ELECTION’S OVER, FEUD’S NOT
Lightfoot fires back at Preckwinkle for ‘nice letter’ on cause of city gun violence
Using sarcasm followed by an argument fit for a prosecutor, Mayor Lori Lightfoot fired back at Toni Preckwinkle Thursday for attempting to exonerate county bail reform as a “root cause for gun violence.”
The sarcasm came when Lightfoot referred to what she called the “nice letter” she received from Preckwinkle about the issue.
Clearly, the mayor believed otherwise and could not contain her anger about Preckwinkle’s public attempt to discredit the crimefighting argument made by the mayor and Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson.
“It’s July — not March. The election’s over and we had a result,” Lightfoot said, referring to her 74% landslide over Preckwinkle in the April 2 runoff election.
“We’re gonna continue to take the high road and move forward. But, there are legitimate issues that have been raised and the superintendent, I think, is right to raise them.”
Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, then offered a point-by-point rebuttal of Preckwinkle’s argument.
She pointed to the Fourth of July weekend, when 76 people were arrested for weaponsrelated violations, 18 of them repeat gun offenders; 10 repeat offenders had the “opportunity to get back out on the streets,” Lightfoot said.
She noted that Cook County is now using a tool developed by a Texas foundation, based on a “range of criminal statistics nationally.” It’s not specific to Cook County and doesn’t count unauthorized use of a weapon — a “very common charge” in Cook County, Lightfoot said.
“That’s obviously a problem,” the mayor added.
Lightfoot said the “equation” comes down to fundamental questions: Is the offender a flight risk? Will that person show up again for court? And, are they a danger to the community?
“I submit to you that someone who has a long track record of gun violence and then is charged with another gun-related offense is, by definition, a danger to the community,” the mayor said.
“Judges have to use their common sense” about who gets out on bond, she added.
In a high-stakes game of political poker, Lightfoot then challenged Preckwinkle to put her cards on the table.
“My proposal is that we all put our data out on a weekly basis and see who’s getting arrested. What are the charges? What are the bond decisions being made? And separately, if they’re out on bond . . . what [are] the results?” she said.
“We will put our data up. And I want the county to do the same on a weekly basis. That’s how we get to some answers.”
Preckwinkle gave no ground in a statement issued Thursday.
“We can go back and forth all day about statistics. The public doesn’t care about spreadsheets, they care about solutions and results. I stand by my statement that false narratives do not help us achieve the goals of making sure all of Cook County is safe and viable. Nor does it save lives.”
As she did in her letter to the mayor, Preckwinkle invited the city to “come to the table and have a dialogue” with the county.
“Criminal justice reform is a priority and it is necessary. We must do all we can to reverse the devasting impact of mass incarceration of black, brown and poor people in this country; and, equally so, it is our responsibility as leaders to ensure that every resident has the ability to live in safe and healthy neighborhoods,” she said.
In her letter to Lightfoot and a follow-up interview, Preckwinkle argued Johnson and the police union leading the charge against Preckwinkle’s ally and former chief of staff, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, have “promulgated” a narrative that pins city violence on “county judges, county prosecutors — and their failure to do their job and that’s simply not true.”
The Fraternal Order of Police also weighed in, saying Preckwinkle’s letter to Lightfoot ignores the real problem — that Foxx is “not working with the police, but against them.”
In a Facebook post, the union argued Preckwinkle’s “false and politically motivated claims . . . will only serve to increase violence within the city, but it is encouraging to see that Mayor Lightfoot is willing to look at the real causes of crime in the city and speak openly about them.”