Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has pledged to doom his city with reforms that will “re-envision the role of a police officer.”
Oh, boy, are the voters of this once great city about to get what they voted for.
It’s now obvious that the people of Chicago believed former Mayor Lori Lightfoot was too heavy on criminals, even as violent crime exploded over the last few years. Murder is up 19 percent, robbery is up 23 percent, theft is up 45 percent, and car theft is up 235 percent (not a typo).
Overall, serious crime in Chicago is up a whopping 88 percent (not a typo) in just two years.
This is a breathtaking, citywide breakdown in civil safety and civility itself. And it did not have to happen. By the 1990s, America had perfected the policies that clean up our cities. The most famous example is Rudy Giuliani. Because he had the moral courage to embrace the Broken Windows policy, New York City went from a bankrupt hellscape to one of the safest cities in the world. Countless lives were saved while he served as mayor. The Broken Windows Theory works. Urban blight is now a choice, and Chicago voters have chosen to live in a hellscape.
According to the mayor’s just-released “Transition Report,” a good thing is about to happen: Chicago’s voters are about to get plenty of what they voted for…
People should get what they want, don’t you think…?
To begin with, and it’s right there on page 157, the mayor intends to use “non-CPD [Chicago Police Department] positions to address non-violent calls.”
Yes, because those kinds of calls never escalate.
The mayor intends to “re-envision the role of a police officer.” Police will now ensure public safety by “meeting the needs of the people in their communities.” Does this mean police officers will pick up groceries and wait between noon and 4:00 p.m. for the cable guy? Who knows? But it almost certainly means social work, which is the last thing a police officer should be doing.
Good policing begins and ends with authority. You don’t have to be a jerk to earn authority. In fact, being a jerk or a bad police officer is a perfect way to lose your authority. But you can’t be a cuck. You gotta be a man willing to use violence if necessary. Turning cops into useless eunuchs ensures and emboldens crime—which is what Democrats want.
And now, we get to the very thing that ensures Chicago is doomed… Mayor Dystopia intends to end the gang database. Without that database, police officers will no longer be able to quickly identify who they are dealing with. This can make all the difference when it comes to officer safety. More importantly, it allows the police to better handle discretion decisions. Police officers enjoy an enormous amount of discretion. They can decide whether to give you a break or not. I’ve gotten tickets for speeding, I’ve gotten official warnings, I’ve gotten, Watch your speed. Have a nice day. Obviously, there’s a big difference between a citizen who gets in a fight and a gang member who gets in a fight. Without that database, the officer cannot use his best discretion. Do you let the guy go or take him in?
Chicago was once my favorite city. When we lived in Milwaukee, my wife and I used to take the train to Chicago for a weekend a couple of times a year. Those weekends remain cherished memories. I also have family in Chicago. We just returned from a wonderful visit. So…
It’s all such a shame that the citizens of My Kind of Town, the voters themselves, have decided to take a road clearly marked Doom Spiral.
Democrats want and promote chaos. They believe chaos will lead to revolution, to the call for centralized federal authority to take over…
Well, I live here. None of this is my problem or your problem. Take care of you and yours. Don’t waste a moment stressing over what you cannot control.
Chicago was nice while it lasted.
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