Peter V. Bella Posts

“Preckwinkle chuckled recently when asked whether she stood by her words — which she stressed were not an endorsement for defunding police… Of course I believe what I said, Preckwinkle, who’s been county board president since 2010, said in an interview with the Tribune… She then sought to make the case that America’s latest explosion of gun violence was mostly triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic… “It isn’t just us; it’s all across the country,” Preckwinkle said. “It’s just a really, really difficult moment, not just here in this country, but across the world. And I’m just hopeful that we’ll gradually work our way out of this.” (Chicago Tribune/Emphasis mine)

Politicians, like gangsters, should have nicknames. Chicago Machine Boss Toni Preckwinkle could be called Toni Chuckles. Chuckling while believing failure is success must be a laughing matter. People are being murdered and terrorized due to her policies. Preckwinkle chuckles.

What is funnier/chuckle/worthy? Preckwinkle is blaming the increasing yearly violence in Chicago on COVID. Should the Cook County Medical Examiner change the cause of death for all the murders from gunshots to COVID related? Should all the wounded people be changed to COVID-related injuries? Should all the robberies, carjackings, smash and grabs, and other violent crimes be classified as COViD-related?

I checked the FBI’s Unified Crime Report* classifications. I could not find a COVID violence classification.

There is little evidence that the spate of rampant violence over the past almost three years is caused by COVID-19. Politicians are like our supposed “educated” journalists. They cannot conceive humans are evil, so they make stuff up to create blame on things, like “gun violence.” The lazy copy and paste journalists, taking their clue from their PR client, Toni Chuckles, will now refer to criminality as COVID violence when people are killed, wounded, robbed, carjacked, or victims of other violent crimes. For gunfights, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx will classify them as mutual COVID related instead of mutual combat. No felonies to see here, folks, just disease.

All we will hear about is COVID violence this, COVID violence that, COVID violence here, there, and everywhere. There will be mass COVID shootings and COVID smash and grabs. COVID carjackings. COVID robberies. COVID rolling shootouts.

The Chicago news media got their signal and will follow their orders. Their faux editorial boards will demand Cook County create a COVID court to divert violent COVID criminals to COVID restorative justice with peace circles instead of prosecuting them.

There is plenty of evidence that one of the drivers of violence is directly related to not holding criminals accountable for their actions. Evidence shows that low or no bail for violent crimes drives the violence. Evidence shows that the violence, terrorizing, and looting are directly related to Toni Chuckles, Kim Foxx, and Chief Judge Tim Evans. The road to violent crime, murder, bloodshed, and terrorizing leads right to their office doorsteps.

Toni Preckwinkle does not believe in her unproven criminal justice reform theories. She knows little to nothing about criminal justice or the criminal justice system. She implemented those policies to save money and keep the county budget in line.

Preckwinkle lost her bid for the punishing soda tax. She had to balance her budget without raising other taxes. She put on her sensible reformer shoes, clicked her heels, and stripped the criminal justice system of funding. She became a hero to the fringe activist community and unleashed rampant violence on the City of Chicago and some suburbs.

Incarcerating people awaiting bail or on no bail costs vast amounts of money. The answer is to clear out the County Jail and keep it as little populated as possible.

Prosecuting felons costs money. The answer is, to prosecute as few felons as possible. Trials cost money. The answer, try as few cases as possible. Toni Preckwinkle is a driver of the murder and violence in Chicago. She chuckles and denies it. The obedient news media believes her.

Are you chuckling yet, Chicago? Toni Chuckles cut her budget with blood money. Yet, she chuckles over criticism of her failures, deeming them successful.

Preckwinkle ran as a reformer against the Democratic Machine. Then she became Da Boss of the Machine. In Chicago/Cook County politics, the only things that change are the names. The Machine lives on, and there will always be a Boss. Tony Chuckles lied then, and she is lying now. She chuckles over her lies. The joke is on you, the public.

