to them and their families.”

The officials did not respond to specific questions, and employees reached by phone Friday night said they had been told not to comment. The company, founded in 1901, has its headquarters in Aurora, according to its website, and also has manufacturing facilities in Washington state and Indiana.

Tameka Martin said she had seen her brother a few days ago at a dinner at her mother’s house, and she described him as “very depressed, very depressed.” She added, “He really didn’t say too much to me.”

Gary Martin’s family members met with officers at the Police Department late Friday; some embraced and wept.

Authorities conducted a search of Martin’s home on Friday night.

For hours Friday afternoon, a chaotic scene played out in Aurora, a city of 200,000 residents, as fire trucks, ambulances and police squad cars jammed the neighborhood of houses and warehouses.

Worried parents waited as schools — including one not far from the warehouse — ordered students to shelter in place for more than an hour. Officers searched the blocks around the warehouse. Rescue officials stood by waiting to carry more patients to hospitals. And officials from the coroner’s office were called.

“It’s a shame that mass shootings such as this have become commonplace in our country,” Mayor Richard Irvin of Aurora said. “It’s a shame that a cold and heartless offender would be so selfish as to think he has a right to take an innocent life.”

By evening, political leaders from around the nation began issuing news releases and posting messages on social media offering sympathy and support.

The White House said that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the situation and was monitoring it. J.B. Pritzker, the new governor of Illinois, traveled to Aurora and praised the police officers who ran inside during the shooting.

“You rushed toward danger, and in doing that you saved countless lives,” Pritzker said.

Rosalee Andrada, 54, lives in a house on Cleveland Avenue, only steps from the building where the shooting took place. She had just taken her daily medication when she heard sharp staccato sounds coming from outside.

“I thought it was just ice cracking,” she said.

But her husband, Jose, hustled her and their husky, Rocky, into the basement. She said she heard five shots in total.

Rocky was anxious and wanted to come upstairs, Rosalee Andrada said, so they climbed the basement steps and looked through the kitchen window. Countless police officers had converged on the scene, a cacophony of lights and sirens.

She saw three officers helping a wounded colleague, who held his hand to his neck.

“They were carrying out their brother,” she said.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/us/aurora-shooting.html" id="90de0a46-ee91-3aab-ac6f-beed3394f0b8">The New York Times</a>.

AURORA, Ill. — A former warehouse employee who had recently lost his job stormed through his old workplace in suburban Chicago on Friday, killing five workers and injuring five police officers.

Gunman Kills 5 at a Warehouse West of Chicago

The gunman, whom authorities identified as Gary Martin, 45, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers.

Others — the number remained unclear late Friday — were wounded in the shooting at the company’s warehouse, where valves and control devices used in water and power systems are designed.

By late Friday, officials had not yet provided the names of the people who were killed. Four hospitals reported treating at least seven people who were hurt. Among the wounded were five police officers who were shot and a sixth officer who was injured responding to the gunfire inside the warehouse. The wounded officers were in stable condition.

Ziman said officers from other departments converged on the site, and teams were assembled to search for the gunman inside the 29,000-square-foot building. When they eventually found him, she said, they shot and killed him.

“Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones, the first responders, the Aurora community and the entire Mueller family during this extremely difficult time,” the statement said. “Our entire focus is on the health and wellbeing of our colleagues, and we are committed to providing any and all support to them and their families.”

AURORA, Ill. — A former warehouse employee whose relatives said he had recently lost his job stormed through his old workplace in suburban Chicago on Friday, killing five people and injuring five police officers.

Ziman said officers from other departments converged on the site, and teams were assembled to search for the gunman inside the sprawling, 29,000-square-foot building. When they eventually found him, she said, they shot and killed him.

For hours Friday afternoon, a chaotic scene played out in Aurora, a city of 200,000 residents, as firetrucks, ambulances and police squad cars jammed the neighborhood of houses and warehouses.

Scores of law enforcement authorities swarmed the facility in Aurora, west of Chicago, sections of the city were cordoned off, and schools were forced to keep students inside for more than an hour.

He saw one person who was shot and “was bleeding pretty bad.” He believed there were others who had been shot in the office. He said he and another co-worker ran out the back door, and he heard more shots once he was outside.

Officials of the Henry Pratt Co. did not respond to inquiries Friday night. Employees reached by phone Friday night said they had been told not to comment. The company, founded in 1901, has its headquarters in Aurora, according to its website, and also has manufacturing facilities in Washington state and Indiana.

