OPINION:
Chicago bleeds while its leaders preen (“Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker warns against Trump-led Chicago ‘invasion,’” Web, Aug. 31).
Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker have made a mockery of public safety, choosing political theater over tactical response. Their recent refusal of federal assistance, despite a weekend tally of 35 shot and five dead, is not leadership. It’s institutional abandonment.
Mr. Johnson, who holds the lowest approval rating of any mayor in Chicago’s history at just 6%, declared that “we cannot incarcerate our way out of violence.” He called arrests “racist, immoral and unholy.” This from a man presiding over a city where more than 90% of violent offenders remain on the streets and more than 1,600 police positions sit unfilled. His words are not just tone-deaf; they’re also operationally reckless.
Mr. Pritzker, meanwhile, arrived at a press conference via water taxi to showcase Chicago’s “vibrancy” while threatening to “take names” of those who support federal intervention. His approval ratings have plummeted amid rising crime, unchecked migration and $800 million spent on housing and feeding more than 52,000 migrants — while lifelong Chicagoans struggle to survive.
This is not governance. It is gaslighting.
The Posse Comitatus Act and Insurrection Act exist for moments like this: when local leadership fails to protect its citizens. Chicago doesn’t need more executive orders or press conferences. It needs reinforcements. It needs accountability. It needs leaders who understand that public safety is not a partisan issue; it’s a moral imperative.
To Mayor Johnson and Gov. Pritzker: Your constituents are not props, your city is not a stage, and your refusal to act is not courage; it is complicity.
GARY N. DARBY
U.S. Marine Corps (retired)
Mesa, Arizona
Please read our comment policy before commenting.