The real problem is the voters in Chicago and parts of Cook County who believe Preckwinkle’s lies. They believe she is a reformer, a goo-goo, good government type. They believe the PR weasels in the news media who endorse her and sing her praises. They hype her failures as successes.

The naïve voters elected her twice as Cook County Board President and Boss of the Machine. They will probably do it again. Toni Chuckles has a lot to be smugly happy about. She knows the voters are gullible, naive, and stupid. They will recycle her into office.

Toni Chuckles will laugh all the way to another disastrous term.

*The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program compiles official data on crime in the United States, published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Law enforcement agencies across the nation submit data to the UCR. Though designed to analyze crime trends, the data have become one of the country’s leading social indicators.

“This is not about Lori Lightfoot. Seventy percent plus people do not vote in this city. This is a larger conversation we must have and we must get people reengaged with the political process,” Green said. “That means we must give them hope that there is someone who fights on behalf of the people…

…Green said he’s disappointed in the mayor for hiring non-Chicago residents to prominent posts, which he says hurts the city’s service.

“The disappointing factor as she came into office is her hiring from outside the city, folks that don’t understand Chicago, and the disconnectedness of City Hall from these neighborhoods is alarming,” Green said.” (Ja’mal Green/Chicago Tribune)

Activist and entrepreneur Ja’mal Green announced he is running against Lori Lightfoot for mayor of Chicago. While he is a long shot, his quotes tell an unfortunate truth about Lori Lightfoot’s leadership and the apathy of Chicago voters.

I do not know if Mr. Green’s 70% plus statistic is accurate, but I know the vote totals are much lower during certain election cycles. Citizens who do not vote do not care. They do not care about their city or county. They do not care about each other. They do not care about themselves.

Green is right about not hiring people from someplace else to work in the administration. It is a colossal mistake. They know nothing about the city, neighborhoods, people, or various issues impacting communities. They are disconnected because they do not understand how things work in Chicago. A stunning example is Superintendent of Police David “Tex” Brown. Brown proved he was an abject failure from day one and continues to do so daily. He should have been fired before his first year was up for his dismal leadership and performance.

Public safety should be the number one issue in the upcoming elections. All the other so-called issues are bread and circuses to distract voters from elected leaders’ failures to keep us safe and curb criminality.

Toni Preckwinkle is running in the upcoming primary on June 28. She will be running on her failed public safety policies, so-called criminal justice, and court reforms driving the violent crime in Chicago. She has a formidable Democratic opponent, Richard Boykin. Boykin knows Preckwinkle’s unproven political and social justice theories are not working.

“I’m running for board president because gun violence, carjacking, retail thefts, all of these things have combined to terrorize communities. Our children are literally dying in the streets; families are not getting justice. My No. 1 priority is to make sure that we have safe streets throughout Cook County,” he said. (Richard Boykin/CBS 2)

The Chicago mayoral election is in February 2023. Lori Lightfoot is running on her failed public safety policies, especially her failure to fire an incompetent police superintendent.

Besides Green, others are running against her. More will probably pile on to dilute the vote and force a run-off. Lightfoot is no longer popular. She leaves town to raise campaign funds, as the local big money spigot appears to be trickling.

Lightfoot managed to alienate people across Chicago. Many people I talk to do not have a good thing to say about her. When her name is mentioned, people respond with profanity or a pejorative.

Alderpersons are also running for election and reelection in 2023. If your alderperson has been silent about the horrific violence plaguing Chicago, get out and vote for their opponent. They have not earned reelection.

Only by voting incompetent incumbents out can we change course and hopefully have a safer city. Chicago desperately needs change. We went from the City That Works to a city of dysfunction, heading to dystopia.

We need a mayor and City Council who care about public safety. and are willing to stand up when county policies threaten public safety. We need people in police leadership who rose through the ranks, know this city’s neighborhoods, and how to curb crime. We need City Hall appointees who lived in Chicago versus mercenaries from elsewhere.