Tameka Martin said she had seen her brother a few days ago at a dinner at her mother’s house, and she described him as “very depressed, very depressed.” She added, “He really didn’t say too much to me.” Gary Martin’s family members met with officers at the Police Department late Friday; some embraced and wept.

For hours Friday afternoon, a chaotic scene played out in Aurora, a city of 200,000 residents about 40 miles west of downtown Chicago, as firetrucks, ambulances and police squad cars jammed the neighborhood of houses and warehouses.

Worried parents waited as local schools — including one not far from the warehouse — ordered students to shelter in place for more than an hour. Officers searched the blocks around the warehouse. Rescue officials stood by waiting to carry more patients to hospitals. And officials from the coroner’s office were called.

“It’s a shame that mass shootings such as this have become commonplace in our country,” said Mayor Richard Irvin of Aurora. “It’s a shame that a cold and heartless offender would be so selfish as to think he has a right to take an innocent life.”

Rocky was anxious and wanted to come upstairs, she said, so they climbed the basement steps and looked through the kitchen window. Countless police officers had converged on the scene, a cacophony of lights and sirens.

Scores of law enforcement authorities swarmed Aurora, Illinois, west of Chicago, sections of the city were cordoned off and schools were forced to keep students inside for more than an hour.

After a tense period of waiting, as officers from departments all over the region gathered near the industrial complex and crouched in small clusters, the Aurora Police Department reported that the gunman had also died after exchanging fire with police.

Authorities identified the gunman as Gary Martin, 45, and his relatives said that he was a former worker in the warehouse at the Henry Pratt Co., where valves and control devices used in water and power systems are designed.

Martin had worked there for about 20 years, his sister, Tameka Martin, said, but had lost his job two weeks ago. Tameka Martin said she had had dinner with her brother a few days ago, and he had seemed “very depressed.” Martin and other family members met with police officers Friday evening.

By late Friday, officials had not yet provided the names of the people who were killed, and the number of people injured was still uncertain. Four hospitals reported treating at least seven people who were hurt. Among the wounded were five police officers who were shot and a sixth officer who was injured responding to the gunfire inside the warehouse. The wounded officers were in stable condition.

Officials of the Henry Pratt Co. did not respond to inquiries Friday night.

AURORA, Ill. — A gunman stormed through a manufacturing warehouse in suburban Chicago on Friday afternoon, killing five people inside and injuring others, including five police officers who were responding to 911 calls.

Martin had worked there for about 20 years, his sister, Tameka Martin, said in an interview, but had lost his job two weeks ago. Tameka Martin said she had had dinner with her brother a few days ago, and he had seemed “very depressed.” Martin and other family members, several of whom wept and embraced, met with police officers on Friday evening.

Officials of the Henry Pratt Co. did not respond to inquiries Friday night. The company, founded in 1901, has its headquarters in Aurora, according to its website, and also has manufacturing facilities in Washington state and Indiana.

For hours Friday afternoon, a chaotic scene played out in Aurora, a city of 200,000 residents about 40 miles west of downtown Chicago, as fire trucks, ambulances and police squad cars jammed the neighborhood of houses and warehouses.

Scores of law enforcement authorities swarmed Aurora, Illinois, west of Chicago, and schools were forced to keep students inside.

After a tense period of waiting, as officers from departments all over the region gathered near the complex, the Aurora Police Department said the gunman died after police shot at him.

Several area hospitals were receiving the injured, authorities said, though it was not yet clear how many people were hurt in all. One hospital, Rush Copley, said it was treating three patients for non-life-threatening injuries. Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital said it was treating one patient from the shooting, and Advocate Lutheran General Hospital said it was treating another. Presence Mercy Medical Center in Aurora received three patients, a spokesman said. Two of them were being treated and the third was transferred by helicopter to another hospital. Their conditions were not known.

Numerous firetrucks, ambulances and police squad cars filled a neighborhood of houses and warehouses in Aurora, a city of 200,000 residents about 40 miles west of downtown Chicago. Many waited outside a large, brown industrial facility.

John Probst, who was in the building at the time of the shooting, told ABC 7 Chicago he recognized the gunman as a co-worker at the Henry Pratt Co., a company founded in 1901 which designs valves and control devices used in water and power systems.

