As Crime Drops And DNC Arrives, Chicago Mayor Pitches Balanced Way To Reduce Violence

This most recent Fourth of July weekend was especially bloody in Chicago. More than 100 people were shot and 19 people were killed, including an 8-year-old boy who was shot to death in his home along with two female relatives.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, likely the most progressive mayor in the city’s history, responded with pained outrage. “There will be consequences. There will be consequences for the violence,” he declared . “We will not let criminal activity ruin and harm our city.”

Johnson made his usual points about the root causes of “disinvestment” and the national policies that make it easy for teenagers to access deadly weapons. But tonally, the remarks were a far cry from his comments as mayor-elect in April 2023, when Johnson characterized crowds of young people engaging in group violence downtown as an example of young people sometimes making “silly decisions.”

The different focus was enough to elicit praise from the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, which endorsed Johnson’s opponent in last year’s runoff election. “Keep it up, Mayor Johnson. Don’t stop now,” the board wrote .

The start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday is sure to draw more attention to both the achievements and challenges facing the country’s third-largest city. Conservative media, in particular, has long relished covering the Windy City’s violence problem, treating it as an indictment of Democratic governance. Former President Donald Trump has even suggested sending in federal troops to patrol the city if he returns to office.

Johnson’s early tenure, however, has seen continued declines in homicides, shootings, car thefts, robberies and sexual assaults, relative to this point in 2023, mirroring national