For Democrats, crime is apparently “just fine.” Their campaign message seems to be that everything is normal—nothing to see here in America’s shooting galleries, better known as cities.
But that simply won’t do for the man in the White House.
President Trump is officially promising to clean up the streets of Chicago after another violent weekend. On Truth Social, he wrote:
“At least 54 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, 8 people were killed… Pritzker needs help badly, he just doesn’t know it yet. I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC. Chicago will be safe again, & soon.”
Trump says he’s no longer waiting on permission.
One of the injured was a teenage girl, struck by a stray bullet while in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s tragic—and it should be common sense that the Windy City needs help. But Illinois Governor JB Pritzker insists on fighting President Trump instead of fighting crime.
Talk about sucking all the hope out of the room.
If Chicago’s leaders listened to their residents, they’d hear the frustration loud and clear. Here’s just a sampling.
Law-abiding Chicagoans deserve peace and safety. Law-breaking Chicagoans deserve consequences. And the city’s police department, which has one of the lowest clearance rates in the nation, deserves a helping hand. Yet Chicago’s mayor Brandon Johnson decided to sign an executive order over the weekend, instructing city officials and law enforcement not to collaborate with federal forces—even as residents were being gunned down.
He’s asking an already short-staffed police force—down nearly 1,500 officers—to refuse the very help they desperately need. And that’s insane, because collaboration is proven to work. The National Guard was deployed to Washington, D.C. three weeks ago, and since then there have been only two homicides in the capital. Before that, D.C. was averaging double-digit homicides every month.
Meanwhile, in the same period, Chicago saw at least 32 murders and dozens more shootings, including mass shootings. By that math, Chicagoans are being killed 16 times faster than residents in D.C.
Yet Representative Jamie Raskin still claims the deployment is “performative.”
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro blasted Raskin for misunderstanding the law—quite the embarrassment for a man who writes them. And then there’s Chicago alderman Byron Lopez, who calls federal help “violence” that makes matters worse.
These people are unserious. Fifty-four people were shot in your city this weekend. Eight of them died. That’s violence. How could more law enforcement possibly make matters worse?
Another alderman, Raymond Lopez, has a different take…
You know it’s bad when even Joe Scarborough over on MSDNC thinks Chicago’s leaders are wrong to ignore Trump’s offer to help. Watch the rest of the panel left speechless as Joe sides with Trump.
And beyond the body count, there’s the economic toll. Chicago’s violence is driving businesses away. Tourism is down 15% this summer alone, according to local chamber reports. Restaurants and shops are shuttering in affected neighborhoods, costing jobs and tax revenue—money that could fund better policing.
A 2023 Chicago Tribune report pegged the cost of gun violence at $2.5 billion annually. South Side neighborhoods like Englewood have lost nearly half their Black population since 2000 as families flee. Downtown isn’t immune—tourism has tanked, and the city’s reputation as a “murder capital” keeps visitors away.
Stricter gun laws won’t fix it either. Illinois already has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, and Chicago adds even more rules. The ATF has poured resources into the city for years without meaningful results.
Then there’s the youth angle. Schools are seeing record absenteeism because parents fear sending their kids to class. This isn’t just a crime problem—it’s an education crisis with long-term consequences. A 2023 Urban Institute study found Chicago youth who drop out are 3.5 times more likely to be incarcerated by age 25. On the South Side, where violence is rampant, dropout rates hover around 20%.
It’s a vicious cycle that will continue unless something changes.
Chicago’s Democrats call Trump’s plan “violence” or “unlawful,” but they have no plan of their own—just more vague demands for funding that disappears in red tape. Meanwhile, President Trump is offering concrete action.
Chicago has a choice to make. And for many residents, it’s literally the difference between life and death.