Lightfoot, Preckwinkle lead in Chicago mayor's race as Daley concedes

CHICAGO - Chicago will elect its first African-American woman as its next mayor, after former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle moved on to an April runoff amid a record field of 14 candidates.

With votes scarcer than expected and polls showing a half-dozen or more candidates within striking distance, the goal was to break into the top two and qualify for the April 2 runoff election. That is the result if no candidate collects more than 50 percent of the vote the first time around.

Unofficial results showed Lightfoot with 17.4 percent of the vote, Preckwinkle with 16 percent and Bill Daley with 14.7 percent, with 87 percent of precincts counted. They were trailed by businessman Willie Wilson with 10 percent, state Comptroller Susana Mendoza with 9 percent, activist and policy consultant Amara Enyia with 8 percent, Southwest Side attorney Jerry Joyce with 7 percent and former Chicago Public Schools board President