Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) once again blamed COVID-19 as one of the primary reasons for the increase in violent crime within the city and across the country.
Lightfoot told MSNBC's Joe Scarborough on Thursday that while Chicago is making progress in its homicide clearance rate, it is "certainly below what we expect, but better than we've been in about five or six years."
"So we’re seeing progress being made, but there’s no question that the Covid-related impact on the public safety system in Chicago, in New York, in LA, D.C., and other cities across the country, is real. And what we’ve got to continue to do is make sure that we’re demanding of our courts and our prosecutors that they hold violent people accountable and keep them off our streets," Lightfoot said.
"It's a huge issue for us in Chicago and we have to continue fighting that fight," she continued. "And then we've also got to play the long game at getting at the root causes of the violence, which is poverty, lack of investment, lack of jobs, and lack of hope. We got to disrupt the pipeline of young souls that are going to the streets and subject to the predatory tactics of the gangs by giving them hope in a future that isn't minding somebody’s corner spot."
So far in 2021, with a few months left to go, 668 city residents have been shot and killed, with homicides totaling 710. In 2020, 719 people were shot and killed, with homicides totaling 792. The continued high violent crime rates in Chicago are amid the ongoing fight between the city and the Chicago Police Department, where some officers have been pulled from street duty because they did not get a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Fraternal Order of Police asked a judge for an emergency order to block the city's vaccine requirement on Thursday so that officers who have been pulled from the street can go back to work, according to ABC 7 Chicago.