Chicago's new mayor, Lori Lighgtfoot, makes history there in two ways

Becoming the first African American woman to lead Chciago isn't the only historic change that Lori Lightfoot's mayoral election win last week represents. The Democrat, a former federal prosecutor, also is the first openly gay mayor of America's third-largest city. Her election shows that Chicago is "a city where it doesn't matter what color you are" and "where it doesn't matter who you love, just as long as you love with all your heart," she told backers after winning a runoff against another black woman.

Class discussion: Lightfoot, who received 73 percent of the vote on April 2, will be sworn in on May 20 to succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who decided not to seek a third term. Chicago elected its first black mayor, Harold Washington, in 1983.

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