Mayor Laurie Lightfoot will punish bike lane parking enforcement

After an uproar on social media, Chicago Mayor Laurie Lightfoot reprimanded her security for parking in a bike lane while she collected donuts.

The controversy erupted on Twitter after @bikelaneuprise posted photos Nov. 9 showing Lightfoot’s security parked outside Roeser’s Bakery on North Avenue while she was inside collecting donuts.

“Parking in bike lanes so you can get donuts means you value donuts over the lives of cyclists,” the account tweeted.

Block Club Chicago reported the situation on Wednesday, followed by other media outlets. At her usual post-city council news conference, Lightfoot said she first learned about it from “media reports” and blamed her security.

“Obviously they shouldn’t have parked in the bike lane,” Lightfoot said. “Pretty simple, no bike lanes, no fire hydrants. They shouldn’t have done that, period.’

This isn’t the first time Lightfoot police have made headlines. In 2020, the Tribune reported that Chicago city officials dismissed most of the tickets issued to Lightfoot’s security service for red light and speed cameras, including some tickets that were recorded while the mayor was scheduled to attend non-city events.

Lightfoot took a different approach than former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who faced similar questions about a security officer running a red light and speeding. In response to news reports, Emanuel publicly told his squad to slow down and personally paid the tickets, ABC-7 previously reported. But even after Emanuel said “no one is above the law” and ordered cops to slow down, his part continued to receive tickets.