He said he saw the gunman “running down the aisle” with a pistol that had a green laser attached to it.

The Henry Pratt Co.'s website says that the company’s headquarters is in Aurora, and that it also has manufacturing facilities in Washington state and Indiana. Company officials did not immediately respond to inquiries.

Local schools ordered students to shelter in place for more than an hour; the lockdown was lifted after the gunman was in custody, officials said. Still, officers could be seen searching through the area in small clusters, as the investigation continued, and officials from the coroner’s office arrived.

By late afternoon, political leaders began issuing news releases and posting messages on social media offering sympathy and support. The White House said that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the situation and was monitoring it.

“I am monitoring the shooting in Aurora and encourage all residents to follow the directives of their local law enforcement,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker wrote.

AURORA, Ill. — A gunman opened fire inside an industrial complex in suburban Chicago on Friday afternoon, leaving five people dead and injuring others, including five police officers.

5 Dead and Several Others Wounded in Illinois Shooting

After a tense period of waiting, as officers from departments all over the region gathered near the complex, the Aurora Police Department said the gunman had been taken into custody. By late afternoon, the Kane County Coroner’s Office said that more than one person had died and that it was responding to the scene. Officials said that the injured police officers were in stable condition.

The Henry Pratt Co.’s website says that the company’s headquarters is in Aurora, and that it also has manufacturing facilities in Washington state and Indiana. Company officials did not immediately respond to inquiries.

AURORA, Ill. — A gunman opened fire inside an industrial complex in suburban Chicago on Friday afternoon, injuring several people, including police officers, and resulting in more than one death. Scores of law enforcement authorities swarmed Aurora, Illinois, west of Chicago, and schools were forced to keep students inside.

Multiple People Wounded, Killed in Illinois Shooting

Several area hospitals were receiving the injured, authorities said, though it was not yet clear how many people were hurt in all. One hospital, Rush Copley, said it was treating three patients for non-life-threatening injuries. Presence Mercy Medical Center in Aurora received three patients, a spokesman said. Two of them were being treated and the third was transferred by helicopter to another hospital. Their conditions were not known.

AURORA, Ill. — A gunman opened fire inside an industrial complex in Aurora, Illinois, on Friday afternoon, injuring several people, including police officers, and resulting in more than one death. Scores of law enforcement authorities swarmed the area, west of Chicago, and schools were forced to keep students inside.

The Aurora Police Department said the gunman had been taken into custody. The Kane County Coroner’s Office said it was responding to the scene and that more than one person had died. Officials said the police officers who were injured were in stable condition.

Several area hospitals were prepared to receive the injured, authorities said, though it was not yet clear how many people were injured. One hospital, Rush Copley, said it was treating two patients for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Video from a local television station’s helicopter showed a large police response outside a large, brown industrial facility. Local schools told students to shelter in place for a period of more than an hour; the lockdown was lifted after the gunman was in custody, officials said. Still, officers could be seen searching through the industrial area in small groups, as the investigation continued.

John Probst, a Henry Pratt employee who was in the building at the time of the shooting, told ABC 7 Chicago he recognized the gunman as a co-worker.

He saw one person who was shot and “was bleeding pretty bad.” He believed there were others who had been shot in the office. He said he and another co-worker ran out the back door, and heard more shots once he was outside.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were among those responding to the scene in Aurora, a city of about 200,000 residents about 40 miles west of downtown Chicago.

By late afternoon, political leaders began posting messages on social media offering sympathy and support.

AURORA, Ill. — A gunman opened fire inside an industrial complex in Aurora Friday afternoon, injuring several people, including police officers, and resulting in more than one death. Scores of law enforcement authorities swarmed the area, west of Chicago, and schools were forced to keep students inside.

Classes at the university had been canceled. Campus was only a half-hour away from the Belz home in Cedar Rapids. But Gerald had opted to stay put and wait out the cold snap in his dorm.

“At the time, I thought that was the smart move,” Michael Belz said, remembering that his son had trouble getting his truck started the weekend before. “I didn’t want him to get stuck somewhere driving. So he decided he would stay.”

Early Wednesday morning, as the temperatures were plummeting, Gerald Belz was found unconscious outside a campus building, a short walk from his dorm. He died later at a hospital. Investigators believe his death was related to the subzero temperatures that plunged Iowa and all of the Midwest into a miserable and dangerous cold snap this week.

