Chicago’s new liberal mayor blames spiraling violent crime on BUSINESSES
Chicago’s incoming liberal mayor has already raised eyebrows by blaming companies that don’t pay taxes for the city’s poverty problems and rising crime rates.
Brandon Johnson, a former union organizer who was elected Tuesday, said the city has no money to solve its problem because “70 percent of large businesses in the state of Illinois don’t pay corporate taxes.”
“It’s that kind of constraint on our budget that has led to the kind of divestment that has led to poverty, and of course violence,” said Johnson, who did not give the source for his claim.
The 47-year-old Cook County Commissioner defeated 69-year-old candidate Paul Vallas, who had the backing of the Chicago police union, by about 13,000 votes. Johnson will replace ousted mayor Lori Lightfoot, who fell out of favor after crime flared up under her.
At the top of Johnson’s agenda is turning around the city’s rising crime rate and tackling out-of-control homelessness that has turned part of O’Hare International Airport into a dingy makeshift shelter.
Brandon Johnson, a former union organizer who was elected on Tuesday, said Chicago has no money to solve its problem because “70 percent of large corporations in the state of Illinois don’t pay corporate taxes.”
Johnson will replace outgoing mayor Lori Lightfoot, who fell out of favor after crime rose 47% under her watch
Part of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport has been turned into a homeless camp
During the campaign, Johnson called for raising $80 million by taxing the wealthy. He has also called for a property tax freeze.
He said that Thursday CBS“I’m not going to raise property taxes, that’s been the lazy form of government in the city of Chicago and frankly across the country for a long time.”
After his election, Johnson recalled growing up in a poor family, teaching at a school in Cabrini Green, a notorious former public housing complex, and protecting his children from gunfire in their West Side neighborhood.
He was referring to civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Reverend Jesse Jackson, calling his win a continuation of their legacy. He also noted that he was speaking on the anniversary of King’s murder.
Chicago saw violent crime increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 25-year high of 797 homicides in 2021, though the number fell last year. Increases in robbery and assault contributed to a 47 percent increase in total crime in the year to March 12, 2023.
Johnson says he will promote 200 new detectives from the existing pool of police officers. He also wants to strengthen police accountability.
His other priorities include a struggling public school system, the city’s fiscal woes, and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic that has closed many businesses and offices.
In February, photos surfaced of homeless camps sprung up at O’Hare International Airport, leading some travelers to worry about their safety.
Ken Griffin, the richest person in Illinois, announced in 2022 that he is moving his family and the headquarters of his hedge fund to Miami
In 2021, Chicago became the first state in America to pay reparations to black residents after a scheme was launched in the suburb of Evanston for those left permanently harmed by decades of discriminatory practices
Lori Lightfoot was ousted as mayor of the Windy City after a dramatic rise in crime during her watch
One grim photo showed a man slumped in a vestibule, and another showed a man slumped over with no shoes on. In another, a group of half a dozen people had taken up an interior space next to a set of escalators.
Chicago’s troubles have caused some high-profile residents to flee the city and state.
Illinois’ richest man, Ken Griffin, left last year, moving his multibillion-dollar hedge firm Citadel Securities with him to Florida.
The father-of-three, who is worth about $30 billion, also ripped into Chicago’s school system for foisting “woke ideology” on his children.
In 2021, Chicago became the first city in America to launch a reparation program for black residents whose families were harmed by discriminatory policies.
The suburb of Evanston launched its recovery program in 2019, committing $10 million over a ten-year period using funding from the three percent city tax on recreational marijuana sales.