For years, Republicans have sought to win over voters by depicting Democratic-led cities as lawless centers of violence that need tough-on-crime policies.
In Chicago, some of the Democrats running for mayor are deploying the same strategy as they debate how to make the city safer.
The increased attention on public safety follows a spike in crime rates in many communities that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. High-profile incidents of police misconduct drew more scrutiny of policing, and there has been disagreement even among Democrats about so-called progressive public safety policies such as ending cash bail or providing safe injection sites for drug users.
Chicago has a higher per-capita homicide rate than New York or Los Angeles, but it’s lower than other Midwestern cities, such as St. Louis and Detroit. Still, the number of homicides in Chicago hit a 25-year high in 2021 with 797, according to the Chicago Police Department. “It happened in the broad daylight," Fearnow said. “When you step out, it makes you feel a little uneasy. … You’re not immune anywhere from crime in the city.”
His statements came after the protests across the United States over the killing by Minneapolis police of George Floyd. Johnson also sponsored a nonbinding resolution, passed by the county board, that said money should be redirected from policing and incarceration and into social services.
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