--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you decide you're going to be a…" description: "\"When you decide you're going to be a public servant, you should not be able to take on interests that conflict with the city.\" — Lori Lightfoot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a5/lori-lightfoot-6415_city_when-you-decide-you-re-going-to-be-a-pub_1230126.jpg" --- # When you decide you're going to be a public servant, you… ![“When you decide you're going to be a public servant, you should not be able to take on interests that conflict with the city.” quote by Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a5/lori-lightfoot-6415_city_when-you-decide-you-re-going-to-be-a-pub_1230126.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a5/lori-lightfoot-6415_city_when-you-decide-you-re-going-to-be-a-pub_1230126.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a5/lori-lightfoot-6415_city_when-you-decide-you-re-going-to-be-a-pub_1230126.jpg) > “When you decide you're going to be a public servant, you should not be able to take on interests that conflict with the city.” [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public officials must avoid personal interests that clash with their duty to the community. **In simple terms:** Officials should not have conflicting interests. Key Takeaway Prioritize public good over personal gain. Themes ethics public service conflict of interest Mood serious hopeful Type ethical political When to use this quote - policy making - city planning - budget decisions - community meetings Key Concepts integrity transparency accountability Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure decisions stay unbiased? - What safeguards help prevent conflicts? A Different Perspective Political realities can make complete separation difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Conflict City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict-city-3801432/) [Decide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide/) [Decide Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide-going/) [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [Interests Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interests-conflict-3801431/) [Public Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-servant/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [Each of us has interests which conflict the interests of everybody else... 'everybody else' we call 'society'. It's a powerful opponent and it always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-of-us-has-interests-which-conflict-the-interests-of-everybody/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think that the best profession or the best thing to do is to be a public servant... I mean there's nothing better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-think-that-the-best-profession-or-the-best-thing-to-do-is-to-be-a/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [A good king is a public servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/a-good-king-is-a-public-servant/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [I am a career public servant. Until the aftermath of Benghazi, I loved every day of my job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-hicks/i-am-a-career-public-servant-until-the-aftermath-of-benghazi-i-loved/) [Greg Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-hicks/) > [Mitch McConnell, 72, is second only to Henry Clay as the state'€™s most consequential public servant. McConnell's skills have been honed through five terms.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/mitch-mcconnell-72-is-second-only-to-henry-clay-as-the-state-s-most/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [My dad is a lifelong public servant; my mom was a public-school teacher - it's in my DNA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-biden/my-dad-is-a-lifelong-public-servant-my-mom-was-a-public-school/) [Ashley Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-biden/) > [Walt Shaub is a dedicated public servant, has come up through the ranks under both Democrats and Republicans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reince-priebus/walt-shaub-is-a-dedicated-public-servant-has-come-up-through-the/) [Reince Priebus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reince-priebus/) > [No public servant or legislator can claim any privacy to take money for conducting their official functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashant-bhushan/no-public-servant-or-legislator-can-claim-any-privacy-to-take-money/) [Prashant Bhushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashant-bhushan/) > [Being a public servant, this is a serious job, not like a boxer, you're entertaining people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/being-a-public-servant-this-is-a-serious-job-not-like-a-boxer-you-re/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [I want to be a public servant, not a politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sestak/i-want-to-be-a-public-servant-not-a-politician/) [Joe Sestak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sestak/) > [I fell far short of living up to the kind of public servant I wanted to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcclellan/i-fell-far-short-of-living-up-to-the-kind-of-public-servant-i-wanted/) [Scott McClellan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcclellan/) > [The first lady is, and always has been, an unpaid public servant elected by one person, her husband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-bird-johnson/the-first-lady-is-and-always-has-been-an-unpaid-public-servant/) [Lady Bird Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-bird-johnson/) > [Everyone has to decide how they're going to appear in their lives, how they're going to put themselves out there to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dar-williams/everyone-has-to-decide-how-they-re-going-to-appear-in-their-lives-how/) [Dar Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dar-williams/) > [We all have to decide how we are going to fail, by not going far enough or by going too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-redstone/we-all-have-to-decide-how-we-are-going-to-fail-by-not-going-far/) [Sumner Redstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-redstone/) > [You are not going to be what you decide to be; you are going to be what you decide to be around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hyles/you-are-not-going-to-be-what-you-decide-to-be-you-are-going-to-be/) [Jack Hyles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hyles/) ## More by Lori Lightfoot > [Chicago is an incredibly great city, but it was clear to me that greatness wasn't being spread to all our neighborhoods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/chicago-is-an-incredibly-great-city-but-it-was-clear-to-me-that/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [Chicago's been under the grip of the corrupt and broken political machine for as long as everybody's memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/chicago-s-been-under-the-grip-of-the-corrupt-and-broken-political/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [Fundamentally, we need to make sure that our neighborhoods are safe - all of our neighborhoods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/fundamentally-we-need-to-make-sure-that-our-neighborhoods-are-safe/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [I am a lesbian. I am married to a woman. We have a child. We have a family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/i-am-a-lesbian-i-am-married-to-a-woman-we-have-a-child-we-have-a/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [I've wanted to be a parent for a really long time, and I'm going to make sure I'm doing everything I can to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/i-ve-wanted-to-be-a-parent-for-a-really-long-time-and-i-m-going-to/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [Throughout college and law school, as well as in my career as a lawyer and police reform advocate, I've faced various toxic combinations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/throughout-college-and-law-school-as-well-as-in-my-career-as-a-lawyer/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [I'm not affiliated with Ed Burke, Joe Berrios or anyone else who represents the old, corrupt Chicago way. I am offering voters a complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/i-m-not-affiliated-with-ed-burke-joe-berrios-or-anyone-else-who/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [And I would like to have a good, productive relationship with members of the City Council, but I'm not going to allow them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/and-i-would-like-to-have-a-good-productive-relationship-with-members/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [We cannot create the perception that if you're rich or famous or both that you got one set of justice - and for everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/we-cannot-create-the-perception-that-if-you-re-rich-or-famous-or-both/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [There's significant movement as far to the left in our party as far as you can go, where people are trying to out-Bernie Bernie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/there-s-significant-movement-as-far-to-the-left-in-our-party-as-far/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [We have to have a school board that's actually gonna be able to function and that has true parent representatives on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/we-have-to-have-a-school-board-that-s-actually-gonna-be-able-to/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [I have a wealth of experience, not only as a senior executive in different departments in the city, but I've also, in my private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/i-have-a-wealth-of-experience-not-only-as-a-senior-executive-in/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [I am an independent reform candidate. I do not represent the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/i-am-an-independent-reform-candidate-i-do-not-represent-the-past/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [When you're walking down a street and you are a brown-skinned person or you're a person that lives in an immigrant community, there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/when-you-re-walking-down-a-street-and-you-are-a-brown-skinned-person/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [It's true that not every day a little black girl in a low-income family from a segregated steel town makes the runoff to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/it-s-true-that-not-every-day-a-little-black-girl-in-a-low-income/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) [Explore all 99 Lori Lightfoot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) ## More City quotes > [I've seen a lot of people come out of Carol City, but I had this distinct vision for Carol City, just me coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-curry/i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-people-come-out-of-carol-city-but-i-had-this/) [Denzel Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-curry/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [I've been to Manchester enough to know it's a real place. 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