evidence: Mayor Lightfoot and Chicago Department of Public Health Jointly Declare Racism A Public Health Crisis in Chicago [...] CHICAGO –Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today joined the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and other City and community leaders to declare that racism is a public health crisis in the City of Chicago. Additionally, leaders called on all Chicagoans to work together to address the stark racial inequities that have resulted from centuries of systemic racism in Chicago and the nation. Currently, in Chicago, the 9.2-year life expectancy gap between Black and non-Black Chicagoans, which has increased in the past decade, and the declining life expectancy rates of Asian and Latino Chicagoans requires a commitment by the City to build on its work to improve anti-racist policies that address the root causes of inequities disproportionately affecting the lives of all Chicagoans of color. [...] "Public health indicators demonstrate very clearly what happens when we allow racism to persist. We lose people we love, jeopardize our livelihoods, and cut-short our promise for the future," said Candace Moore, City of Chicago’s Chief Equity Officer. "When one community is allowed to suffer, we are harmed as an entire city. As Chicagoans, when we declare racism a public health crisis, we must put action behind our words. We must make a collective commitment to act toward building systems of inclusion that reflect on our past, reclaim our present, and reimagine our future."