Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot weighed-in over the weekend on her city’s unprecedented gang violence; blaming nearby Indiana for the flow of guns into the region.
“Previously we had a law enforcement first and only strategy and it wasn’t working. It’s not working when you talk about neighborhoods where the unemployment rate is 25% or higher. It’s not working when you think about the fact that in many communities, 90% or more of residents are depending on public assistance and where neighborhoods haven’t been invested in, where there’s no real legitimate economic activity,” said Lightfoot.
“The fact that you can cross the border, go into Indiana and purchase military-grade weapons at any number with no background check is a terrible thing, not only for a city but look at the devastation that gun violence is wreaking every single day in our community,” she added.
‘We have to treat this epidemic of violence that we’re seeing as a public health crisis.’ — @chicagosmayor Lori Lightfoot wants to reframe violence in the city so officials can get to the real root of the problem and fix it pic.twitter.com/iLLkcQirXs
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 18, 2019
Lightfoot confirmed last week that her city will not comply with any future immigration raids; blocking ICE agents from accessing the police department’s vast databases.
“Chicago is and will always be a welcoming city that will never tolerate ICE tearing our families apart,” said Lightfoot at a press conference Wednesday.
“The Chicago Police Department will not cooperate with ICE. That means that they will not team up with ICE to detain any resident. We’ve also cut off access from ICE to any CPD databases and that will remain permanent,” she added.
CHICAGO BUSINESS LEADERS ON PROTECTING IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES: The Mayor joins Chicago business leaders to discuss support and protection of immigrant communities. Watch and share: https://t.co/maUfV9Z5qu
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 10, 2019
Lightfoot joins fellow Democrats in their latest attempt to block the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration across the country.
CHICAGO BURNING: City Officials Blame THE WEATHER for Sudden MURDER Spike
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city’s top law enforcement officials urged the public to remain calm as the region’s crime crisis spiraled out of control this week; suggesting “hot temperatures” was the main reason behind the recent spike in murders.
“When it’s very hot outside, we have multiple areas with crowds. … An offender, or some type of rival gang sees a large group of people,” said Chief of Patrol Fred Waller. “They take advantage of that opportunity, and they shoot into a crowd, no matter who they hit.”
Mayor Emanuel became visibly emotional while speaking on the Windy City’s South Side Monday, saying “We have a heavy heart. Our souls are burdened.”
“What we saw this weekend, it just rips at everything that I believe in,” added Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
The press conference came just hours after the city struggled to come to terms with a stunning spike in violence in a small 48-hour period, with 12 people dead and over 70 injured in gang warfare throughout Chicago.
Read the full story here.
Chicago Bishop Demands Mayor Emanuel Remove Statue of George Washington
A Chicago Bishop is calling on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to remove the name of President George Washington from a southside park.
In a letter addressed to the Mayor and posted to Facebook, Bishop James E. Dukes, pastor of Liberation Christian Center, calls for the removal Washington’s name as well as that of President Andrew Jackson. Dukes argues that their “active participation in the slave trade” makes them unfit for the honor of being held as heroes.
We as Chicagoans must now take the microscope and place it on the statues, monuments and parks that we give honor to,” Bishop Dukes wrote in a letter to Emanuel. “We cannot allow slavery and racism to be awarded in our communities by honoring individuals that indeed partook in the very institution that has kidnapped, murdered, raped, and terrorized our forefather and mothers.”
“Therefore, I call on the immediate removal of President George Washington and President Andrew Jackson names from the parks located on the southeast side of Chicago,” Dukes added. “They should not have the distinct honor of being held as heroes when they actively participated in the slave trade. I fully expect that the Chicago Park District and Mayor Rahm Emanuel share in my sentiments and views; that Chicago will not be a place that embraces racism, slavery and its treacherous tentacles. But rather, Chicago will be a beacon of hope for a better tomorrow for all its’ residents.”
According to CBS Chicago, Dukes also wants the removal of a statue of Washington found in the same park:
“When I see that, I see a person who fought for the liberties, and I see people that fought for the justice and freedom of white America, because at that moment, we were still chattel slavery, and was three-fifths of humans,” he said. “Some people out here ask me, say ‘Well, you know, he taught his slaves to read.’ That’s almost sad; the equivalent of someone who kidnaps you, that you gave them something to eat.”
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