He is one of at least 20 people whose deaths, government officials say, are believed to be related to the bitter weather system that has paralyzed the region. The frigid conditions have sent scores of people to hospitals with symptoms of hypothermia or frostbite, and have closed businesses, schools and many colleges.

Many of the deaths, which occurred since Sunday, were still being investigated, and precise causes had not yet been established. But officials said in each case that they believed the weather had played a role.

Among those who have perished, according to local coroners, police and fire departments and other officials: Four men found frozen near their homes in Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan; six people who died in traffic crashes in Iowa; a pedestrian hit with a snowplow in Libertyville, Illinois; and a woman found frozen to death inside a Milwaukee apartment after the thermostat malfunctioned.

Since the polar air mass set in, several cities have hit record low temperatures, and it appeared that Illinois may have broken the state’s all-time low: A weather observer in Mount Carroll, Illinois, recorded a temperature of minus 38 degrees Fahrenheit Thursday morning.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/us/iowa-student-death.html" id="0f7215ba-7db3-306b-ac28-1474a19cf4ea">The New York Times</a>.

CHICAGO — Just before the dangerously cold temperatures set in across the Midwest this week, Michael Belz was occupied with thoughts of his son Gerald, an 18-year-old in his first year at the University of Iowa.

University of Iowa Student Is Among 20 Dead in Midwestern Deep Freeze

In the Buffalo, New York, area, one person died Thursday while using a snowblower, and another was found dead after shoveling. Earlier in the week, a married couple in their 20s died in Indiana in a car crash, a man in Milwaukee was found dead in his garage after shoveling and a man died of hypothermia in Evanston, Illinois.

In Williamsville, New York, outside Buffalo, a homeless man was pronounced dead after being discovered inside a bus shelter Thursday morning. Helen Tederous, a spokeswoman for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which is investigating the death, said that the man, Lawrence Bierl, 69, had been a fixture in suburban Buffalo for years.

“He was a real gentle soul,” she said. “He would talk to people a lot. People got to know him.”

An official cause of death had not been determined, but Tederous and a county official said it appeared to be related to the cold.

Since the polar air mass set in, several cities have hit record low temperatures, and it appeared that Illinois may have broken the state’s all-time low: A weather observer in Mount Carroll, Illinois, recorded a temperature of minus 38 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday morning.

In Rockford, Illinois, temperatures dipped to minus 31, colder than the previous record of minus 27 from 1982. Moline, Illinois, also broke a record, reaching minus 33, according to the National Weather Service. So did Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with minus 30.

Officials across the Midwest told of harrowing rescues and perilous situations. The Illinois State Police assisted more than 1,300 drivers over one eight-hour period, and the Coast Guard used air boats to rescue seven people stranded in an ice shanty on Lake Michigan off Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. A Coast Guard ship sliced through the ice on Lake Huron to rescue a woman needing medical attention on Mackinac Island, Michigan. And in Wheeling, Illinois, nine members of a family, including a 2-month-old infant, were hospitalized for carbon monoxide exposure after apparently trying to keep their house warm using a charcoal grill in addition to the furnace.

The weather forecast suggested that some relief was ahead for the Midwest, with temperatures expected to poke above zero by Thursday night. But forecasters warned of a continuing cold wave in the Northeast, with heavy snow in some places and subzero wind chills in others.

In Iowa, the Belz family said it was awaiting more information from police about Gerald’s death, and University of Iowa officials said that counselors had been made available to help students.

On Monday, the university had canceled classes for part of Tuesday, all of Wednesday, and Thursday morning because of the weather. Michael Belz said he had no idea what his son might have been doing that took him outside his dorm room in the early morning hours Wednesday.

Officials at the local medical examiner’s office said they had performed an autopsy, but did not have final results and would not release information on the cause of death until they did. University of Iowa police said their investigation was continuing, but that Gerald Belz’s death was believed to be related to the weather.

A pre-med student, he had been in contact with his girlfriend, Leeanne Mehring-Cruz, through text messages and Snapchat video in the hours before he died, but had dropped off social media around 1 a.m.

Mehring-Cruz, who lives in Cedar Rapids, said she had been seeing Gerald Belz for two years. She described him as sweet and brilliant, someone who only showed his soft side to his closest family and friends. One of the last things he wrote that last night, she said in an interview conducted over Twitter, was that he loved how she was always there for him through everything.

“I wish I could have protected him then,” she said.

