Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has come under fire after it was revealed she allowed two of her top aides to take time off just before the the city was gripped by violence over the Fourth of July weekend which saw more than 100 people shot and at least 17 killed.
Lightfoot's chief of staff Sybil Madison was out of the office two days before the holiday weekend while the deputy mayor for public safety, John O'Malley, was also out for most of the week beforehand, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Their absences came despite Lightfoot's promise to have 'all hands on deck' to address a sudden surge in shootings across the city prior to July 4.
Police officers were even made to work 12-hour shifts during that weekend to increase their street presence.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had two of her top aides on leave during the deadliest weekend for shootings in the city all year
When Lightfoot took office in May 2019, she introduced a ban on time off during the summer within the police department fearing that it set a 'bad example' for officers.
Her decision to allow to of her top aides to take vacation over the holiday weekend was met with swift criticism from several local officials, including South Side Alderman Anthony Beale.
Beale said that Lightfoot showed 'poor leadership' in approving the leave for the aides 'when we need them the most'.
Southwest Side Alderman Raymond Lopez said the decision shows that the city's leadership is 'disconnected'.
'That she allowed her staff to go on vacation … before what is traditionally the most dangerous weekend in the city of Chicago – is outrageous,' Alderman Ray Lopez, told Fox 32.
'It shows there's a complete lack of commitment toward addressing the violence.'
In a separate interview with the Tribune, Lopez said: 'We've heard about the "whole of government" approach (to dealing with violence) for weeks now.
'But I guess that doesn’t apply to the people responsible for actually creating the policies.'
Fellow Alderman Anthony Napolitano called the city a 'war zone' following the holiday weekend and ripped Lightfoot as responsible.
Lightfoot's office responded to the backlash in a statement on Friday, insisting that all members of the mayor's team were 'fully engaged' over the weekend.
'Working in the mayor's office is a 24/7, 365 job, and members of the mayor's senior staff are constantly connected,' the statement read.
'Those responsible for on-the-ground operations continued to execute over the holiday weekend, and the Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff were fully engaged every day.'
Chicago Police work on a crime scene in a residential neighborhood earlier this
