Memorial Day violence, disorder call for a Nuisance Ordinance
If Chicago had managed to navigate the Memorial Day weekend and suffer only 23 shot, Mayor Brandon Johnson could easily have claimed another victory over crime in comparison to last year’s Memorial Day tally of five killed and 25 shot. However, what occurred in the Windy City in the last four days was not limited to the ordinary violence Chicago has grown accustomed to. On the contrary, crime enveloped the city this Memorial Day weekend.
On Saturday evening, a crowd on the Near West Side swelled to over 500 people and conditions deteriorated to a point at which several brawls broke out, people were seen jumping on cars, and private property in the area was damaged. A mob action that included a majority of teens, when Chicago Police were called to restore order, the driver of a car crashed into a group of five officers attempting to bring the crowd under control. Nearby the unrest at Loomis and Roosevelt, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the head at Randolph and Hoyne. In Little Village, a mass shooting took place in which four teenagers were shot.
The weekend of lawlessness came just days after Mayor Johnson rolled out his Summer Safety Strategy. A plan the mayor and his team unveiled with much fanfare, the principles in City Hall’s plan for the summer include youth engagement, leveraging community violence interrupters (CVIs), neighborhood investment, and gender-based violence prevention. Noticeably absent from the mayor’s plan was any mention of punishment for criminal offenders.
As “teen takeovers” grow increasingly brazen, and with the summer approaching likely to spiral out of control, Chicago is in need of penalties for those who engage in violent mob actions. Make no mistake, these public disturbances are a direct product of city leadership refusing to ensure that there are consequences for the disruption, damage to property, and the disrespect and often endangerment of police. The mayor's talk of "systemic causes" is nonsensical excuse-making.
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