Chicago has provoked outrage among residents after officials demanded a “ceasefire” in Hamas-controlled Gaza while violent crime runs rampant in the Democrat-led Illinois city.
On Wednesday, the Chicago City Council approved a resolution calling for a permanent “ceasefire” in Gaza.
Meanwhile, crime runs rampant throughout the city.
Earlier on Wednesday, a shooting left a teenager dead near a high school while the city’s leaders were busy campaigning on behalf of Hamas.
A 24-23 vote passed the measure after Mayor Brandon Johnson broke the tie.
Johnson received a lot of criticism on X later on Wednesday after acknowledging the deadly shooting in a post that read:
“My heart bleeds with our city tonight after more unspeakable violence against our children today.
“No family deserves this pain.
“We must value human life in Chicago, and continue our work toward safety, toward respecting humanity, and toward healing the scars of our communities.”
Many X users responded in the comments to Johnson’s post by demanding that the Democrat mayor focus on the crime within his city instead of “wasting time” on passing a “nonsensical ceasefire overseas.”
“Today shows how much you care,” user Johnny Major wrote.
“You and the council wasted time and funds on passing a nonsensical ceasefire overseas that will do nothing, while Chicagoans are dying in our streets.
“Sleep well. I know I couldn’t if I were you or those part of the council wasting time.”
Another wrote, “You need to call for a ceasefire in your own city.”
Other commenters wanted to know what resolution the city council passed on Wednesday to combat violence in Chicago.
Earlier in the day Wednesday, a shooting near a high school in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood left one teenager dead and two more wounded.
The three victims were walking when a vehicle pulled up, someone got out and shot them all.
Police believe the teenagers were targeted.
That shooting comes just five days after two teenage boys were shot and killed in broad daylight in the Loop.
Between January 22 and 28, Chicago police responded to 37 shooting reports.
The figure is two more than the 35 reported during the same period last year, according to crime data released by the department.
The same data shows there were also seven murders reported in the same 7-day period.
Nearly every crime category has increased year-to-date when compared to 2022, 2021, and 2020.
Overall crime complaints (which include murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery, aggravated battery, burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft) are 19% higher than in 2022.
The number is 47% higher than in 2021 and 32% higher than in 2020.
Shooting incidents are tracked in a separate category and have improved over the past four years despite the uptick last week.
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