CHICAGO, IL – In recent months, protesters have shut down streets, shattered storefronts and marched the Magnificent Mile.
However, try to protest six miles away from the Mag Mile, outside Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Logan Square home, and that appears to be grounds for arrest. Six protesters learned that lesson earlier this month.
On August 22, police arrested the group who had gathered outside the mayor’s house. The Police Tribune reported that none of the six are from Illinois.
Mayor Lightfoot lives near West Wrightwood Avenue and North Kimball Avenue.
That’s where police were reportedly called to intervene late at night, after protesters showed up and refused to leave.
They ultimately arrested four women and two men.
According to the Chicago-Sun Times, one of the women told news outlets that the out of state protesters were a part of the “Jesus Matters Movement” and came to protest because “the country is going to s—t.”
She reportedly went on to say they chose to demonstrate outside the mayor’s house because “Lightfoot is a liberal and it’s the liberals’ faults.”
The newspaper says all are now facing charges for misdemeanor residential picketing.
Police told local news outlets one of the women was also charged with violating a city ordinance for loud music or amplified sound.
WGN reported that the protestors are from New York, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Chicago radio journalist Amy Jacobson tweeted the next day:
“Interesting! The 6 arrested in front of @chicagosmayor‘s house were from New York, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania. WHO is paying for travel expenses and lodging? Are they staying here for next Saturday’s #BLM #MagMile looting fest?”
Interesting! The 6 arrested in front of @chicagosmayor ‘s house were from New York, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania. WHO is paying for travel expenses and lodging? Are they staying here for next Saturday’s #BLM #MagMile looting fest? We’ll discuss @MorningAnswer @DanProft
— Amy Jacobson (@AmyJacobson) August 23, 2020
There’s no word on if they plan to return to Chicago from their respective states for their court appearances scheduled for early October.
Mayor Lightfoot’s home has been at the center of controversy more than once during her time in office.
Just two days before the arrests, Mayor Lightfoot defended what some have categorized as “extreme” security measures in her neighborhood.
On August 20, the mayor told reporters she refused to apologize for protecting her block and her home which neighbors have dubbed “Fort Lori.”
The Chicago Patch reported that Mayor Lightfoot said:
“We are living in a very different time, and I have seen the threats that come in. This is a different time like no other.
I’m not going to make any excuses for the fact that, given the threats I have personally received, given the threats to my home and my family, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure they are protected. I make no apologies whatsoever for that.”
She was responding to backlash after a Chicago Police directive leaked to The Chicago Tribune.
Issued in June, it ordered officers to lockdown Mayor Lightfoot’s block and not to allow protesters in.
The Chicago Tribune reported that an email to officers detailed how to respond to protesters. It read:
“Please be advised that we are no longer allowing [any] protesters across the street from mayors [sic] residence … please make sure every officer in the house knows that if anyone shows up to protest [they] are to be immediately told that it is against the city code and state law to protest on a residential neighborhood.
They need to be told to leave immediately.”
It reportedly continued on to say that protesters can gather outside a nearby church, but that the mayor’s block should stay secured. The Chicago Tribune quoted the email:
“Once locked down and more cars on scene the second … order should be given. The idea is to make sure the footprint is closed so we don’t have larger numbers to deal with.
[Tactical teams] will then come … help with any arrests that need to be done once third and final warning is given.”
Chicago Patch reported that the request comes in line with state and local laws that prohibit “residential picketing” in front of a house in a residential area, unless that house doubles as a business address.
Breaking that law carries a sentence of up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,500.
Neighbors have taken issue with the law being enforced on their block, rather than just in front Mayor Lightfoot’s home.
In an email to the Chicago Tribune, a neighbor wrote:
“As a neighbor, I find protests and actions near her home significantly less disruptive than her response to the protestors, which only aim to keep her from having to listen to the voices of her constituents.”
Another wrote to the paper:
“I came up with the name ‘Fort Lori’ because it’s so hard to get in and out.”
Civil unrest has rocked Chicago in recent months, and while Mayor Lightfoot takes issue with protests outside her home, she’s previously praised protesters demonstrating in other areas of the city.
Mayor Lightfoot tweeted on the heels of riots earlier this month, during which 17 officers were hurt:
“As mayor, my greatest priority is the safety of every resident. I will not rest until every Chicagoan, no matter their zip code or the color of their skin, can live their lives without fear and in peace.”
