Former ChicagoMayor Lori Lightfoot was sued at the end of last year after allegedly failing to pay over $11,000 in credit card bills, records show. The Democrat, 63, was served with a lawsuit from JPMorgan Chase Bank at her $900,000 home in the affluent Wrightwood neighborhood in October. The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, claimed Lightfoot did not dispute with the bank when it declared the debt a charge-off in March 2025. She later paid $5,000 in August that year which was her last payment on the card, reports the Chicago Tribune. The former lawmaker’s money troubles mark a sharp decline from her legal career, which saw her report an average adjusted gross income of $971,626 from 2014 to 2017 while a partner at law firm Mayer Brown.
During her historically unpopular time in office from 2019 to 2023, Lightfoot earned $216,000 as mayor of Chicago. The Tribune reported that in 2021, the most recent year the outlet requested her returns, Lightfoot reported $402,414 in adjusted gross income. That same year, Lightfoot also reported taking out $210,000 in early distributions from her retirement accounts to supplement her salary as mayor. Since becoming the first Chicago mayor to lose re-election in 40 years, Lightfoot has taken on roles as professor at Harvard University, the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics and the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy.
Lightfoot left office in 2023 with historically low approval ratings, and in a 2024 survey by The Harris Poll, just 14 percent of residents said they saw her as the best recent mayor in Chicago. Alongside working as a visiting professor since leaving office, Lightfoot was also hired as special investigator in a corruption probe into former Mayor of Dalton, Illinois Tiffany Henyard. Henyard was dubbed ‘America’s worst mayor’ for her alleged financial mismanagement of her town. She has denied any wrongdoing. But in a 73-page report, Lightfoot found that Henyard charged $779,638 to town credit cards in 2023, including glamorous getaways to Las Vegas.
Lightfoot Launches ‘ICE Accountability Project’
Amid Henyard’s multiple legal challenges, Lightfoot was quietly facing money troubles of her own, according to records. Despite her own legal troubles, Lightfoot has remained active in the community and recently waded into the controversy surrounding President Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities. Last week, Lightfoot launched an initiative called the ‘ICE Accountability Project’, which she touted as a tool to document alleged criminal behavior from federal agents.
Lightfoot told Axios as she launched the project that she disagreed with the Trump administration’s argument that ICE agents have immunity while conducting official duties. ‘Federal immigration officers do not have blanket immunity,’ she said. ‘While federal authorities may take control of an investigation, that does not prevent state or local officials from conducting their own investigations, gathering evidence, or holding accountable those agents who have allegedly engaged in criminal conduct or used excessive force.’
Project Unveiled Amid Controversy Over ICE Shooting
Lightfoot launched the project amid controversy surrounding the fatal ICE shooting of Minneapolis protester Renee Nicole Good. As some call for the ICE agent who shot Good, Jon Ross, to face charges, Lightfoot said her project, ‘exists to make sure those facts are documented and visible so accountability can occur at every level of government’. The Daily Mail has contacted Lightfoot for comment. The Chicago Tribune reported that she declined to comment through a spokesperson.
