Chicago City Wire

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order did little to slow the violence on Chicago streets during the first summer holiday of 2020, as the Cook County Medical Examiner reports there were more deaths by homicide of individuals younger than 50 than there were COVID-19 related deaths over the same period.

According to authorities, during a nearly 96-hour period commencing Saturday morning, there were eight COVID-related deaths among that age group, compared to 10 people from the same demographic who died due to gunshots.

All the bloodshed was enough to leave Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lashing out at newly installed Police Superintendent David Brown after what amounted to the deadliest Memorial Day weekend since 2015.

“While I know that there was a lot of energy and coordination among a variety of groups, what I said to the superintendent this morning is this was a fail,” Lightfoot told the Chicago Tribune. “And whatever the strategy is, it didn’t work … This weekend’s violence was out of control.”

In addition to the killings, at least 40 people were wounded in shootings that unfolded despite a citywide police strategy that called for greater oversight and coordination among department heads. In one of the most egregious episodes, a 15-year-old boy was critically injured when he was struck in the face by gunfire late Saturday in the South Shore neighborhood.

The end result has sent Lightfoot and company back to the drawing board, with the mayor telling the Chicago Tribune that top brass is back “hard at work and looking at the data. She later added “we cannot have weekends in the summer turn into a bloodbath.”

With more than 1,000 people having already been shot over the first five months of this year, Lightfoot acknowledged these are changing times for the Chicago Police Department, with at least some of the transformation related to the virus.  

“The Police Department really is effectively on its own in fighting (for) public safety across the city,” she told the Tribune. “And we have officers, and I understand this, who are concerned themselves with getting COVID and whether or not they’re going to be sick themselves or take that to their family members. So this is probably one of the most difficult times for policing that we’ve experienced in this city.”

Despite the growing challenges, Brown vows the department will fight on.

“My resolve (hasn’t) been shaken at all in making Chicago the safest city in the country, and neither should yours,” he told the Tribune. “We are committed and dedicated to making this city the safest in the country. This was a challenging weekend. But we are not shaken. We are not going to ... give up on our city.”

Brown said much of the violence can be traced to disputes between rival gangs over drug turf, adding that the coronavirus outbreak has made people eager to spend time outdoors.

With the virus still lingering, Lightfoot said keeping large crowds from gathering for neighborhood events, in violation of the stay-at-home order, has become yet another task for officer, though they try to only become involved as a last resort.

“For the greater good, when absolutely necessary, we will,” she told the Tribune.