Mehring-Cruz said she is hoping police will quickly find out where he was going and what happened to him. “I have no clue what he was doing,” she said. “The last messages we sent were I love you’s and good night’s.”

Michael Belz said Gerald, the older of his two sons, was careful and compassionate, studious and avid rugby player who wanted to become a doctor. He was already ahead in his college studies because he had completed Advanced Placement classes in high school.

He played football in high school, but then turned to rugby. “He loved it, much to the chagrin of his mother, who wanted to protect him and keep him safe,” the father said. “He had a great time with it.”

The Belzes last saw their son Sunday evening, when he was visiting home. Snow had started to fall, and Michael Belz urged him to head back to campus before things got too slippery.

So Gerald gathered up his things, said his goodbyes and drove back to his dorm. Around 10 p.m., he called his mother to give her the customary assurance: He had arrived safely.

“For years, they said ‘Chicago ain’t ready for reform,’” said Lightfoot, 56, a former federal prosecutor, addressing the crowd of thousands who had gathered in an arena on a blustery May day. “Well, get ready, because reform is here.”

Lightfoot’s inauguration made history. She is the city’s first openly gay mayor. When she won all of Chicago’s 50 wards in April, the city became the largest ever to elect an African American woman as its mayor.

One of her first orders of business, Lightfoot said, would be ending an unwritten rule that gives aldermen unfettered zoning and permitting power in their own wards.

“These practices have gone on here for decades. This practice breeds corruption. Stopping it isn’t just in the city’s interest. It’s in the City Council’s own interest,” she said, squaring her shoulders and turning to face the council members directly, as the audience leapt to its feet, clapping and shouting.

Lightfoot was sworn in alongside her wife, Amy Eshleman, and their daughter, Vivian. In her speech, she promised to take on the city’s most pressing problems: gun violence, a lack of good public schools in many parts of the city and a staggering pension shortfall. There were prayers by a rabbi, an imam, a pastor and a priest. Lines from a beloved poem by Gwendolyn Brooks were read aloud. Kilt-wearing police officers marched happily through the crowd, blasting bagpipes.

As Chicagoans who watched the inauguration began to file out of the arena, they said they were thrilled by her promise to curtail the power of City Council members. “They do have too much power,” said Shatina Taylor, 41. “And they abuse it.” (She added that her sister, Jeanette B. Taylor, had just been sworn in as Chicago’s 20th Ward alderman.)

Advocates of the practice of granting aldermen extra power — known here as aldermanic privilege — when it comes to their ward see it as a legitimate way for residents to have a real say in what happens in their own neighborhood on big things and little ones: a block party, a drive-through proposal, a new building.

Detractors consider it a blatant, bizarre and laughable invitation for classic Chicago-style corruption, and point to the latest investigation into the city’s longest-serving alderman as a case in point. Alderman Ed Burke, who attended the inauguration, is accused of threatening to slow approval of remodeling plans for a Burger King restaurant in his ward unless it hired his law firm for tax work; he has denied wrongdoing and was re-elected to a 13th term several weeks after he was charged.

Later on Monday, Lightfoot signed her first executive order, which directed city departments to stop honoring the practice in many cases. She said City Council members would continue to have input, but not a veto.

At least some aldermen were supportive.

“While aldermanic input is critical in representing the interests of communities, we are working to prevent politics from influencing departmental decisions,” Alderman Michele Smith said in a statement.

David Greising, president of the Better Government Association, a nonprofit watchdog group based in Chicago, said Lightfoot’s order was a first step in curbing “a kissing-the-ring system that is not good for democracy” and “has created a system of endemic corruption.”

But he noted that aldermen would retain some of their authority over zoning, and suggested that it may be difficult to get support for her executive order from the very people who stand to lose power.

“There’s a lot of pushback,” Greising said. “Aldermen value this power and recognize that if they give it up, it diminishes their ability to have control over what happens in their wards.”

Some have less hardened views on the practice. Asked whether it was a problem or a good thing, Willie Wilson, a Chicago businessman who ran for mayor this year, said he saw it as “a little bit of both.” Wilson said there were advantages in having aldermen get a louder say to deal with neighborhood-level issues, but also the possibility the authority could be corrupted.

Uncertain was how Chicago politicians might go forward without the city’s long-standing way of doing business.