Lightfoot and Preckwinkle do not care. If they did, our streets would be safer, criminals would be held accountable, and crime would be curbed.

Early voting started this week. Get out and vote. Vote like your life and your family’s life depends on it because it does.

UPDATE: I apologize. I misspelled Mr. Griffin’s name.

Ken Griffin, Illinois’s wealthiest person, is spending $45 million to defeat Governor J.B. Pritzker and other candidates in the upcoming GOP primary election. He picked a personal feud with the governor over crime in Chicago, especially in his Gold Coast neighborhood. It is the Battle of the Billionaires.

Griffin does not know how things work. The governor is not responsible for crime in Chicago and can do little to curb crime. As many know-nothings suggest, sending in the National Guard for crime control would be irresponsible and useless.

Griffin lives in Chicago. He is right to be angry about the criminality, especially the violence. Due to his status and wealth, Griffin has a bully pulpit. He should be directing his ire at City Hall/County Building, not the governor’s mansion. City and county elected officials are solely responsible for public safety in Chicago. The mayor, alderpersons, Cook County State’s Attorney, and the Cook County criminal courts are responsible for keeping the public safe and ensuring criminals are held accountable for their crimes.

If Griffin were more intelligent, he would have funded a candidate to defeat Machine Boss, Toni Preckwinkle, in her primary run for another term as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. It is her misguided failing criminal justice policies helping to drive crime in Chicago. Then, looking forward, he should be looking to replace Preckwinkle’s Mini-me Minion, Kim Foxx, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot when they run for reelection.

Instead, Griffin wastes millions of dollars on a candidate who cannot beat Pritzker. Richard Irvin is not ready for prime time, as he demonstrated during media appearances. None of the other GOP candidates are electable. They have no mass appeal, grasp, or real solutions to the state’s issues.

In my memory, only three Republican governors defied the math, James Thompson, Jim Edgar, and Bruce Rauner. In each case, voters were fed up with either corruption or ineffectiveness.

I am a cynic, a disillusioned idealist. I have a healthy mistrust of politicians, political parties, and candidates. Every election, I hold my nose when voting, hoping for the best. I am never surprised when I am disappointed.

What happens in Chicago affects the whole state. Chicago is Illinois’s economic engine. Chicago sends more tax money to Springfield than any other city or county in Illinois. Chicago’s reputation is being tarnished by bad policy decisions, bad governance, and a county government that cares more about criminals and the welfare of their families over the welfare of victims or their families.

The Chicago Police Department is overworked, understaffed, and demoralized. They are being led by a Police Superintendent, David Brown, who is so far out of his league that he is not even in the ballpark. He was a mistake from the beginning. He should have been fired after his first disastrous year.

Ken Griffin may be a financial whiz. He should stick to his knitting or hire a politico who knows what they are doing. Griffith would save himself from wasting his money.

In response to the latest fire, Cappleman is continuing to ask the city to use “evidence-based, best practices that [have] a compassionate approach to addressing encampments while also focusing on producing results of removing encampments from areas that can prove to be dangerous to both those experiencing homelessness and other residents in the area,” said Maggie Gaecke, Cappleman’s chief of staff. (Block Club Chicago/Emphasis mine)

James Cappleman is waging his years-long war against the homeless camps in his ward. He wants them gone. The recent fires- of undetermined nature– have fueled his hatred of the homeless population. Another fire tore through the underpass at Lawrence Avenue and DuSable Lake Shore Drive encampment last week.

With gentrification in full swing and new developments near the lakefront, Cappleman wants the blight of homelessness removed. It is a good bet those developers and the landlords are not happy about their high rent-paying tenants and condo owners seeing homeless camps.

First, there are no “evidence-based” best practices regarding homelessness. “Evidence-based” is propaganda. It is used to convince citizens there exist peer-reviewed studies that prove “evidence-based practices” work. It gives academic cachet to bull droppings. If there were “evidence-based” solutions, there would not be so many homeless people in our major cities.

