Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday said she has asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to send federal agents to the city to help address gun crimes.
Ms. Lightfoot, a Democrat, said she requested agents from the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau to be deployed to the city for six months to help with gun seizures and investigations.
“The flow of illegal guns over our borders continues to be a problem,” she said during a news conference. “The federal government remains uniquely qualified to help cities like Chicago address the scourge of gun violence.”
The mayor is also seeking federal marshals to help police track down thousands of people wanted on warrants, more federal prosecutors to handle new cases and multi-jurisdictional task forces to stop illegal gun trafficking.
Her request comes as homicides in Chicago have skyrocketed in the last two years. Through Dec. 12, there have been 767 homicides in 2021, up from 739 in 2020 and 477 in 2019. Shootings are up 9% this year compared to the same time last year, going from 3,120 to 3,411.
“Our city is simply awash in illegal guns and sadly has been for years,” Ms. Lightfoot said.
Police are on track to seize 12,000 illegal firearms this year, which she said up from more than 11,100 guns seized last year.
Ms. Lightfoot is also asking the city’s chief criminal court judge to place a moratorium on electronic monitoring for offenders whose lead charge is violent in nature, including murder, sex crimes, carjacking and kidnapping.
“Cook County criminal judges have led almost 2,300 offenders with these charges back onto our streets, in our neighborhoods, on our blocks,” she said. “It simply defies common sense. It’s not safe, and this practice must be stopped immediately.”
There are currently about 3,400 people on electronic monitoring, which she said is nearly double the amount prior to the pandemic.
The city, she said, is in a crisis and “has reached a tipping point.”
“Too many of our neighborhoods are up for grabs, too many people are being murdered by offenders out of electronic monitoring,” she said.
More than 50 people on electronic monitors have been arrested this year for a shooting or murder, according to the mayor.
“The bottom line, ladies and gentlemen, is that the Cook County criminal courts current practices around electronic monitoring in violent dangerous offenders, makes our residents less safe, totally erodes confidence in the criminal justice system and is a slap in the face to victims and survivors,” she said.
Ms. Lightfoot, however, said she is not blaming the courts for the rise in violent crime.
“Now let’s be clear: this is not about finger-pointing or shifting,” she said. “We all have a role to play and we must be accountable.”
The mayor also said Chicago is not alone in dealing with an uptick in violent crime.
“New York will end the year up in homicides and shootings, and so will Los Angeles,” she said. “Cities like Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, St. Louis, Denver, and even cities that rarely experience crime like Austin, Texas – all of us for the last two years have been experiencing historic highs and gun violence that is tearing all of us and our residents [apart].”
A recent survey shows more than 80% of U.S. voters are concerned about the wave of violent crime spreading across the country.
Rasmussen Reports released a report last Wednesday that shows 89% of likely voters are concerned about violent crime, including more than half (69%) of whom are “very” concerned. The statistics are up from July when 79% said they were concerned, including 49% who were very concerned.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week also acknowledged the country’s crime surge.
“The fact [is] that there is an attitude of lawlessness in our country that springs from I don’t know where … but we cannot have that lawlessness,” said Mrs. Pelosi.
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment sent Monday.
• Emily Zantow can be reached at ezantow@washingtontimes.com.
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