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Politics
Chicago

Lightfoot fires back at McDonald’s CEO for crime comments

The mayor has some advice for the fast food exec

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot and McDonald's Chris Kempczinsk (Getty Images)
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot and McDonald's Chris Kempczinsk (Getty Images)

Lori Lightfoot had a Big Mac Attack this week when the Chicago mayor responded to McDonald’s CEO after he said Chicago needed to “face facts” that crime was driving away downtown business.

After the Wednesday City Council meeting, Lightfoot told the media that head of the fast food giant, Chris Kempczinski, didn’t know what he was talking about and that she would choose to focus on positive economic growth, the Chicago Tribune reported. “What would have been helpful is for the McDonald’s CEO to educate himself before he spoke,” Lightfoot told the media.

Lightfoot referenced a letter by World Business Chicago leader Michael Fassnacht that “lays out in exact detail all the good news [and] economic news about what’s happening” in the city. “I’m going to focus on those things and not the comments of [the] CEO of McDonald’s.”

Last week, Kempczinski said that “while it may wound our civic pride to hear it, there is a general sense out there that our city is in crisis” when he announced that McDonald’s would move its innovation center from Romeoville to its downtown headquarters. He said multiple governors and mayors tried to court McDonald’s officials to attract the company to their cities and that it was a challenge convincing executives to stay put.

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While the golden arches will remain headquartered in the Windy City, other blue chip companies are packing up to move elsewhere.

Boeing was the first to announce it will depart its headquarters of more than 20 years and will relocate to Arlington, Virginia. Then, in June, Ken Griffin announced plans to move his family and hedge fund Citadel to Miami. Finally, last month, Caterpillar listed its Deerfield office for sublease ahead of its move to Texas.

“While the departures of Citadel and Boeing are disappointing and not to be ignored, [they] encourage us to consider the 112 companies who have moved or opened their doors in Chicago over the last 18 months,” Fassnacht wrote in the letter Lightfoot referenced. “These 112 company relocations or new market entrants created over 19,000 direct and indirect jobs.”

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— Victoria Pruitt

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