Cappleman has no solutions except get rid of the homeless- the Final Solution. Out of sight, out of mind. The park and lakefront belong to the residents and incoming gentry in Uptown. Cappleman thinks he is smarter, cleverer, slyer, and sneakier than anyone else.

Lightfoot’s office is said to be considering actions including forming a task force to look at the issue of incendiary devices like propane tanks in tent cities and considering an ordinance that would fine those giving propane to encampment residents, Cappleman previously said. (Block Club Chicago)

Mayor Lori Lightfoot might be caving into Cappleman’s cruelty by proposing an ordinance to fine people donating propane to the homeless camp. There is no indication propane caused the fires. Once again, the fires were deemed undetermined. How about if she refuses any zoning changes, demolition permits, and building permits in Uptown until extensive multi-disciplinary services and transitional housing are built. Why not offer some of the homeless city or Chicago Park District jobs?

Cappleman has no credibility on homeless issues in the park, lakefront, or the city. From day one, he wanted the homeless gone from the lakefront park. Now, with more gentrified redevelopment, he wants them gone yesterday. He will do or say anything to rid what he considers human blight from HIS lakefront and parks.

There are larger homeless camps in Chicago. There is a mega camp just south and west of the Loop. None of the other alderpersons are so adamant about removing those camps. None are getting their mugs in the news like Cappleman. None are trying to stop compassionate citizens from helping the homeless. Only Cappleman is against them. Only Cappleman is the expert. Only Cappleman is the legend in his own mind.

Some people from all walks of life go to the camps and other areas where the homeless live to provide food, toiletries, and medical/dental /mental health services to the homeless. They are heroes. They are compassionate. Others, some with means, contribute money or goods to their causes. If it were up to Cappleman, he would ban these activities as they supposedly encourage homelessness.

Cappleman has no humanity. One could question if he is even f**king human.

“Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a Negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride.” (Anthony Bourdain)

Anthony Bourdain had what can be described as the best job in the world. He traveled the world, ate incredible food, from haute cuisine to humble home-cooked fare and street food. It is reported he traveled almost 300 days a year.  

Bourdain left behind a massive body of work- books, articles, programs, speeches, interviews, and appearances. The above quote is powerful if you read it a few times and give it some thought. He wrote or said variations of the quote several times.

We spend our lives in cycles of happiness and joy, anger and angst, peace, pain, pleasure, and turmoil. COVID exasperated our emotions. We worry too much. It seems everything angers us lately, and there is plenty to be angry about. Reading the news is enough to give one a case of apoplexy.

We spend too much time staring at screens, toiling for pay, taking care of our families, or doing mundane chores in our spare time. Our lives get complicated because we allow it.

Life is not complicated. What Bourdain is telling us is to seek enjoyment. Enjoy life. Smell the f**king roses. No matter what storms you face, do enjoyable things. Be a little adventurous. Meet new people. Try new things.

We live in angry times. Too many believe the world is on fire. The news media drives narratives to anger us purposely. We are easily gulled into thinking the worst about everything. There is plenty to be angry about. There is plenty to be sorrowful about. There is also plenty to be joyful about.

We concern ourselves with too many things we have no control over. Occasionally we need to turn the world off and enjoy life. Go for a long walk, sit in the park, eat a good meal- from a great sandwich to fine dining- whatever it is you enjoy or want to try eating. Turn off the world and read that book, gathering dust on the shelf or wasting space on your Ereader. Take a short road trip. Walk on a beach. Turn everything off and listen to music- sing along or play air guitar or drums. Visit a museum. Do something different.

Happiness, sadness, anger, calm, etc., are conditional. Enjoyment is conditional too, but it is a conditional choice. In our overwork, anger, angst, or whatever, we all think, “Gee, if I had the time…” Make the time. “Hearses do not have luggage racks.” (Zig Ziglar) The trip is one way.

