Lightfoot defends image, gets firefighter backing

Lori Lightfoot is fighting back - with a vengeance - against Toni Preckwinkle's attempt to destroy Lightfoot's reputation as a reformer.

Lightfoot released her first negative TV commercial of the runoff campaign as she won the endorsement of the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 and showcased an internal poll showing her headed toward a landslide victory on April 2.

The latest poll of 799 likely voters, giving Lightfoot a 30-point lead, mirrors a poll conducted for the education group Stand for Children that the Chicago Teachers Union has branded as "trash" by an organization bent on "destroying" the CTU and its handpicked mayoral candidate.

After finishing a surprising second on Feb. 26, Preckwinkle came out smoking with a commercial that sought to portray Lightfoot as a "wealthy corporate lawyer who's defended the elites in this country" only to "recast" herself as a police reformer despite a record showing otherwise.

On Thursday, Lightfoot pushed back with her own commercial that raises and answers the question of why Preckwinkle went negative, starting with her victory speech on election night.

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