A new wave of viral videos and city hall soundbites have laid bare a truth Chicago’s elites would rather ignore: too many of our streets are unsafe and the mayor’s response has been weak. When citizens and business owners demand real accountability for the surge of teenage violence downtown, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s reflex is to lecture about “root causes” instead of protecting people’s lives and livelihoods.
The violence isn’t abstract — we’ve seen flash mobs turn into shootings and tourists and families injured while trying to enjoy the city. Even after incidents that left teens and bystanders shot, the administration doubled down on softer remedies and resisted immediate, commonsense safety measures that might have prevented harm.
City Council moved to give police a targeted tool — a narrowly tailored “snap curfew” to disperse dangerous gatherings before they erupted into mayhem — and the ordinance passed by a 27-22 margin because aldermen who see the carnage up close wanted action. Instead of backing the law-and-order fix focused on public safety, the mayor promised a veto and called curfews “lazy governance,” choosing politics and ideology over the urgent need to keep people safe.
When aldermen tried to override his veto, they came up short, leaving Chicagoans without a new tool to head off the next predictable outbreak of violence. That failure wasn’t a procedural quirk; it was a political choice with real-world consequences for parents, workers, and tourists who don’t want to be collateral damage in a debate about theory.
Make no mistake: asking for investments in youth is not inherently wrong, but repeating the same platitudes while turnout and shootings climb is a dereliction of leadership. Voters deserve mayors who will say “enough” to lawlessness, who will support police tools that respect rights and deter violence, and who refuse to excuse criminal behavior under the banner of empathy.
The broader pattern here should alarm every patriotic American: a city that prioritizes optics and ideology over the safety of its citizens will hollow out its neighborhoods, chase away commerce, and invite chaos. Responsible conservatism is about protecting community, holding elected officials accountable, and insisting that compassion include consequences for those who threaten public peace.
Chicago can be reclaimed — but not with more lectures and vetoes. It will take leaders who understand that love for a city means defending its streets, backing law enforcement when they operate within the law, and giving victims and taxpayers the protection they deserve. Hardworking Americans will remember who stood for safety and who made excuses when it mattered most.
