Chicago mayoral favorite Paul Vallas is slammed for liking derogatory tweets trends now
With just days to go before Chicago residents take to the polls to elect their next mayor, the man widely seen as the frontrunner is facing a new scandal for liking a series of derogatory tweets.
A review of Paul Vallas' Twitter page conducted by the Chicago Tribune found that the Democrat liked tweets that used racist language, supported controversial police tactics like 'stop-and-frisk' or insulted incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot on personal terms.
Some of the tweets referred to Lightfoot, a lesbian and the city's first openly LGBTQ mayor, 'Larry,' called her a gnome and even made fun of her receding hairline.
Several of the tweets were made prior to Vallas, 69, announcing last summer that he was running again for mayor, after losing his bid in 2019.
He told the Tribune that many people on his campaign have had access to his Twitter account, and he was working to identify who may have liked the controversial tweets. But Vallas later told CBS News he believed his account was hacked.
Chicago mayoral frontrunner Paul Vallas' Twitter account liked a series of derogatory tweets over the past few years. He is pictured here campaigning earlier in the month
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Many of the tweets his account liked portrayed Chicago as a disaster zone plagued by crime, according to the Tribune.
In December 2021, it reports, Vallas liked a tweet reading: 'The Mag Mile will soon be Dystopian Way, akin to a road out of a Mad Max movie. Made desolate by the total indifference of woke Ald. Reilly and Rep. Quigley and the fifth floor gnome.'
Several also blasted Democratic politicians, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker for his handling of crime and the pandemic, State's Attorney Kim Foxx's prosecutorial decisions and critical tweets about Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
At least of the tweets refer to Lightfoot as 'Larry.'
'I bet Larry Lightfoot is with his family today,' one tweet last June read, in response to Vallas giving a shoutout to police officers and other first responders on Father's Day.
Others mocked Lightfoot for her physical appearance, with a tweet from November 2021 saying, 'Trust has eroded, just like her hairline!' in response to a post Vallas made about how Lightfoot presented crime statistics.
At around the same time, Vallas also reportedly liked a tweet saying Lightfoot is 'beyond human!
'The hatred she has for the police is so degusting,' a Twitter user wrote. 'How do her bodyguards put up with her?'
And the following month, Vallas' account also liked a tweet calling Lightfoot 'the gnome on the fifth floor.'
Some of the tweets his account liked call Mayor Lori Lightfoot 'Larry' or a 'gnome.' and make fun of her appearance. Lightfoot is seen here speaking to supporters on Saturday
Another tweet Vallas' account liked insinuated Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown (pictured in December) wax a diversity hire
Other tweets Vallas' account is said to have liked over the years also criticized Lightfoot and other Democrats in the city for playing identity politics — going as far as to call Lightfoot a 'racist — while supporting the controversial police tactic 'stop-and-frisk.'
In one tweet from June 2022 that was liked by Vallas' account, a user told him: 'Just don't push that Democratic agenda that the citizens of Chicago are tired of hearing. You know, defund this, reform that, color this, female that. We just want someone to do the job.'
Vallas also liked a tweet in April 2022 insinuating Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown wax a diversity hire, and calling the mayor a racist.
'He was hired for one reason, and one reason only. He was black,' the tweet said. 'Other candidates were more qualified, but they weren't black.
'Lightfoot is a racist, big news flash.'
Then, after Chicago Police Chief Brendan Deenihan announced he would be leaving the department, Vallas' account liked a recent tweet
