Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot attends a news conference where Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a ... [+]
In recent weeks, leaders across the globe have struggled to balance the demands presented during a pandemic. Primarily, how to make tough decisions that find the equilibrium between infringing on personal liberty and protecting the health and wellness of the greater good. This often comes down to difficulties in messaging and communication with the public.
But there is one mayor in the U.S. that seems to have the communication portion of staying home and social distancing down. Someone who mastered the rare balance between getting people to take you seriously and doing so with a smile on their faces.
Whether by her own intentions (such as this hilarious public service announcement) or the newfound joy Chicagoans have found in spreading her message using photoshop and rumored cardboard cutouts, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has turned her stern actions and #stayhomesavelives messaging into the social media laughs we all need.
While Chicago Mayor Lightfoot’s personal social media has stayed fairly serious in tone, photos of her “serious face” from a March 20th press conference have gone viral, with accounts and memes being created every day since.
The original picture of the mayor was photoshopped by Danny Martinez into several Chicago scenes stating, “Man y’all made us lose our lakefront privileges. Got da Lightfoot OUT HERE enforcing.”
He was referencing a March 26th press conference which was the result of many Chicagoans ignoring the statewide stay-at-home mandate. Lightfoot was forced to close the popular lakefront path which includes parks, tourist attractions, beaches, and the 606 trail. She told Chicagoans point blank, “Your conduct — yours — is posing a direct threat to our public health. And without question, your continued failure to abide by these life-saving orders will erase any progress that we have made over the past week in slowing the spread of this disease and could lead to more deaths.”
But instead of ruffling feathers, Danny’s photoshop job led to more than 25 thousand Facebook shares and countless other memes. ‘Lightfoot is watching you’ has taken on a life of its own in Chicago, with the mayor’s photo popping up all over.
That one act also evolved into an Instagram account that gained more than 50 thousand followers called “whereslightfoot” - posting pictures of where Chicagoans think she might be – watching them. It’s like a Where’s Waldo using a cutout of the mayor. Thus far she’s been found everywhere from in the water (both Lake Michigan and the Shedd Aquarium) to the Last Supper painting to in the sky as part of a Batman bat-signal beacon.
Apparently, she can even control the weather.
Mayor Lightfoot is well aware of the memes, and has been a good sport on Twitter, wanting to know who has been up to this work.
She has also commented on people’s pictures of her and teasing that if people don’t stay home she’ll delete her Instagram stories – which people are loving.
If you want to get in on the fun and aren’t a photoshop whiz, you can now also print, color, and place your own Mayor Lightfoot wherever you want.
Even if that’s in your refrigerator to remind you to back away. Because… she’s watching you.