Life is too short not to squeeze some enjoyment out of it. Ignore all the noise and seek some solace. Occasionally you owe it to yourself to take pleasure in what life has to offer.

We get too wrapped up in our careers, chores, news, social media, families, and many other things. The more wrapped up we get, the more our world shrinks. We live in bubbles we create.

Get out and live a little now and then. Enjoy something new. When you return to your routine, being pissed off at the world will be less stressful.

The mayor also hit back at campaign rivals who have called for the termination of police Superintendent David Brown, saying he’s the right man for the job, and violent crime has decreased from quarter-century highs in 2021. Four of her five rivals for mayor have called for Brown’s ouster, to which Lightfoot scoffed, “Spoken like people who don’t know anything about public safety.” (Chicago Tribune/Emphasis mine)

The only people who do not know about public safety in Chicago are Lightfoot and Superintendent of Police David Brown. David Brown is an abject failure as a police superintendent. There is no other way to put it. Every one of his plans, strategies, and deployments failed. Yet, Lori Lightfoot stands by her man. Failure is success in her eyes.

Since Mayor Lightfoot was elected, over 12,000 people have been shot. Over 2000 were killed by firearms. That is data you can believe in. 12,000 people are roughly the size of a neighborhood or ward. Some of her opponents campaigning against her are criticizing her public safety record.

Lightfoot’s response? “Haters are gonna hate. Haters are going to hate.” Is Lightfoot channeling her inner teenager? Tarring legitimate criticism as hatred is despicable. Lightfoot proved her critics right. She is divisive.

Lightfoot’s campaign pin perfectly represents her first term, a comic. Her three years in office have been a comic strip, like her pin. One could wonder where that smoke is really blowing out from. No mayor in my lifetime would tolerate this type of public safety failure. Heads would roll throughout the police department’s command structure and keep rolling until the numbers were driven down.

The Chicago Police Department is in disarray. Morale is low. Manpower is down. Though they are taking record numbers of firearms off the streets, shootings, and homicides by guns are daily occurrences. Armed carjackings and robberies are a daily occurrence. Illegal firearms flowing into Chicago are a large part of the alternative criminal economy.

Some neighborhood groups hired or are considering hiring private security companies to patrol their streets. That is an ominous harbinger for Lightfoot. People do not trust her to keep their neighborhoods safe.

The data and analytics the police department provides and the media eagerly reports are meaningless. The data is not an indicator of anything. Perception is reality. People do not feel safe. City Hall is doing nothing to change that perception.

The streets are not safe. The Els are not safe. Parks are not safe. The beaches pose a threat. People, especially children, are not safe in their homes. Lori Lightfoot’s successes are overshadowed by the dark clouds of her failure in keeping the city safe from violent crime.

One of Lightfoot’s many mistakes was quitting her criticism of Kim Foxx over her failing “progressive” non-prosecution policies. Lightfoot publicly demonstrated cowardice. Mayors are not supposed to be cowards.

Contrary to what Lightfoot claims, change is not hard. It only requires deciding and acting on the decision. Words are meaningless without action. Mayor Lightfoot’s words are empty.

“After a bitter, monthslong campaign, District Attorney Chesa Boudin has been recalled by San Francisco voters. As of 11 p.m. Tuesday night, “yes” on the recall is leading “no” 60% to 40%” (SFGATE)

People in San Francisco, fed up with crime and Chesa Boudin’s “progressive” policies, said enough is enough. San Franciscans were fed up with open criminality and a lack of prosecutions. It is ironic because San Francisco is probably the most progressive big city in the country.

San Francisco put the people in Cook County and Chicago to shame. While we do not have recall provisions here. Kim Foxx was reelected to pursue her failing “progressive” policies. There is no hue and cry from the public for her to change. Failure is accepted here.

