A mayor's coronavirus leadership is meme-ified

April 10, 2020

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! NYSE president Stacey Cunningham says business is banding together during the crisis, women who recently gave birth wrestle with getting caught in hospital chaos, and one mayor is taking a lighthearted approach to the coronavirus.

– Mayor memes. We’ve written a lot lately about female leaders’ approach to the coronavirus crisis. Perhaps none is more unique than that of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

The city’s mayor is known for her restrained demeanor, and she maintains that attitude in official appearances about the crisis. But online, she’s invoking a sense of humor that’s at times self-deprecating, and it’s come as a delightful surprise.

She first emerged as meme fodder in late March when she shut down Chicago’s lake front and adjacent parks after city residents defied the governor’s statewide stay-at-home order. Now in social media posts, her stern-faced likeness, assuming the role of the no-nonsense fun police, is seen guarding Chicago’s famed ‘Bean’ statue, clearing the table in Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” and policing the Wizard of Oz’s yellow-brick road. (As a Chicago-area native, my feeds are filled with a frowning Lightfoot.)

Lightfoot has gotten in on the joke herself, reiterating stay-at-home mandates with zingers— “Your jump shot is always gonna be weak. Stay out of the parks.”—and filming PSAs that poke fun at her own at-home activities.

The coronavirus crisis in Chicago and the larger state of Illinois is serious; the state has nearly 16,500 cases and 528 deaths. The mayor told The Washington Post that her team’s approach to the pandemic was intentional, but they didn’t expect the viral response. “What this moment tells us is people are in a situation where they want something that makes them smile,” she said.

Happy weekend.

Claire Zillman
claire.zillman@fortune.com
@clairezillman

Today’s Broadsheet was produced by Emma Hinchliffe.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

- Business bands together. New York Stock Exchange president Stacey Cunningham writes for Fortune about the business world's response to the coronavirus crisis. "Initiatives by individual companies are gaining well-deserved attention," she writes. "However, it’s far too easy to miss the magnitude and breadth of the combined corporate response." Fortune

- Worst timing. Women who gave birth at the peak of hospital confusion over whether partners were allowed in the delivery room are struggling to process their experiences. "It’s been hard for me to come to terms with the fact that the ban really only was in place for a number of days," says one woman, who described her traumatic experience in this piece. The Cut

- Full-year outlook. As part of Fortune 's quarterly investment guide for subscribers, State Street deputy global chief investment officer Lori Heinel shares her outlook on the coronavirus crisis. Fortune

- Part of history. Linda Tripp, who recorded her conversations with Monica Lewinsky and played a pivotal role in President Bill Clinton's impeachment hearings, died at 70 of cancer this week. Lewinsky expressed hope, "no matter the past," for Tripp's recovery as reports emerged that her health was failing. CNN

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

- Trial bonds. At the trial of Harvey Weinstein, Dawn Dunning, Miriam Haley, Jessica Mann, Annabella Sciorra, Tarale Wulff, and Lauren Young all testified against the convicted sex offender, going through the same experience of cross-examination and scrutiny. Now, the six strangers are bonded for life. Variety

- Patient tension. Former Planned Parenthood president Dr. Leana Wen writes in an op-ed that the coronavirus pandemic is changing one crucial thing about hospitals: the provider-patient relationship. The crisis has introduced more tension to those interactions as both parties worry about asymptomatic transmission, a dynamic she experienced after giving birth last week. Washington Post

- Generational menopause. Writer Amber Sparks asks: Is Gen X doing menopause differently than the generations that came before? One theory: with more visible older women around as role models, Gen X women are more confident in life after menopause. InStyle

ON MY RADAR

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