On October 23, an ordinance was introduced to the Chicago City Council that would repeal Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s authoritarian COVID-19 vaccine mandate – to which many members of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) have been outspoken opponents.
Lightfoot’s order seems to be based on the far-fetched notion of enhanced public safety. However, it is possible that the reverse scenario will occur.
Whatever the motives of those who are entrusted with this mandate, there will be many disturbing implications.
The overarching area of concern – as is the case with President Biden’s recent vaccine mandate – is the enormous governmental overreach in gross violation of the individual freedoms our nation was founded upon.
Robert Tebbens is a local fire chief who joined more than 100 other city workers in filing lawsuits to respond. He effectively explained a common theme that explains the rising resistance within his precinct as well as elsewhere.
“We have a lot of our members that are vaccinated, but are supporting the unvaccinated based on their right to choose what they do, medically with their own bodies.”
Yes, vaccines are often effective in reducing the severity and spread of COVID-19. I am currently vaccinated. If eligible, I will get a booster shot. But that is my choice to make, not the mayor’s.
Yet, while individual freedoms are vitally important to protect, an adjacent and equally problematic concern is the impact of Lightfoot’s mandate on Chicagoans’ safety. Unfortunately, though ostensibly an advocate for the public’s welfare, Lightfoot appears ambivalent that her orders threaten to sideline nearly a third of CPD’s force if they remain non-compliant.
While it’s true that the relationship between Lightfoot and CPD has always been fraught, this latest flare-up clearly has reached another level. The mayor of Lightfoot has threatened to fire many veteran protectors who are only trying to protect their privacy and freedom from any exogenous authority.
And she is doing this in a city where crime – historically already severe in Chicago – has continued to climb with Lightfoot at the helm.
The Chicago Sun-Times recently examined Chicago’s crime rates after a particularly vicious spree of violence over Labor Day weekend. These are the eye-opening statistics that they refer to, and all data is from September 1, the date the article was published.
-Shooting incidents in Chicago had already surpassed 2019’s total for the entire year with four months to go.
-535 homicides had already been perpetrated, a 53 percent rise from 2019’s totals over the same period.
Children have been killed by gun violence in three times the rate of last year, which is perhaps the most sad statistic. In this past summer 16 children under 15 were murdered or shot.
In response to the Labor Day violence that left 67 people shot including eight children, Lightfoot asserted, “There should be no gang member in Chicago who has a comfortable night’s sleep.”
Let’s take a look at the official numbers from CPD’s CompStat database. There have been 2 899 shootings and 649 murders as of October 17. The theft rate is significantly higher than in 2020. In the six weeks since Labor Day’s violence and the subsequent Sun-Times Analysis shows that 114 more people were murdered.
This violence occurs in some areas that are already known for their gang warfare. It is happening in some of the most secure areas of the city.
An anti-crime protest was held in Old Town, Police District 18. This is where I reside.
At the risk of being hyperbolic, my personal experience in crime was quite shocking.
The past four months have been a rollercoaster ride for me.
My friend had her handbag and phone taken from her at coffee shop in broad daylight.
-Had my car and laptop broken into.
-Listen to what I only can describe as a gun fight (I counted at most 20 shots from two caliber weapons), less than thirty feet from my bedroom window. It left two people dead and one in the hospital. It was more than twenty-five minutes until I heard the sirens.
One of the hoodlum mob slapped me unconscious and then jumped over. Although I won’t go into too much detail, the incident put me in trauma unit along with an permanent scar on my right eye.
These stories are just a few examples of the anarchy that I observe almost daily, as well as the many anecdotes from friends, family and acquaintances who have recently been victims of criminal activity. One has been mugged and one even shot.
Sorry, Lori, but criminals are sleeping soundly under your leadership — or lack thereof.
Some might find it easy to point fingers at the police when there is an unabated increase in violence. I don’t. CPD has suffered similar problems to other departments of police across the country. When police are forced to defend themselves, they’re often punished severely and under-funded.
They are subject to constant disrespect by city leaders, as well as the communities that they serve, every day.
It is hard to imagine anyone wanting to work as a Chicago police officer or anywhere else. What person would be willing to risk their lives to protect a city that doesn’t value and respects them?
Sun-TimesThis piece shows that there was a 15 percent rise in Chicago’s police retirements between 2020 and 2019. New York saw nearly a double increase in retirements. There are many reasons for this, but they all revolve around the same theme: anti-police rhetoric.
The Police Executive Research Forum – a non-profit think tank – illustrates a similar trend. The findings showed a nationwide increase of retirements by 45 percent and resignations at a national level increase of 20%. The number of police officers is down by 5 percent.
So, Lightfoot’s decision to threaten almost 30 percent of the officers who have chosen to remain on the force despite everything, is only icing on the cake. She may think she has alternatives – though they are dwindling. Suburban police departments – standing in unison with their CPD compatriots – publicly refused to fill any holes left in CPD ranks due to vaccine mandate-related personnel shortages. Using the Illinois National Guard – as Gov. Pritzker has offered – is not an actual long-term solution to an endemic problem.
Chicago has seen a rise in crime and is now at the edge of chaos. It is unacceptable for a mayor to actively put at risk the lives and property of her constituents in order to gain more power and control. For me, I’m fed up.
Jack McPherrin serves in The Heartland Institute’s editorial department.
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