CHICAGO, IL.- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is mad. No, she’s really, really mad. During a weekend when 46 residents of Chicago were shot, 4 fatally, Lightfoot was in no mood to play.
Forty-six residents of her city shot? She had a right to be angry…but it wasn’t the shootings that Lightfoot was angry about. Felony failure to social distance was the “crime” she was worried about.
Over the weekend, there were reports of about half a dozen parties held around the Chicago area and that left the esteemed Chicago mayor in no mood to play. “We will take you to jail, period!” she admonished Chicagoans.
Lightfoot, looking like she’s in need of another haircut (more on that later), held a press conference on the streets of the Windy City on Saturday and decried the news that the Chicago PD, when they weren’t busy responding to real crime like shootings, had broken up several social events on Friday night. There were rumors of more parties to come Saturday and Sunday and that put Lightfoot over the edge.
I’m not playing. Stay home (your own home). Save lives.https://t.co/jPUdaRsoTp pic.twitter.com/bStBdWKIVT
— Mayor Lightfoot #StayHomeSaveLives (@chicagosmayor) May 3, 2020
“We will shut you down, we will cite you, and if we have to, we will arrest you,” she said.
“Don’t make us treat you like a criminal, but if you act like a criminal and you violate the law and refuse to do what’s necessary to save lives in the middle of a pandemic, we will take you to jail, period.”
So there!
So, in the city which houses its inmates in the Cook County Jail, which has released over 1,300 inmates in the past month, the mayor is threatening to replace rapists, murderers, bank robbers, and sex offenders with people who commit felony social distancing. Guess it must be priorities.
Lightfoot was accompanied by the city’s new police superintendent, David Brown.
She continued, “Don’t be stupid, we are watching.”
Brown said that the Chicago PD will “be on the lookout for gatherings large and small.” He noted that anyone caught congregating will be told to disperse, however if they don’t go along there will be consequences he said.
“Non-compliance will result in citations, fines and yes, arrests. As silly as that sounds you could be arrested for having a party in this COVID-19 virus environment,” Brown continued.
“CPD has the ability to arrest offenders that adamantly refuse the stay-at-home order. Those that organize any large parties will be held accountable.”
Brown said that both hosts and party promoters would face either ticketing or arrest, and cars will also be towed.
“Don’t leave your house unless absolutely necessary. Don’t invite people over either,” he said. “Chicagoans have done too much good thus far to risk a spike in cases of this deadly virus. This isn’t something CPD is going to take lightly.”
Brown noted that there were parties in various parts of the city on Friday, which officers forced to disperse, however no arrests were made. He said some had over 100 people in attendance.
According to WTTW, three Chicago police officers have died from COVID-19, while two firefighters have succumbed to the virus.
“For a silly party you are risking first responders’ lives. Think about that,” Brown said. “That’s the silliest thing…how you justify having a party, risking all of our lives, including our first responders. So we’re going to take any and all measures necessary to discourage and end this partying during the COVID pandemic.”
In a Facebook live post last weekend, a city woman shared video of a crowded house party, which was attended primarily by African American partygoers. Lightfoot noted that COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the black community, saying, “Yes folks, black people can get COVID-19.”
Lightfoot continued her rant:
“You absolutely must stay at home. And that means your home. Not somebody else’s home. Not an Airbnb. Not some party place. You need to stay at your home. That’s what this means. Going to a party now during this pandemic while Chicagoans are still dying every day is a height of foolishness.”
Probably the most ominous of Lightfoot’s warnings was the following:
“…don’t advertise on social media, we’re watching you and we are going to take decisive action.”
She also joined the Bill de Blasio and Eric Garcetti “rat out your neighbor” club. She encouraged people to notify the city if they see a neighbor having a party or hear of someone organizing a gathering.
Residents can anonymously submit a tip about house parties at https://t.co/Tt6O9g49ZD and CPD will shut them down immediately. The fewer people who comply with the “Stay At Home” Order, the sicker our residents will get and the harder it will be for us to recover.
— Mayor Lightfoot #StayHomeSaveLives (@chicagosmayor) April 26, 2020
After her press conference, Lightfoot decided to walk across the street and confront some teens who were outside, ordering them back to their homes. Most of the teens were apparently wearing masks (note Lightfoot was not during her presser).
After a news conference decrying house parties and telling people to stay home, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot crossed the street to tell youth outside a school to go home.
One young man responded: “Y’all need to find a cure, you’re talking about go home. You go home.” pic.twitter.com/uZHhNbcS0U
— Gregory Pratt (@royalpratt) May 2, 2020
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined in on the criticism.
“You’re literally putting everyone around you in danger. You are. They are putting you in danger. And, very importantly, all of those people are putting their families and their friends who are not there with them in danger,” he said.
“…The whole purpose of social distancing, of wearing masks, of staying at home, in fact is that we don’t want to spread this to our loved ones or to others in the community.”
One thing about Gov. Pritzker’s statement. Note his statement where he talks about “staying at home.” Apparently, that part does not apply to Pritzker’s own family.
Last week at a news conference, a reporter asked Pritzker about a report that his wife had left Illinois and gone to Florida, in violation of the governor’s stay at home order. Well, don’t you know that according to the governor, that rule apparently does not apply to his family.
His answer?
“Well first of all, I want to say that in politics it used to be that we kept our families out of it. My official duties have nothing to do with my family, so I’m just not going to answer that question. It’s inappropriate, and I find it reprehensible that that reporter wrote a story about it.”
So by appearances, Gov. Pritzker seems to be of the opinion that his mandates only apply to the voters, not to his family.
Last month, Mayor Lori Lightfoot violated her own stay-at-home orders and was caught going out for a haircut, despite the fact that hair stylists had been mandated closed by executive orders issued by the governor.
It’s okay for me, because I’m important, but not for you…you have to stay home or get locked up…
Mayor Lightfoot Criticized After Post Shows Her Getting Haircut During Stay-At-Home Order https://t.co/N9G8zu6gV5— babiesgigi (@babiesgigi) May 5, 2020
Lightfoot tried brushing off the issue when questioned about it.
“I think what really people want to talk about is, we’re talking about people dying here. We’re talking about significant health disparities. I think that’s what people care most about.”
She also said that she had been abiding by her own rules, saying, “The woman who cut my hair had a mask and gloves on so we are, I am practicing what I’m preaching.”
“I am the public face of this city. I’m on national media and I’m out in the public eye,” she said. “I take my personal hygiene very seriously. As I said, I felt like I needed to have a haircut. I’m not able to do that myself, so I got a haircut. You want to talk more about that?”
The problem with Lightfoot’s haircut was the fact that she had been routinely posting public service announcements on Twitter warning residents of the city of the dangers of the coronavirus.
The fact that she felt a haircut was more important than following her own admonitions to city residents smacked of hypocrisy. Apparently that’s ok for government officials.
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