CHICAGO, IL - In a city that continues to see violent crime surge, one Democratic leader speaks up, says his party's leadership is "tone-deaf" in its response to crime and keeping the city safe.
According to FOX News, Chicago alderman Raymond Lopez, a Democrat told "America Reports" that innocent people are being "hunted down like prey." He said:
"Things like robbery, burglary, arson, assault, even threatening elected officials like myself, do not warrant you being held on bond anymore in the state of Illinois, and criminals are taking note."
He added:
"They become emboldened and the deafening cry is not heard by the politicians demanding change. They only sit back as you saw, and try to stick to the script even when the public refuses to participate."
Lopez told FOX News that the voters are finally noticing that when they elect "socialists or ultra progressives" they are then left with "a tone-deaf leadership." He said:
"Common sense requires us to start standing up and pushing back on the criminality in our neighborhoods, to start holding people and parents accountable because often times these are 12, 13, 14-year-olds who are engaging in this behavior. Such as the armed carjacking that is so rampant in the city of Chicago."
He added:
"It's unfortunate was we saw today where the Judiciary Committee came to Chicago that not one single Democrat chose to participate and make their voices heard of to hear from those impacted."
Lopez said that many citizens are "voting with their feet," but that some simply do not have the option to pick up and move out of the city. He explained:
"We ... have nearly two thirds of our city who cannot do that, who must stay here and they are victims of the violence that we see so often in particularly black and brown communities."
He told FOX News that those individuals, the ones who cannot up and leave the city on a dime, "have had enough" of not being acknowledged. He said:
"They are often talked about for the progressive agenda, for the extreme liberal agenda that says they care. But their policies, particularly when it comes to police reform and criminal justice reform, in my opinion, are very racist because often times the victims of the most heinous crimes by the repeat offenders are those same black and brown residents that the white liberals claim to care about but truly don't."
An analysis by the Washington Free Beacon found that several "violent arrestees" have been released under a policy, known as the SAFE-T Act, which passed back in 2021. It has since underwent several legal challenges and out of 102 county prosecutors in the state of Illinois, 100 opposed the law.
With crime rising in recent months, the House Judiciary Committee convened a hearing on Chicago. However, Democrats failed to attend the hearing and the state's Democratic governor J.B. Pritzker said that the committee engaged in "fearmongering and lies."
According to data from the Chicago Police Department, the city has experienced a 29 percent increase in crime complaints in 2023 over 2022, and a 77 percent increase in the last two years with 54,983 complaints.
In addition, the robbery rate is up 24 percent with 7,272 instances compared to 5,883 in 2022. The motor vehicle theft rate is up 86 percent with 21,160 instances in 2023 compared to 11,403 in 2022.
According to FOX News, Chicago alderman Raymond Lopez, a Democrat told "America Reports" that innocent people are being "hunted down like prey." He said:
"Things like robbery, burglary, arson, assault, even threatening elected officials like myself, do not warrant you being held on bond anymore in the state of Illinois, and criminals are taking note."
He added:
"They become emboldened and the deafening cry is not heard by the politicians demanding change. They only sit back as you saw, and try to stick to the script even when the public refuses to participate."
Lopez told FOX News that the voters are finally noticing that when they elect "socialists or ultra progressives" they are then left with "a tone-deaf leadership." He said:
"Common sense requires us to start standing up and pushing back on the criminality in our neighborhoods, to start holding people and parents accountable because often times these are 12, 13, 14-year-olds who are engaging in this behavior. Such as the armed carjacking that is so rampant in the city of Chicago."
He added:
"It's unfortunate was we saw today where the Judiciary Committee came to Chicago that not one single Democrat chose to participate and make their voices heard of to hear from those impacted."
Lopez said that many citizens are "voting with their feet," but that some simply do not have the option to pick up and move out of the city. He explained:
"We ... have nearly two thirds of our city who cannot do that, who must stay here and they are victims of the violence that we see so often in particularly black and brown communities."
He told FOX News that those individuals, the ones who cannot up and leave the city on a dime, "have had enough" of not being acknowledged. He said:
"They are often talked about for the progressive agenda, for the extreme liberal agenda that says they care. But their policies, particularly when it comes to police reform and criminal justice reform, in my opinion, are very racist because often times the victims of the most heinous crimes by the repeat offenders are those same black and brown residents that the white liberals claim to care about but truly don't."
An analysis by the Washington Free Beacon found that several "violent arrestees" have been released under a policy, known as the SAFE-T Act, which passed back in 2021. It has since underwent several legal challenges and out of 102 county prosecutors in the state of Illinois, 100 opposed the law.
With crime rising in recent months, the House Judiciary Committee convened a hearing on Chicago. However, Democrats failed to attend the hearing and the state's Democratic governor J.B. Pritzker said that the committee engaged in "fearmongering and lies."
According to data from the Chicago Police Department, the city has experienced a 29 percent increase in crime complaints in 2023 over 2022, and a 77 percent increase in the last two years with 54,983 complaints.
In addition, the robbery rate is up 24 percent with 7,272 instances compared to 5,883 in 2022. The motor vehicle theft rate is up 86 percent with 21,160 instances in 2023 compared to 11,403 in 2022.
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