The City Is Up for Grabs

“Gregory Pratt is a smart, tenacious reporter in the best tradition of old-fashioned City Hall journalism. The City Is Up for Grabs is a must-read for anyone who cares about Chicago and the future of America’s greatest cities.” —McKay Coppins, staff writer at the Atlantic and author of Romney: A Reckoning

“Deep and rich—an enormously enlightening history of Chicago’s four-year kakistocracy. Gregory Pratt takes us with him on the trail, inside Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s meetings, and around the city she’d promised to reform. Real politics, no fluff.” —David Weigel, politics reporter at Semafor and author of The Show That Never Ends

“Vividly told and authoritative, Pratt’s gripping narrative captures history as it unfolds in a great American city. We know how the saga will end, but it begins with so much promise that we read in disbelief.” —Elizabeth Taylor, coauthor of American Pharoah: Mayor Richard J. Daley; His Battle for Chicago and the Nation

“The City Is Up for Grabs provides an intriguing and detailed accounting of an important time of transition in Chicago government and politics. Pratt takes readers on a journey through the twists and turns of a historic mayoral election, a global pandemic, and a time of intense disagreement over the future of the city. The book props open the door to the proverbial ‘smoke-filled room’ and provides an up-close glimpse of the people and moments who shaped this chapter of Chicago’s history.”—Becky Vevea, Chalkbeat Chicago bureau chief and former City Hall reporter for WBEZ

“From rising crime to a deadly pandemic to deep financial stress, US cities have faced enormous challenges in recent years. Chicago, one of the nation’s great cities, has been particularly vulnerable. Rich with detail, Greg Pratt’s fine book exposes the unraveling of a mayor as her city falls into crisis. This is political reporting at its best.” —Bruce Dold, former publisher and editor, Chicago Tribune

“This is a gripping, vividly detailed account of a uniquely chaotic and democratic time in a city almost always ruled by machine politicians. A product of Chicago’s neighborhoods, Greg Pratt broke nearly every major story that helped fuel Lori Lightfoot’s sudden and unlikely rise to power. And no journalist revealed more of the ‘senseless acts of self-harm’ that hastened Lightfoot’s rapid political unraveling.” —Dan Mihalopoulos, political reporter, WBEZ Chicago

“The City Is Up for Grabs is an incredible behind-the-scenes look from the top at one of the most consequential periods in Chicago’s history. Some moments read as network-level dramas combined with a city-politics setting unlike anywhere else in the United States. Glad I read this sitting down.” —Omar Jimenez, Emmy award–winning CNN correspondent

“There’s nothing quite like Chicago politics, and there was nothing quite like Lori Lightfoot’s tumultuous term as the city’s mayor. Few know this better than Gregory Pratt, who covered Lightfoot’s tenure every day for the Chicago Tribune. With The City Is Up for Grabs, Pratt goes deep inside the wards, boards, factions, and enmities that shape Chicago and, with help from her own hand, undermined its first Black female mayor.” —Jonathan Martin, Politico columnist and coauthor of This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future

“Political observers everywhere have wondered how and why Lori Lightfoot rose to power, then lost her way. Gregory Royal Pratt’s incisive insights and dogged reporting on this one-term mayor gives you all the answers. Pratt’s comprehensive and potent analysis will serve as the enduring record of the Lightfoot era in Chicago.” —Laura Washington, contributing columnist, Chicago Tribune; political analyst, ABC7 Chicago

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