A white reporter for a conservative media outlet has sued Chicago Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, over a decision to grant interviews at the middle of her first term only to journalists of color. According to the reporter, Lightfoot said she discriminated against him due to his race.
In the lawsuit, Thomas Catenacci and his employer, the Daily Caller News Foundation, argued that Lightfoot contravened their First Amendment rights and Catenacci’s right to equal protection by not responding to a request for interview request on the day of her two years anniversary in office or in the following days. The suit was filed recently in federal court in Chicago by the conservative organization Judicial Watch.
Lightfoot is Chicago’s first Black female and first openly gay Mayor. Recently, she said she was granting interviews which mark the second anniversary of her inauguration exclusively to journalists of color. She said it was intended to make known the fact that the City Hall press corps is “overwhelmingly white” and male in a city where white people constitute only about one-third of the population.
Those who criticised the decision include Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who established The Daily Caller, and who labeled Lightfoot “a monster” and racist.
Lightfoot repeated her position at a recent event that marked the anniversary, where she also requested that on media organizations should diversify their staffs.
During the event, Lightfoot said: “The fact that the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly white, has very little in the way of diversity, is an embarrassment.
“One day out of 365, I say that I’m going to mark the anniversary of my two years in office by giving exclusive one-on-ones to journalists of color, and the world loses its mind.”
Catenacci’s lawsuit revealed he emailed requests for a one-on-one interview with Lightfoot on May 20, 21 and 24. The lawsuit says he had not gotten a response from her office as at the time of filing of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit stated: “On information and belief, Defendant is aware that Plaintiff Catenacci is not a ‘journalist of color,’ and Defendant has denied Plaintiff’s interview request pursuant to her announcement that she will only grant interview requests from ‘journalists of color.’”
A spokesman of Chicago law department said that the city was reviewing the complaint and would not offer further comment as litigation is pending.
