Government, at any level, has one primary purpose: To protect the liberty and property of the citizens. In this, too many of our cities and states are failing. Case in point: The streets of Chicago are out of control, and now one Chicago alderman is concerned that the very soft-on-crime policies of Mayor Brandon Johnson have handcuffed the Chicago Police Department, preventing them from dealing effectively with the issue.
One Chicago alderman is sounding the alarm after a recent wave of teen takeovers taking place under Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson, saying that police are "handcuffed" from stopping them.
Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez, a Democrat, told Fox News Digital that the city is in for a "very long, very brutal" summer of teen takeovers and street takeovers if the mayor doesn't get a grip on the situation. He said policies in Chicago prevent police from correctly handling the teen takeovers seen in recent months.
"I do not believe that Mayor Brandon Johnson is doing enough to tamper down these activities," Lopez said. "What we have seen is Chicago has now become a destination location for illegal street takeovers like this where hundreds of youth are encouraged to descend on a location, and whether it's to do mob action, regardless of if he likes the term or not, illegal street takeovers with our vehicles or other activities that are criminal, people know to come here."
These "teens" — I don't see anyone checking IDs to see how old these young people are, and I think checking IDs is supposed to be racist anyway — are gathering in increasing numbers because they are allowed to do so.
Lopez said that Chicago police officers are not allowed to "fully engage" with those participating in teen takeovers and do what's needed to stop them.
"We've never done what it takes to authorize our officers to fully engage with these individuals, to box them in, to corral them so that they can't escape, to arrest them, to impound their vehicles like the law requires us to do," Lopez said. "And we have never really pursued who is behind the promotions of these events on social media. We know that they are spread online through Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and others, but yet we do almost nothing to find who is at the root of those posts of these gatherings."
It's hard to see a way to stop the social-media promotions electronically; one would have to go after the promoters, which it seems isn't being done. Closing up that promotional avenue would seem a good way to remediate this problem.
But a few nights in the hoosegow for the vandals and trespassers should also have a calming effect. Too many "teens" for the local lockups? Maybe a tent city outside the city, surrounded by razor wire, is in order.
Read More: Teens Swarming Chicago Streets in Viral Street Takeovers
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These takeovers sure seem to be increasing in size, frequency, and damage.
A car exploded amid an alleged street takeover on Chicago's South Side over the weekend, with no arrests made.
Video taken from Chicago's Gresham neighborhood over the weekend shows a large group of people surrounding a totaled car on fire, according to ABC 7 News. One individual was seen throwing an object into the car, engulfed in flames, which exploded seconds later.
Chicago police told Fox News Digital that once officers responded to the scene early Sunday morning, the group dispersed. No injuries were reported, and no arrests were made.
No arrests were made.
Chicago seems to be lurching from bad to worse with mayors. Lori Lightfoot, Mayor Johnson's predecessor, was only marginally competent, but with the election of Brandon Johnson, for Chicago, it was a case of "Goodbye frying pan, hello fire." Mayor Johnson's current term is up in 2027. As of this writing, he has not indicated his intent to seek reelection, perhaps because of his serial failures.
Is there any hope of a real law-and-order candidate winning the election next year? We don't know yet who's running, but given Chicago's recent history, we shouldn't hold out too much hope.
Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.
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