OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
12:43 PM – Tuesday, January 13, 2026
According to a report from the Chicago Tribune and recent court filings, former Democrat Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is being sued by JPMorgan Chase Bank due to unpaid credit card debt.
January 2026 court filings indicate that the former Chicago mayor was sued late last year for owing over $11,078 in debt on her MileagePlus United credit card, which she has held since 2005.
While at her Logan Square residence in October 2025, Lightfoot was served with a lawsuit filed by JPMorgan Chase in Cook County Circuit Court. The legal action seeks to recover over $11,000 in unpaid credit card debt linked to her home address, which is valued at approximately $1 million.
Adding some irony to the equation, while in office, Lightfoot frequently spoke about debt relief programs for Chicago residents and, more recently, was hired as a special investigator to probe alleged financial mismanagement and “out-of-control” credit card spending by then-Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard.
According to the filing, JPMorgan Chase declared the debt a “charge-off” in March 2025 after Lightfoot allegedly failed to dispute the charges. While a payment of $5,000 was made in August 2025, the lawsuit claims no further payments have been issued since.
This financial dispute stands in sharp contrast to Lightfoot’s previous earnings. During her tenure at the law firm Mayer Brown, she reported an average adjusted gross income of over $970,000. Later, as Mayor of Chicago from 2019 to 2023, she earned an annual salary of $216,000.
Tax records released by the Chicago Tribune in 2021 showed that Lightfoot reported an adjusted gross income of $402,414. That same year, she reportedly withdrew $210,000 from her retirement accounts to supplement her mayoral salary.
After her 2023 re-election loss, Lightfoot transitioned into academia, accepting a teaching fellowship at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a visiting professorship at her alma mater, the University of Michigan.
Lightfoot was then appointed as a special investigator to lead a corruption probe into the former mayor of Dolton, Illinois. Henyard, who faced intense public scrutiny at the time for financial mismanagement, was defeated in the 2025 Democrat primary. In a comprehensive 73-page report, Lightfoot revealed that Henyard’s administration had presided over “out-of-control” spending, including $779,638 charged to village credit cards in 2023 alone. The report detailed luxury trips to Las Vegas and thousands of dollars in Amazon purchases, all while the village faced a multi-million dollar deficit. Henyard has consistently denied the allegations.
Nonetheless, as Lightfoot pressed Henyard about her irresponsible spending, she was having financial issues of her own, even while allegedly making around $400 an hour. This suggests continued financial stability, making the unpaid debt suspicious, the bank argues.
Meanwhile, despite her ongoing legal and financial disputes, the 63-year-old Democrat has remained a vocal figure in Chicago’s civic life.
Earlier this month, Lightfoot formally launched the “ICE Accountability Project,” an independent initiative designed to document and investigate alleged misconduct by federal immigration agents.
She says the project was established in direct response to “Operation Midway Blitz,” a federal enforcement campaign launched in the Chicago area in late 2025. Through a centralized reporting platform, Lightfoot aims to “unmask” agents “accused of excessive force or unlawful conduct,” providing a public archive of evidence for local prosecutors and civil rights advocates.
“Federal immigration officers do not have blanket immunity,” she declared. “While federal authorities may take control of an investigation, that does not prevent state or local officials from conducting their own investigations, gathering evidence, or holding accountable those agents who have allegedly engaged in criminal conduct or used excessive force.”
The timing of the “ICE Accountability Project” has not gone unnoticed by critics, however.
Formally launched in early January 2026, just as the JPMorgan Chase lawsuit and her $11,000 credit card debt began to hit local headlines, the initiative has been characterized by some as a strategic “pivot.” By centering herself in a high-stakes, ideologically charged battle against federal agencies, Lightfoot has sparked a debate over whether this move is a sincere pursuit of civil rights or a calculated effort to “change the channel” and redirect public attention away from her private financial struggles.
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