Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) became upset a fellow candidate Willie Wilson stating during the mayoral debate the city's police department should be able to do their jobs and take the offensive against criminals.
The issue of crime, from shootings to carjackings to robberies, continue to be a major problem in the Windy City during Lightfoot's tenure while in office. The high crime rate has been exacerbated by the Chicago Police Department being critically short-staffed.
"We'll be tough on crime. We'll remove all them restrictions are our police officers. If somebody run, chase by foot or by car, that police officer should be able to chase them down and hunt them down like a rabbit," Wilson said.
"For a candidate for mayor to say we have to take the handcuffs off the police and let them hunt down human beings like rabbits, is an extraordinary thing," Lightfoot reacted after the debate. The mayor invoked the misconduct of police commander Jon Burge, who tortured suspects in custody to coerce confessions. "I fully and utterly condemn it," according to Politico.
Wilson did not back down from Lightfoot's criticisms, telling Politico he lost a son to gun violence. "If someone murders another person, police should hunt the perpetrators down at all cost," he said.
As of Thursday, 24 people have been shot and killed with over 100 wounded by gunfire. Slightly lower than the same time last year, where 29 people were killed and 116 were wounded.
#Chicago Day 18, 2023
— HeyJackass.com (@w_h_thompson) January 19, 2023
8 shot, 0 fatally
Jan 1 - Jan 18:
2023: 24 killed, 102 wounded
2022: 29 killed, 116 wounded
2021: 35 killed, 117 wounded
2020: 24 killed, 77 wounded
2019: 14 killed, 70 wounded#ChicagoScanner