Chicago is burning and the mayor’s answer is to lecture the public about not demonizing youth while tourists and residents get shot in the Loop. What should be a straightforward defense-of-citizens moment instead turned into performative concern and political spin, allowing lawlessness to flourish on his watch.
Video and eyewitness accounts show mobs of teens smashing cars, blocking traffic, and sparking violence while two teenagers were shot and a visiting mother was grazed by bullets—events that should have prompted immediate, decisive leadership. Rather than show outrage or get tough, Mayor Brandon Johnson offered platitudes about investing in youth and creating jobs while downtown visitors were wounded and frightened.
The mayor publicly opposed an 8 p.m. downtown curfew and doubled down on the feel-good strategy of “investing in people,” a line that sounds righteous until you remember people bleeding in the streets. City officials warned that simply preaching opportunity won’t stop a gang with a gun from turning a flash mob into a shooting spree, yet Johnson prefers optics and talking points over the muscle of law and order.
When the City Council tried a snap curfew to give police clearer authority, Johnson threatened a veto and insisted more conversations and programs were the answer. That choice reveals the priorities of a mayor more interested in political theater and voter blocs than in protecting ordinary Chicagoans and out-of-town guests who bring commerce and respect to the city. Evidence about the long-term effectiveness of curfews is mixed, but the reasonable expectation is simple: public safety must be the first job of any mayor.
Worse still, Johnson has even admitted the political calculation behind his leniency, noting the narrow margins and new voters who helped elect him—proof that his “compassion” is often indistinguishable from a campaign strategy. That kind of cold arithmetic is an insult to victims and a betrayal of families who send their kids downtown trusting the city to keep them safe, not to watch as officials placate troublemakers to win headlines and votes.
Hardworking Americans know what leadership looks like: decisive action, support for the police, and consequences for violent behavior, no matter the age of the perpetrator. If Mayor Johnson truly cares about youth, he should back programs that work alongside law enforcement, not in place of it, and stop letting ideological softness ruin the livelihoods and safety of Chicago families.