“What’s going to replace that? How’s she going to administer that in City Hall? Who’s going to be answering for that?” asked Wilson, who endorsed Lightfoot in the runoff.

Don Rose, a political consultant who has advised Lightfoot, said he viewed it as Lightfoot fulfilling a campaign promise. The details of how to go about it were a little murkier, he acknowledged.

“In some ways, we’re all dealing with intangibles here — people would find it very odd that she’s making an executive order about something that’s an unwritten rule,” he said. “It’s uniquely Chicago.”

This article originally appeared in <a id="6df860c7-bae5-32e3-a810-0146d81e6ae2" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/20/us/lori-lightfoot-inauguration.html">The New York Times</a>.

Chicago Mayor Sworn In, Promising 'Reform Is Here'

CHICAGO — With the members of the City Council, former Mayor Richard M. Daley and Mayor Rahm Emanuel looking on, Lori Lightfoot was sworn in as Chicago’s 56th mayor on Monday, lauding the city’s resilience and diversity while also vowing to kill old-style Chicago politics.

Chicago Mayor sworn in, promising 'reform is here'

By the weekend, she was facing one of Chicago’s most intractable problems, when 31 people were shot, three fatally.

“If people don’t feel safe, they’re not going to stay,” Lightfoot said Monday of gun violence. “If people don’t feel safe, they’re not going to have hope. If people don’t feel safe, they’re not going to invest.”

Six weeks before her inauguration, we sat down with Lightfoot for a wide-ranging interview in her transition office along the Chicago River. She discussed her first post-victory meeting with the outgoing mayor, Rahm Emanuel; how Chicago compares to “The Wire;” and the city’s fabled political machine, which she says isn’t quite dead yet.

Here are highlights of her responses, edited for clarity.

— Gun violence is her biggest challenge.

“Fundamentally, if people don’t feel like their lives are valued and they don’t value their lives, they’re not going to value their neighbors’ lives. So we have to disrupt that mentality and the only way that I know how to do it is to do it with investment.”

— An open-air drug market in Chicago was appalling, but not shocking.

“I met with some West Side elected officials and part of the conversation they’re like ‘Yeah, there’s an open-air drug market at X location on Madison Street.’ And when you think about open-air drug markets, you think some abandoned house, something shady, right out of ‘The Wire,’ right? But no, this is a strip mall where commerce is being conducted. But in order to get into that strip mall, you’ve got to drive by the drug dealers who are standing out in the parking lot yelling ‘blow’ and having big fistfuls of money in their hands and it’s like somebody selling tamales, right? That’s not acceptable. And what message does that send to our children who walk by there every single day? That’s not tolerable to me.”

— Some on the City Council might be plotting against her. She’s ready.

“The machine was built to last. And no one in that kind of context gives up power easily or willingly, and I know that. But what I said before and I’ll repeat here is, we won in all 50 wards. We won with an almost 50-point spread. I am not going to allow a relic of the past to undermine the mandate of the people. And I would like to have a good, productive relationship with members of the City Council, but I’m not going to allow them to undermine what the people’s choice was and what the people want, which is change. And you know, I haven’t gotten to where I’ve gotten in life by letting people walk all over me. And I’m not about to start now. And I would, as I said, like people to recognize and respect the vote, and if they’re not willing to, I’m ready to fight.”

— Emanuel gave her a briefing book — and some advice for Lightfoot and her wife, Amy.

“He started it by talking about the importance of family and making sure that, you know, my Amy and I were doing everything we could to make sure that our daughter had a normal childhood and that he was interested in doing everything he could to share advice, both he and his wife, Amy, on how to make that happen and their experiences. Which I thought was very generous. But it was mostly business-related.”

— Being the first openly gay, African-American woman to run Chicago is a sign of progress.

“The fact that I won all 50 wards in such a convincing fashion — against somebody who’s been an elected official for decades as the head of the party, and who ran, I think unfortunately, a very race-based campaign, particularly in the last couple of weeks — says to me that we are in a place in our city where we’re going to reject hate, where we’re not going to divide ourselves up by what our demographics are. But I do think there’s a real desire to move beyond the categories and to be a city that says, ‘We’re Chicagoans.’”

— The national reputation of Chicago isn’t very positive. She wants to change that.

“I think the reality on the ground needs to change. It’s hard to brand when we are facing these challenges. The reputation nationally and to some extent globally unfortunately right now is that we’re a violent city. And that’s what people know. That’s what gets reported.”