As mayor, my greatest priority is the safety of every resident. I will not rest until every Chicagoan, no matter their zip code or the color of their skin, can live their lives without fear and in peace.
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) August 17, 2020
In July, Chicago Fraternal Order of Police’s president John Catanzara asked for help from President Trump to combat Chicago’s gun violence problem… because of her failures.
The months of May, June, and July 2020 were a filled with shooting sprees across Chicago.
FOP President Catanzara wrote:
“I would be willing to sit down anytime and discuss ideas about how we can bring civility back to the streets of Chicago. These politicians are failing the good men and women of this city and the police department.
“Mayor Lightfoot has proved to be a complete failure who is either unwilling or unable to maintain law and order here.”
Chicago FOP President John Catanzara Jr. has issued a letter to President Trump, asking for help from the federal government to fight “chaos” in Chicago and calling Mayor Lori Lightfoot a “complete failure.” https://t.co/iYbJDeLTGk
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) July 18, 2020
Catanzara also complained that he has been to City Hall to speak to Chicago’s leadership about the increasing gun violence.
Catanzara said:
“These politicians are failing the good men and women of this city and police department. …. I have pushed back on their failing liberal policies. I really believe your help and cooperation could make a big difference and rally the silent majority to say enough is enough.”
He continued:
“These politicians are failing the good men and women of this city and police department. …. I have pushed back on their failing liberal policies. I really believe your help and cooperation could make a big difference and rally the silent majority to say enough is enough.”
Chicago FOP (@FOP7Chicago) Leader Drafts Letter to President Trump ( @realDonaldTrump), Asking for Federal Help to Combat Violence
Chicago Police needs all the help they can get!
We must listen to troops on the ground and NOT people behind desk. https://t.co/6GZaZT8zlD pic.twitter.com/0NY1vmfFNs
— Chicago’s Finest👮🏻 (@ChicagoPD19) July 19, 2020
President Trump has criticized the leadership of Chicago as well. In June, Trump sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Lightfoot and Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker demanding the to “urge action on the devastating violence in Chicago.”
This urgency stems from the recent months of gun violence in Chicago. It is only July and already the numbers compared to last year are way up.
President Trump wrote:
“Your lack of leadership on this important issue continues to fail the people you have sworn to protect. I am concerned it is another example of your lack of commitment to the vulnerable citizens who are victims of this violence and lack of respect for the men and women in law enforcement.”
Mayor Lightfoot responded to President Trump’s letter.
She wrote:
“If you really wanted to help the city, let’s start with the fact that you would weigh in, Mr. President, on common sense… gun reform. It makes no sense that people from Chicago can go across the border to Indiana and buy military grad weapons and bring them to our city and kill our children.”
Chicago has experienced many of its deadliest weekends since the summer holidays began, peaking at Memorial Day weekend and Fourth of July weekend.
Over Memorial Day weekend, over 80 citizens were shot and almost 24 killed. In June, in one weekend there over 104 citizens shot and 14 killed. On the Fourth of July weekend there were over 70 citizens shot and 16 killed.
Chicago Police Department released data mid-June 2020 in response to President Trump’s remarks on their murder clearance rate of 47% in 2019. Chicago PD stated their murder clearance rate in 2019 was 53%.
At the end of 2019, 419 citizens were killed in the span of a year, which is a 13% reduction from 567 murders in 2018. This marks a drop in murders for three years straight.
Mayor Lightfoot commented on Memorial Day weekend’s violence, one of the most deadliest Memorial Day weekends in a long time.
At the time, Mayor Lightfoot said:
“The reality is there is no circumstance like the one that we are facing.”
She commented the city is lacking federal resources, jail admittance and court hearings during COVID-19 pandemic. This is also making community police very difficult, perhaps the most difficult in over 20 years.
President Trump signed an executive order on police reform in mid-June as well.
Before signing the executive order, he said:
“Every day, police officers make great sacrifices o keep our community secure and safe. In 2018, our police arrested nearly 12,000 citizens for murder, 25,000 citizens for rape and nearly 1.5 million for assault. Very dangerous criminals. In many cases, local law enforcement is underfunded, understaffed, and under-supported.”
