Chicago City Wire

Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey attacked Gov. J.B. Pritzker's governance record in Chicago in the last debate between the two.

Bailey was asked about his specific plan for Chicago and responded that it is time to let Chicagoans know that he is ready to shift the city in a new direction.

"Help is on the way and things can be better," Bailey said. "And I want to remind you, four and a half months ago, as I stood right here and made that comment, within six hours later, a homeless man was put on fire in Chicago. And so I've been thinking about that since you keep bringing the situation up. And I've got a new name for Chicago. I'm going to call it Pritzkerville, because every one of Gov. Pritzker's extreme policies are destroying the city: Out-of-control crime, devastated education, the fact that corporations are packing up and leaving every day. Now, I think Pritzkerville fits quite well because Gov. Pritzker, it's time for him to own it. Chicago is the nightmare called Pritzkerville, and it's still two weeks from Halloween."

Crime has continued to rise in Chicago over the past couple of years, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. As of March 1, "at least 88 people have been murdered in Chicago this year, up from 85 at the same time last year. Aggravated batteries are up 15%, robberies up 10% and sexual assaults up 9%." 

The same article reports "thefts up 61%, burglaries 33% and motor vehicle thefts 45%." The last category does not include carjackings, which the department defines as vehicles taken by force. Furthermore, the article says, "At least 386 people have been shot in Chicago this year compared to 236 at this time in 2019. There have been 92 murders this year compared to 47 over the same period in 2019."

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski recently told the Economic Club of Chicago that the company is having difficulty getting employees to return to work at its downtown Chicago headquarters due to the surge in violent crime, saying that many workers are scared to take public transportation. 

Kempczinski bluntly stated, "There is a general sense out there that our city is in crisis," New York Post reported. In 2018, the company moved its headquarters back downtown after 40 years in Oak Brook, spending $250,000,000 on the new building. However, the company plans to stay in Chicago. According to McDonald's, the company generated $2 billion for the Cook County economy. Kempczinski urged local leaders to take charge of the city in the wake of Boeing, Caterpillar and Citadel all leaving Illinois.

The People Who Play by the Rules PAC has released an ad highlighting how out of control crime is in Chicago, Chicago City Wire reported. It begins with words on the screen reading, "On a Sunday afternoon in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood…" Then it shows a video of a woman walking down a residential sidewalk when a car pulls up. Three men get out and mug the woman. She can be heard violently shrieking in the ad. The ad ends with words reading, "How much worse does it have to get?" This comes as crime has increased dramatically over the past several years. To make matters worse, the SAFE-T Act is set to take effect on Jan. 1, which would release offenders assessed of violent crimes including second-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated battery and arson.