CHICAGO — Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will not be running for mayor against Lori Lightfoot in the 2023 election, he announced on Tuesday.
Duncan, 57, runs Chicago CRED, a nonprofit aimed at violence prevention. Before that, Duncan served as President Barack Obama’s secretary of education and CEO of Chicago Public Schools. He has been considering a run for months but ruled it out Tuesday, saying in a statement, “I am exactly where I need to be, doing the work I love.”
In the statement, Duncan said he will “work with anyone serious about making our city safer,” leaving open the possibility that he’ll back challengers to Lightfoot.
Lightfoot has not formally announced her reelection campaign but is widely expected to seek a second term. Her political team has recently started hiring for key positions and she has been raising money, though she has also burned through more campaign cash than she’s collected since shortly after winning office 2 1/2 ago.
Lightfoot’s tenure as mayor has served as a crash course in crisis management, from the COVID-19 pandemic and destructive civil unrest to a teachers strike and skyrocketing violent crime. Her relationship with aldermen has also been rocky, dating back to her very first day as mayor.
Public safety figures to be a key campaign issue as crime has increased significantly over the past two years.
Challengers said to be weighing bids against Lightfoot include Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner, Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, South Side Alderman Roderick Sawyer, downtown Alderman Brian Hopkins and former city Building Commissioner Judy Frydland.
———
(Chicago Tribune’s John Byrne contributed to this report.)
