Yesterday was Halloween. I went to get jabbed with the latest COVID vaccine. Then, I went to vote. I had to hold my nose a few times, as usual. I am prepared to be disappointed in some of my choices.
Wandering around, I saw people dressed in creative costumes, including the waitress in the restaurant where I had lunch. After dark, I watched children and with their parents trick or treating. There were fewer than in years past.
Our mayor, Lori Lightfoot, was out in costume with her wife. Lightfoot is not one to turn down a good time, any day or night of the week. One could wonder if she was our trick-or-treating or just scaring children and their parents when handing out candy. Lightfoot is the Chicago Empress of Bread and Circuses.
Last night, Halloween was shattered for many by a mass shooting in the East Garfield neighborhood. 14 people, including a 3-year-old child were wounded. An 11- and 13-year-old were also wounded. Some were critical. CFD took the wounded to Stroger, Mr. Sinai, Northwestern, and Loyola hospitals. Their conditions were listed as good, serious, and critical.
According to police, people gathered for a vigil and a balloon release for a deceased person. A car drove up and two people opened fire on the group. A police camera near the scene captured the crime. The shooting lasted three seconds.
Violence keeps impacting children and families in this city. The rest of the public just yawns, stretches, and scratches, just another day. If it did not happen to them, it did not happen. It is yesterday’s news, to be forgotten. Apathy is just as rife in Chicago as violent crime.
From 2018 through today, Chicago has the distinction of leading the nation in mass shootings. We are NUMBA ONE. Let that sink in. It is something our costumed party mayor and her incompetent and oblivious Superintendent of Police, David Brown, ignore. Mass shootings in Chicago killed or wounded almost 900 people since 2018, including last nights. This is an embarrassment on all levels.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is directly responsible for the continuing crime wave in this city. Contrary to the lies goobernatorial candidate Darren Bailey spews about Governor Pritzker, Lightfoot alone wears the hat or the costume(s) for her public safety failures.
Lori Lightfoot is now demanding a pay raise. $216,000.00 is not enough for her to live on. She demands a yearly 5% or the cost-of-living raise, whichever is less. This would give her a hefty $227, 000.00-plus salary. People should get pay raises when they are competent. Lightfoot is an abject incompetent failure, though she sure knows how to have a good time donning costumes for various occasions.
14 people were shot and wounded last evening, including a 3-year-old. The mayor was prancing around in a costume like Nero playing his lyre while Rome burned. There is no shock from City Hall or the public. Chicago is too accustomed to living with continuing violence. I weave violence into the fabric of this city. Soon, some will claim violence is part of Chicago’s shared values.
Today is the Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos. Chicago should declare November 1st a city holiday to celebrate the murder and mayhem. The city should commission and erect a large bust of the calavera, the skull, like the one depicted above. The city should place it in a prominent place for all to see. It ought to be the official symbol of this violent town.