Preckwinkle Has Stopped Spending Money On TV Ads
CHICAGO (CBS) -- CBS 2 has learned mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle has stopped spending money on TV ads.
No commercials booked for at least the next three days.
CBS 2 political reporter Derrick Blakley has the story from Malcolm X College where Lori Preckwinkle and Lori Lightfoot are taking part in a mayoral forum.
It's a highly unusual step with exactly two weeks until election day. CBS 2 is told Preckwinkle's TV campaign will be dark for the coming days.
That could change with more fundraising, but it certainly appears the campaign is out of TV cash at least for now.
At the Malcom X forum, Toni Preckwinkle again said she'd fire Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. Lori Lightfoot said she'd evaluate him first.
"We have to have a police superintendent who acknowledges there's a code of silence in the police department and there's racism in the police department. We have to begin with that," Preckwinkle said.
"There's a time and place to have that conversation, but it's after the summer and we'll evaluate the job that he has done and whether on the same course and have the same vision," Lightfoot said.
Meantime, Toni Preckwinkle received the endorsement of a host of west siders, including the dean of West Side politics, U.S. Congressman Danny Davis.
"She has already demonstrated that she knows how to make things happen and how to get things done," Davis said.
All emphasized Preckwinkle's experience, while trying to square her position as Cook County Democratic chair with her history as a progressive.
"Under the leadership of Toni Preckwinkle, it's not the party you remember. It's a new party. We have not seen the kind of diversity that we see today without her help," said Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough.
And Lightfoot debuted her closing campaign ad, featuring her 11-year-old daughter, photobombing Lightfoot's pitch to voters until the very end.
Asked if she'll have a closing TV spot, Preckwinkle wouldn't say.
"We're making strategic decisions to put us in the best place to win this campaign," Preckwinkle said.
Preckwinkle and Lightfoot will face off at least eight more times in forums and debates before April 2. But it's unclear if Preckwinkle will be able to afford more TV commercials before the end of the campaign.
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