Chicago’s Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot recently addressed citizens of the Windy City and called for the celebration of alleged prosperity under her leadership. Lightfoot’s remarks came a day before New Years Eve and are, in my opinion, rather lacking.

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and her administration are highlighting some key accomplishments made on behalf of the residents of Chicago throughout 2022, a year of sustained progress and prosperity. This year ushered in the stability budget, which will continue the Mayor’s efforts to create a safer, stronger, and more economically resilient city. Chicago also saw increased levels of investments in community safety, essential services, and additional resources to improve the quality of life for those most in need. The administration celebrated the third anniversary of its signature program, INVEST South/West, an unprecedented revitalization strategy designed to transform communities. With equity front and center, Mayor Lightfoot brought relief to our city’s hardest-hit communities, empowered residents with the resources to build a safer city, and made catalytic investments throughout Chicago. 

“As I reflect on this past year, I am deeply humbled and proud of all that we have accomplished working together,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “When I became Mayor, I vowed to put our city on a new path forward, guided by equity and inclusivity, to build vibrant, safe, and strong communities. Now ahead of my fourth year as Mayor, I can confidently say that we have made incredible strides on that path, and our residents and communities are all the better for it. From investing in neighborhoods that hadn’t seen a dime in decades to reimagining and expanding City services with a focus on equity and more, we are laying the foundation for a brighter future. There is more work that lies ahead of us, and I look forward to continuing my partnership with fellow City leaders, community stakeholders, and beyond to maintain Chicago’s place as the best big city.”

Under Mayor Lightfoot’s leadership, every City department and Sister Agency remained dedicated to serving all Chicagoans, meeting their needs, and deepening investments to create vibrant, resilient, and safe communities. Below you will find some noteworthy examples, and a complete list of the 2022 department and advisory council accomplishments are linked here:

From there are listed areas in which the city prospered, with a whole slew of bullet points for each category. The categories are as follows:

• THRIVING COMMUNITIES
• ECONOMIC PROSPERITY
• TRANSFORMATIVE INVESTMENTS
• SUPPORTING RESIDENTS

The only bullet that I think is worth exploring is one that fell under Supporting Residents.

The City launched the Emergency Supplemental Victims’ Fund, a pilot program which provides up to $3,500 in immediate financial relief for costs associated with funeral/burial services, relocation, and any general expenses related to gun violence victimizations.

I don’t know how I feel about such a program, but I will say in the world of reparations, this is fairly close to what could be considered reasonable. No? Why would a city feel the need to implement something like this? Because their policies are abject failures. While the leadership in Chicago often go out of their way to blame their crime on so-called lax gun laws in surrounding states, the fact of the matter is that Chicago has been, and probably will continue to be, a crime filled cesspool.

Is that program a result of a guilty conscience? Granted, it’s not like the money is Lighfoot’s, it’s tax payers we can assume, but we have to wonder if the failures of the politicians is the main mechanism for them to knowingly do such a thing. Let’s face it, free stuff is really appealing over freedom in blue cities. There needs to be a carrot to keep enticing the voters.

In Lightfoot’s love letter to her people, she left out a very inconvenient thing that was reported on back in November.

Chicago is approaching 600 homicides in 2022, but the number of shootings and killings remain below each of the past two years, according to new data from the Chicago Police Department.

Through the end of October, 580 people have been killed in the city, per CPD figures. That marks a 16% decline compared with the same period in 2021 — the city’s deadliest year since the 1990s — and a 13% drop compared with 2020.

According to the CPD numbers, 3,016 people have been shot to date in 2,441 separate incidents. Those totals are each down approximately 20% from the same time last year.

Sounds pretty prosperous to me. Especially since these wicked high numbers are part of a decline from the last two years of murdering in the town once owned by Al Capone. Those highs from the 1990’s include 1992 when Chicago’s peak murder rate was 33.1 per 100,000 people, or 940 total. By the numbers though, it’s important to note that Chicago’s winningest year of homicides on record was 1974 at 970 people (“The deadliest year occurred in 1974, when homicides took 970 lives”).The reason 1992 overshadows 1974 is because the population of Chicago proper has steadily dropped from the 50’s through and past the 1990’s, giving 1992 a larger rate. Potentially meaningful, but unexplored is that the Chicago metro area population has done nothing but increase since 1974.

Looking at the total of about 600 murders in 2022, with the final tally not in, how could Lightfoot click her heels over so-called prosperity? Yes 2021 saw 800 murders (with only 278 offenders IDed), 2020 saw 772 murders (with only 374 offenders IDed), 2019 saw 496 murders (with only 202 offenders IDed), and 2018 saw 576 murders (with only 239 offenders IDed). Everyone can laud the “decrease” when comparing 2022’s preliminary numbers to 2021’s, except the number of murders have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels yet.

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot can pollute the airwaves and distort reality as much as she wants, but that’s not going to change the continued failures resultant to policies used in Chicago. There’s nothing prosperous about having a city with so many murders. I’m not confident that the Windy City will ever figure it out. And by that, I mean the people continuing to vote in members of the political machine who are unable to save the city from itself.

With all of that happening, thankfully the right to carry is slightly unhindered in Illinois. Although with all the activity from other pinko states, we shouldn’t act surprised should the Prairie State find themselves subject to all kinds of new infringements in 2023. Consider what Phil Murphy, the 2022 vice chair and 2023 chair of the Democratic Governors Association has done in New Jersey with the “carry killer” law. Let’s not be naïve to think that Murphy kept his ideas on infringement to himself. Afterall he did call out to Hochul, “hold my beer”, with a supersize to her goose stepping infringements in New York.