As I have written before, unproven theories and ideas that sound good do not always translate into good policy. When policies fail, they should be changed. Unfortunately, in Chicago and Cook County, change is profanity.

We are stuck with Kim Foxx for a while. If her mentor, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, is reelected, Foxx will be empowered to keep failing.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced she is running for reelection. She claims she wants to continue fighting for change.

 “Change doesn’t happen without a fight. It’s hard. It takes time. And, I’ll be the first to admit I’m just not the most patient person. I’m only human, and I guess sometimes it shows. But just because some may not always like my delivery doesn’t mean we’re not delivering.” (Chicago Tribune)

The questions are, who is she fighting for, and what change is she talking about? What has she delivered? For two years, Chicago has experienced an epidemic of violent crime. Her Superintendent of Police, David Brown, is an abject failure. He keeps spinning his plans, strategies, and deployments that are not keeping the citizens of this city safe. The police department is overworked, understaffed, and demoralized. He should have been fired long ago for his woeful record.

“It’s time that the reign of criminals who are destroying our city, it is time for it to come to an end,” and, “It comes to an end when we take the steps to be more aggressive with law enforcement … and less tolerant of all the bulls—t that has destroyed our city.” (SF Mayor London Breed/SFGATE)

Progressive San Francisco mayor, London Breed, realized Boudin’s progressive prosecution policies failed her city and demanded change. She listened to her constituents’ pleas. Lori Lightfoot surrendered to Toni Preckwinkle and Kim Foxx. In pugilistic terms, she threw the fight. She listens to no one.

Lightfoot endorsed Kim Foxx for reelection even though Foxx, through her failing policies, is indirectly one of the drivers of violent crime in Chicago. Some alderpersons say Lightfoot deserves to be reelected. No one deserves election or reelection. Public office is not an award or participation trophy. It is not a right. Reelection must be earned.

Alderman Alderwoman Susan Sadlowski Garza said it best:

“I have never met anybody who has managed to piss off every single person they come in contact with — police, fire, teachers, aldermen, businesses, manufacturing.” (Chicago Tribune)

Lightfoot has not earned reelection. She failed to keep Chicago safe. City finances are still a mess. Lightfoot is not fighting for the people. She is fighting for herself.

“We shouldn’t be locking up nonviolent individuals just because they can’t afford to pay bail. But, given the exacting standards that the state’s attorney has for charging a case, which is proof beyond a reasonable doubt, when those charges are brought, these people are guilty,” Lightfoot said. (Chicago Tribune)

Lori Lightfoot is a candidate to join the Politicians of Walmart(POWs). Geez, a statement like that coming from an attorney and former federal prosecutor is beyond dumb. It is mind-boggling.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot does not think before she speaks, a symptom of Foot in Mouth Disease. She embarrassed herself and gave the people backing the failing criminal justice reform policies more ammunition to push their irresponsible agenda.

Lightfoot lost what little credibility she had over public safety. She is now a walking talking joke. How can she be taken seriously?

Lightfoot is supposed to announce her reelection bid this week. She should reconsider. Everyone I talk to is disgusted with her. Many say f**k Lightfoot when her name is mentioned.

Since May 27, when Lightfoot announced the Summer of Joy, 126 people have been shot. 103 were wounded, and 23 were shot and killed. Year to date, 1291 people have been shot. 240 were shot and killed. (HeyJackass*) Some joy. Chicago has the distinction of being the nation’s largest shooting gallery.

The so-called criminal justice reform policies are failing. Kim Foxx’s over “exacting” charging policies are failing. The court system is failing. Lightfoot is right to call those failures out. It should be done intelligently, not by a blatant ignorant statement. She threw red meat at those promoting these failing policies. She turned wrong into right by shooting from the lip.

