Mayor Lori Lightfoot on memes: ‘I’ve enjoyed them’

Memes of a stony-faced Mayor Lori Lightfoot guarding the lakefront trail and other Chicago hotspots blew up the internet over the weekend.

“I’ve been getting them from people all over the city ... all across the country,” Lightfoot said during a press conference Monday afternoon.

Her verdict?

“I’ve enjoyed them,” Lightfoot said.

“I think this is a very difficult time and people are afraid, the stress levels are high and like in any difficult time, I think we need to have a sense of balance, and humor is part of it.”

The first version was posted Friday by 27-year-old Danny Martinez, one day after the mayor closed the lakefront — along with all adjacent parks and beaches — as well as the 606 trail, Millennium Park and the downtown Riverwalk. Lightfoot said Thursday she had no choice but to shut down Chicago’s most popular spots after large crowds were seen gathering in those locations on Wednesday, a “blatant violation” of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order.

In the now-viral meme, Lightfoot stands in front of police barricades blocking the lakefront trail from rule-breakers. In other versions, she’s glaring at a jogger, or perched on top of a police car.

But since then, many others have popped up. Like these:

“We’ve acted out a few in my household at night, which I’ll keep to myself,” Lightfoot said.

“But I think what it shows is the creativity of people in this city ... that despite these dire circumstances, and this virus is deadly serious, that we can also see the lighter side of life ... so, I love ‘em.”