Chicago City Wire

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot shared her approval of President Joe Biden’s new “Comprehensive Strategy to Reduce Gun Violence," a plan designed to help control gun violence across the country. 

On Feb. 3, Biden announced his plan that includes five individual parts: reducing the “flow” of firearms that are used to commit crimes, providing federal tools and resources to local law enforcement, utilizing community violence interventions, expanding summer programs and other services for youths, and assisting formerly incarcerated people with reentering their communities. 

“I welcome the Administration’s actions on reducing gun violence, including policies that I have been advocating for, such as personnel, resources to combat violent crime, illegal gun reduction and community investments. Thank you @POTUS for acknowledging the importance of coordination across all levels of government and across multiple jurisdictions. Chicago is proud to partner with you to tackle this complex issue facing our nation,” Lightfoot said in a tweet on Feb. 3.

Lightfoot's support of Biden's new plan was met with criticism to her tweet, with some replies including “You are responsible for the safety of people in Chicago and you have failed,” “#PresidentTrump offered you help and you told him to get lost,” and “yeah ok.  Will you be sending those who commit crimes to jail/prison? Will you trust the cops instead of politically motivated activists? Will you put the rights of the victim a higher priority than those of the offender?”

Numbers reported by the Chicago Tribune found that 797 people were killed in Chicago in 2021, while the first month of 2022 has already seen 46 people killed by gun violence. However, those numbers do not include killings that occurred in self-defense or in other circumstances as well as data from Illinois State Police, which patrols the city’s expressways.