The real issue plaguing Chicago is terrible policies based on unproven theories. Many theoretical policy ideas sound good, fair, equitable, warm, fuzzy, and cozy. Theories do not necessarily translate into workable policy. In the case of supposed criminal justice reform, the theories are not working. The public is not safe. People are being victimized and killed in every neighborhood in the city.

Cook County is responsible for the prosecution and trials of criminals. Cook County government is failing the people of Chicago. Elected officials know that the average person/voter does not know how the criminal justice system is supposed to work. They play off that ignorance to keep failing policies in place.

The police are the only part of the criminal justice system that is working. Contrary to what Kim Foxx claims, the police are not her partners. Partnership is a two-way street. Kim Foxx is a one-way dead-end street.

It is past time to end these supposed reforms. They are failing. They were based on unproven theories. If something is not working, intelligent people make corrections. Politicians rarely make corrections.

The Summer of Joy is just beginning. The number of people becoming victims of various violent crimes will rise drastically with the heat. Lori Lightfoot is floundering in the public safety area. Making dumb comments further damages her credibility and does not inspire confidence in her leadership.

*HeyJackass is the most accurate site for violent crime data. Their figures change as they receive new data.

“Another day, another man who thinks he can do this job better than me,” Lightfoot said. (Chicago Tribune)

Southside alderman Rodrick Sawyer threw his hat in the ring to run for mayor of Chicago. Mayor Lori Lightfoot was asked about his candidacy. She made the above comment.

It is apparent that Mayor Lori Lightfoot is a sexist, misandrist, and far from woke. Her toxic femininity was on full display. She suffers from foot in mouth disease, a condition unique to Chicago politicians. There is no cure or vaccine. Social distancing and masking will not prevent it.

Geez, does this mayor think before she flaps her soup coolers? What era is she living in? Do we need a men’s liberation movement to fight off female supremacy and matriarchy? By the way, if she has the biggest d**k in Chicago, what is her actual gender?

Why can she insult males and get away with it? Why didn’t the media scorch her over that comment? Oh, yeah, they are the PR weasels for City Hall. Lightfoot can do no wrong. She is a “historic” mayor. She must be protected, even from herself.

Maybe someone should tell Lightfoot that anyone, man, woman, or whatever gender, can do a better job than her. She is an abject failure. If you look up disaster in the dictionary, Lightfoot would be the first definition.

There is no public safety in Chicago. Every neighborhood has the potential for violence and death. Every one of us is a potential victim. City finances are a mess. City employee pensions are in trouble. The schools are a mess. Over the past two years, parents pulled 25,000 students out of the Chicago Public School System. The only thing that helped Chicago was the COVID bailouts. Nothing is working in Chicago. Not one damn thing.

Lightfoot has no solutions. She has no allies. Her supposed coalition in the City Council is fragile. She does not know how to play well with others. Lightfoot, unlike other mayors, has no power or power base. Lightfoot is all about Lightfoot.

She does not care about the city, the people, the City Council, or anything else. After Lightfoot, everyone else comes first. She is isolated, contemptible, and combative. Making friends and influencing people is not in her wheelhouse.

The business community is not happy. The unions are not happy. The people are not happy. No one is happy in Lightfoot’s Summer of Joy except the criminals. They are getting away with murder and mayhem.

Lightfoot did more damage to Chicago in a few years than Richie Daley did in two decades. Chicago is in a downhill slide on a greased anvil. Lightfoot is like Wiley Coyote being hung by her own Acme petards.

So far, Alderman Ray Lopez, businessman Willie Wilson, Paul Vallas, and Illinois State Representative, Kam Buckner, have announced they are running for mayor. All of them are men. Evidently, Lightfoot hates men. Maybe in our woke times, male hatred in politics is acceptable and appropriate.

If anyone of them lands a whale or two contributors, Lightfoot is toast. Her campaign war chest is small for someone who wants to continue in the job she is failing at. She travels the country begging for money because the Chicago money is not coming her way.

Lori Lightfoot is like Godzilla. She destroyed Chicago.