The Windy City is a dangerous place and has only gotten worse in recent years.
As incidents of violence increase and some simply accept that not much can be done, the situation is nonetheless still dangerous.
Now there’s been no holiday off as violence goes bonkers in Brandon Johnson’s Chicago.
If Chicago was in dire straits under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the city can be better described as in crisis mode now that Mayor Brandon Johnson has assumed control.
It’s gotten even worse under Johnson
There’s been a veritable crime explosion and it all can be quantified.
By virtually every measure things have gotten much, much worse.
In data compiled by Wirepoints.org, an independent, nonprofit company delivering original research and commentary about Illinois’ economy and government, the crime numbers are truly jaw-dropping.
In Johnson’s first month as Mayor, ending June 11, total crime increased 38% over the prior year’s numbers.
Aggravated batteries increased 17% while burglaries increased 12% and criminal sexual assaults were up 5%.
What really sticks out are the car thefts, increasing up 153% from 917 last year to 2,317 (in just one month!) in 2020.
Even shootings were up 12% from 230 to 258.
While the number of murders in the month ending June 11th was down slightly to 56 from 59 last year, that is cold comfort as the city has led the country in homicides for the past 11 years.
As of Tuesday morning, 40 people were shot in the city over the Holiday weekend, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and nine people died as a result of their injuries.
Among the dead were two fifteen year-old boys.
Another man was shot and badly wounded while in a room at the local YMCA and later died as a result of his injuries.
Hard to fix the problem when the Mayor looks the other way
Johnson’s shoulder-shrugging approach to law enforcement hasn’t been helping matters.
In late April when teenagers took over Chicago’s downtown area Johnson dismissed their violence as the action of “silly kids.”
At the time he said of those “silly kids,” many of whom are responsible for and in some cases victims of the crime epidemic, “They’re young. Sometimes they make silly decisions.”
He then went on to warn the public to not “demonize” the teenagers committing crimes.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, 407 victims have been killed in Chicago so far this year.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
