Known for its unpredictable weather, unparalleled food, and extreme violence, Chicago has gone from a world-class city to a criminal haven. Chicago’s violence has been prevalent and well-documented for decades but now citizens in all parts of the city are seeing numerous murders, reckless shootings, and an unsupported and unproactive police force due to a States’ Attorneys Office that refuses to prosecute.
Gunfire is not new to Chicago. Frankly, depending on where you are in the city, they’re commonly confused with the sound of fireworks. Areas where gunfire was commonplace tended to remain the same but now, gunfire is spreading all over the city.
River North, an area known for its nightlife and wealthy residents, was recently the location of a viral video and incident in which a passerby captured a 40+ shot gunfight between unknown assailants. The outcome of the incident is currently unknown but we are now seeing that no area of Chicago is immune to blatant violence as criminals now feel they can have gun battles in the middle of one of the more affluent areas of the city which was supposedly immune to incidents of that nature in the past.
Despite the hate spewing from the SA’s office and from certain citizens of the city against the Chicago Police Department, the video shows multiple officers arriving on scene within seconds of the shooting and attempting to apprehend those involved but the vehicles fled the scene. Even when CPD is under more scrutiny than any other department has been in recent history, we still see officers doing their jobs in responding to violent and dangerous incidents to apprehend offenders and protect the public. Unfortunately, many overlook the horrors CPD has to deal with and how they’re treated. Hopefully they know they still have many supporters.
Chicago has looked more and more like the Wild West due to the blatant disregard for the law, the lack of respect for the authority of law enforcement, and the lack of law enforcement from the Cook County States’ Attorneys office which continues to drop cases against criminals without due process, open officers up to litigation, and put violent criminals on the street to continue to wreak havoc. I know from personal experience criminals who’ve specifically gone to Cook County to commit crimes because they know they won’t be prosecuted as harshly as they would in any other county in Illinois.
The Wild Midwest is quickly becoming a national tragedy as the once great city is crumbling under the violence it’s experiencing as more crimes are left unchecked, the police feel they have no support, and the citizens are falling victim to it all. There are plenty of law-abiding citizens in the already violence-ridden areas who need a heavier police presence in their day-to-day lives but now they’re seeing the violence spread and the police losing control of the city. If Chicago continues down this slippery slope, the shooting victims are going to pile up and we’re going to see the mass exodus that’s already started kick into overdrive as more families seek refuge from the lawlessness.
Drew Schroeder 