The full letter from President Trump and the White House:
“Dear Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot:
“I write to you today to call your attention to and urge action on the devastating violence in Chicago. While I have been heartened to see crime reductions nationally the last few years, I have been horrified by the continued violence in this great American city.
“I recently read an article from the Chicago Sun-Times on June 8, 2020, “18 murders in 24 hours: Inside the most violent day in 60 years in Chicago,” which discussed the severe crime and lack of law and order in our Nation’s third largest city. The article details how “85 people were shot and 24 killed the previous weekend, the most in modern history in Chicago.” Your lack of leadership on this important issue continues to fail the people you have sworn to protect. I am concerned it is another example of your lack of commitment to the vulnerable citizens who are victims of this violence and a lack of respect for the men and women in law enforcement. The article recounts the following horrors:
“A hardworking father killed.
“A West Side high school student murdered.
“A college freshman who hoped to become a correctional officer, gunned down.
“18 people killed Sunday, May 31, the single most violent day in Chicago in six decades.
“The weekend of May 29, 25 people were killed and another 85 wounded by gunfire.
“The most violent weekend in Chicago’s modern history, stretching police resources that were already thin because of protests and looting.
“Violence and death, which are disproportionately harming young African Americans, are tragic and unacceptable, particularly on such a shocking scale. According to the Chicago Sun Times, “shootings across the City increased by 71 percent last month,” and just this past weekend 102 people were shot in the city’s most violent weekend of the year.
A 3-year old toddler was killed.
More Americans have been killed in Chicago than in combat zones of Afghanistan and Iraq combined since September 11, 2001, a deadly trend that has continued under your tenure.
“The American people (hardworking taxpayers) send you millions of dollars in Federal funding each year to support public safety in Chicago.
In 2018 and 2019, the City of Chicago benefited from $136 million in funding from the Urban Area Security Initiative Grant Program, and another $68 million was recently announced for Chicago from this important program.
The Department of Justice awarded and is in the process of awarding nearly $20 million to support law enforcement and law-enforcement related entities in the City of Chicago and Cook County across 2019 and 2020, including resources for combating opioid abuse and recidivism reduction.
The Department of Labor has also awarded funding to programs targeting prisoner re-entry and recidivism reduction in the Chicago area. My Administration allocated $898.6 million to the City of Chicago and Cook County from the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which helps support your first responders on the front lines.
In the absence of any modicum of leadership, however, these substantial sums of taxpayer money are not being turned into results, and the safety of your most vulnerable communities continues to deteriorate. These funds are in addition to those collected through your combined insatiable appetite to tax the people of Illinois and Chicago.
“I will continue to lead the way to support historically disadvantaged communities and would welcome your help in these endeavors. In December 2018, I signed into law the First Step Act, marking the first major reforms to our criminal justice system in over a decade.
This brings historic reforms to make our justice system fairer and to help inmates successfully transition back into society by providing prisoners with a second chance through rehabilitative programs and fair sentencing.
Additionally, when I signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, we created Opportunity Zones. Nationwide, nearly 9,000 communities have designated Opportunity Zones, including over 130 in Chicago, which are incentivizing investments in areas that have been forgotten for far too long.
My Administration has also provided robust, unprecedented support to Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
“Recently, on June 16, I signed an Executive Order advancing important reforms to elevate a noble profession and strengthen the essential bond of trust between police officers and the communities in which they serve.
My Administration continues to work closely with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and others across the political spectrum to advance further policy improvements and meaningful reforms.
“Unlike previous Administrations of both parties, I am willing to tackle unsolved challenges. If you are willing to put partisanship aside, we can revitalize distressed neighborhoods in Chicago, together. But to succeed, you must establish law and order.
The combination of crime, high State and local taxes, and onerous State and local government regulations have caused thousands of Illinoisans to flee to other States. Between 2010 and 2019, Illinois lost more of its population than any other state in the Nation.
If you are interested, I am willing to ask members of my Cabinet to meet with you and help devise a plan to make Chicago safe, since a successful formula has escaped both you and your predecessors.
My Administration would also welcome the opportunity to engage with you and your colleagues as you develop bipartisan policy recommendations to improve policing and make our great cities safer for all.
“Unfortunately, you continue to put your own political interests ahead of the lives, safety, and fortunes of your own citizens. The people of Chicago deserve better.”
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