Chicago Politicians Wouldn't Lie, Would They?

Of course they would, if it meant staying power. Lori Lightfoot slammed for gaslighting Chicagoans over declining police numbers: 'Smoke and mirrors' | Fox News

Lightfoot is up for re-election in two weeks, and she is behind in the polls, so of course she is going to bend the truth.

She said recently that the city is safe, and that there are more police patrolling the city. Except of course there are not more police.

Chicago's police force has declined by 19% since Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) took office in May 2019 and, despite the drastic drop in numbers, Lighftoot maintains The Windy City is keeping its people safe with more police.

Even if you just look at patrol - the people in the cars, answering 911 calls and the like - the numbers are not going up.

Chicago's Office of Inspector General (OIG) indicated the 7,660 sworn officers assigned to The Windy City's 22 police districts before Lightfoot took office nearly four years ago declined to around 6,202 as of February 2023.

The only way she can say that there are more police is if she looks only at her own security detail. That does have more police in it.

She actually has over 110 officers now in her protection detail when these districts are starved for manpower…

So she is safe while the rest of the city burns.

And make no mistake, the city is burning. Consider the following from HeyJackass! (the only trustworthy Chicago crime stats!) January Wrap-up.

January 2023: 44 killed, 166 wounded
January 2022: 52 killed, 183 wounded
January 2021: 57 killed, 194 wounded
January 2020: 37 killed, 139 wounded
January 2019: 23 killed, 112 wounded
January 2018: 42 killed, 173 wounded

There were 2 mass shootings in Chicago in January. You didn't hear about them because the National Media only reports on mass shootings if they are in schools or suburbia. When a mass shooting occurs on the south or west sides of Chicago, it is hardly local news, let alone national news.

There were 855 people killed in the City of Chicago in 2021. That number includes justifiable homicides. It was 14% lower in 2022 with "only" 734 people killed. Enough for Lightfoot and her police commissioner to declare victory over something. They conveniently ignore the fact that those numbers were more like 500 just 20 years ago. These numbers are akin to the totals wracked up in the early 1990s, before "tough on crime" became even a Democratic talking point.