Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Sunday blamed the skyrocketing violent crime in her city on lax gun laws in neighboring states.
“The fact of the matter is, our gun problem is related to the fact that we have too many illegal guns on our street, 60 percent of which come from states outside of Illinois,” Mrs. Lightfoot told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
“We are being inundated with guns from states that have virtually no gun control, no background checks, no ban on assault weapons. That is hurting cities like Chicago,” she added.
The mayor made her comments while discussing a letter she sent Mr. Trump last week calling for “common-sense gun safety reform” as the president prepared to send federal agents to Chicago to assist police in curbing violent crime.
Mr. Tapper asked Mrs. Lightfoot, who has strongly opposed a federal presence in Chicago, whether she would support federal agents being in the city if they coordinated with local officials.
“I have said it before and I will say it again: No troops, no agents that are coming in outside of our knowledge, notification, and control that are violating people’s constitutional rights,” the mayor answered. “That’s the framework.
“We can’t just allow anyone to come into Chicago, play police in our streets, in our neighborhoods, when they don’t know the first thing about our city,” she continued. “That’s a recipe for disaster. And that’s what you’re seeing playing out in Portland on a nightly basis.”
In numbers released by the Chicago Police Department this month, the number of shootings this year are up 45% and homicides are up 34% over the same period of time in 2019. This past weekend, 59 people were shot and three killed in shootings across the city.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot reacts to increased federal presence in her city: “We can’t just allow anyone to come into Chicago, play police in our streets, in our neighborhoods when they don’t know the first thing about our city. That’s a recipe for disaster.” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/eZO3Zng6vV
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) July 26, 2020
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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