- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Sunday defended her decision to collaborate with federal law enforcement agencies to address an increase in violent crime in Chicago.
- Gunfights in Chicago have increased 75% year-over-year and murders are 78% higher in 2020 than in 2019, according to police statistics reported by NBC Chicago.
- Lightfoot emphasized that his acceptance of help from federal agencies differed from his unwanted presence in the city of Portland, where federal agents appeared without an invitation from local leaders to nullify the protests.
- The Chicago mayor also asked the president to address the presence of illegal weapons in the city, advocating for stricter federal gun laws.
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Sunday that she appreciates federal help to combat the rise in violent crime in her city, but said she would not allow federal agents to enter Chicago without her knowledge, as they have in Portland, Oregon. .
“Well, I said it before and I will say it again, without troops, without agents that come outside our knowledge, notification and control that are violating the constitutional rights of people. That is the framework,” Lightfoot told CNN’s Jake Tapper. . Sunday during an appearance on “State of the Union.”
She added: “We cannot allow anyone to come to Chicago, play the police on our streets, in our neighborhoods, when they don’t know the first thing about our city. That is a recipe for disaster. And that is what you ‘are watching Portland play every night. “
In Portland, the Trump administration clashed with local leaders over its decision to send federal agents to nullify ongoing protests that have sometimes become destructive. Federal agents in military uniform have reportedly driven through the city in unidentified vans and arrested protesters. They have also been seen using tear gas and other riot control measures on Portland protesters.
As John Haltiwanger of Business Insider wrote, “The Pentagon, members of Congress, local leaders, former US military officers, historians, and legal experts have expressed serious concern about military uniforms and tactics. of federal agents in Portland. “
Protests against police brutality began in May after the George Floyd police murder in Minneapolis and have continued across the country. About 1,000 protesters showed up outside the Chicago mayor’s house Thursday to ask him to take steps to disburse the local police department, WGN reported.
“The opportunity presented itself, under the administration of the United States Attorney here,” Lightfoot said of the offer to collaborate with federal agencies. “And I emphasize that because that is different than what we saw in Portland, where the Trump administration parachuted over these additional federal agents, without consulting anyone locally and ignoring the local US attorney, a very different circumstance here in Chicago. “
Crime has decreased overall in Chicago, but violent crime such as shootings and homicides has increased this year.
His comments come amid a recent spike in violent crime in Chicago. According to police statistics reported by NBC Chicago, while overall crime in the city has actually decreased compared to last year, the rate of violent crime, including murder and shooting, has skyrocketed.
Chicago shootings increased 75% in June 2020 compared to June 2019. Murders in the city increased by a higher percentage, 78%, in June 2020 compared to the same month the year before. , according to the report.
“Let me be clear,” he said. “It is not about working with the Trump administration. For decades, in the main cities of the country, the FBI, the DEA, the ATF, those agents have been in our districts and they work, and work in concert with law enforcement to help support a number of efforts, including violence in our cities. “
Lightfoot pointed to the presence of illegal weapons in the city as one of the reasons behind the increase in violent crime.
“We are being inundated with weapons from states that have virtually no gun control, no background check, and no assault weapons ban,” he said. “That is affecting cities like Chicago. That is what, if the president really wanted to help, that and other things that I identified in my letter, he could do today, tomorrow.”
“But he is not really interested in helping in that way,” he added.
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