— She didn’t realize how big her win would be.

“We had some sense that victory was happening. But the magnitude of it — you never know. You never know. And when somebody invests a lot of energy in trying to destroy you personally, you never know. And I take nothing for granted. You know, I can’t afford to take anything for granted. I mean, you probably know probably more than you care to know about my story, but coming where I come from, you have to always be on the lookout for the thing that might be coming that you don’t expect. But now we’re here. And having fun.”

This article originally appeared in <a id="9a61c9b9-4198-35a0-a1dc-80410eb8edb7" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/us/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot.html">The New York Times</a>.

Lori Lightfoot, Chicago's Mayor-Elect, In Her Own Words: 'I'm Ready to Fight'

CHICAGO — There was little time for Lori Lightfoot to bask in her sweeping, historic victory in the mayoral election in Chicago last week.

Lori Lightfoot, Chicago's mayor-elect, in her own words: 'I'm ready to fight'

<h1>CHICAGO — There are decades of entrenched Chicago political tradition, and then there is the stunner of a mayoral election in the city Tuesday. The ballot was the most crowded in history, with 14 candidates. The top two finishers, Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle, are both African-American women, guaranteeing that Chicago will have a black woman as mayor for the first time.</h1>

Early Wednesday, Lightfoot and Preckwinkle were out on Chicago streets greeting voters, setting off on a frenetic, five-week head-to-head campaign until the runoff in April.

Here are three things that happened Tuesday that showed just how much Chicago’s political ecosystem has transformed.

There are some names in Chicago politics that are practically synonymous with wide support, major financial backing and a ride to victory. Daley might be the biggest.

In the crowd that came out to support William M. Daley, 70, at an election party Tuesday night, there was little doubt that Daley, a member of a political dynasty, would be among the top two finishers. The promise of a third Daley mayor seemed near.

It was a cheery scene filled with members of Chicago’s elite: bankers, real estate moguls, lawyers, philanthropists. Asked why they voted for Daley, who is known as Bill, the reasons tended to echo. They trusted his business acumen, his experience, his loyalty to the city.

And, of course, because he was a Daley.

“I worked with Richie,” said Dorian Jones, a consultant, referring to former Mayor Richard M. Daley, Bill’s brother, Chicago’s longest-serving mayor.

“It’s a family business,” said Carmen Caldero, who worked in the 1970s with former Mayor Richard J. Daley, the father of Richard M. and Bill. (Richard J. Daley, the city’s second-longest serving mayor, was elected in 1955 and served until he died in office in 1976, and Richard M. Daley, was mayor from 1989 to 2011.)

By the end of the night, Daley stunned the crowd by the making a concession speech, thanking his wife, Bernadette; his family and staff; and his supporters, most notably, Ken Griffin, the richest man in Illinois.

Early Wednesday, Lightfoot and Preckwinkle were out on Chicago streets greeting voters, setting off on a frenetic, five-week head-to-head campaign until the runoff in April.

Julie Bosman and Mitch Smith

Articles written by the author

Chicago Votes on a New Mayor. Either Way, an African American Woman Will Win.

Gunman Kills 5 at a Warehouse West of Chicago

Gunman Kills 5 at a Warehouse West of Chicago

Gunman Kills 5 at a Warehouse West of Chicago

Gunman Kills 5 at a Warehouse West of Chicago

Gunman Kills 5 at a Warehouse West of Chicago

Gunman Kills 5 at a Warehouse West of Chicago

5 Dead and Several Others Wounded in Illinois Shooting

Multiple People Wounded, Killed in Illinois Shooting

Multiple People Wounded, Killed in Illinois Shooting

Multiple People Wounded, Killed in Illinois Shooting

University of Iowa Student Is Among 20 Dead in Midwestern Deep Freeze

University of Iowa Student Is Among 20 Dead in Midwestern Deep Freeze

Chicago Votes on a New Mayor. Either Way, an African American Woman Will Win.

Chicago Mayor sworn in, promising 'reform is here'

Lori Lightfoot, Chicago's mayor-elect, in her own words: 'I'm ready to fight'

Lori Lightfoot, Chicago's mayor-elect, in her own words: 'I'm ready to fight'

Chicago's political order was upended this week, here's how

Gunman kills 5 at a warehouse west of Chicago

University of Iowa student is among more than 20 dead in Midwestern deep freeze