Chicago City Wire

U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Chicago) told Chicago's "Black Fire Brigade" that the Chicago Fire Department is racist and would let the South Side homes of blacks burn to the ground out of "contempt" for being forced to move out of those neighborhoods in the 1960's and 1970's.

"Firefighters have watched so many buildings in our neighborhood that are boarded up," Jackson said. "Some people working in these battalions and in these fire houses used to live in these neighborhoods and they are so angry they had to leave— and they left when we (black residents) came— that when there is a fire, and they go there, they watch the building burn."

"Go to the North Side. If you see 16 units or 25 units in a single building, they put out the fire in a single unit. If we have a fire in one unit, and the whole building gets evacuated," he said. "Because we didn’t have people who live in the community, that care about the community, that wanted to put the fire out. They had so much contempt, they let the building burn. We need more black first responders, more black fire fighters."

Jackson, 58, was first elected to represent Illinois' First Congressional District in 2023. He replaced longtime U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Chicago), who held the seat from 1992 through 2022.

Jackson is the son of political activist and 1988 U.S. Presidential Candidate Jesse Jackson Sr., and the brother of former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Chicago), who served two years in federal prison for misusing campaign funds.

Jonathan Jackson formerly ran the Budweiser beer distributorship for Chicago's North Side, and was dubbed "the King of Beers" by former Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass after it was revealed that his father secured the business by launching a national boycott of the beer brand in the 1980s.

The Black Fire Brigade, 8404 S. Kedzie Ave., says its mission is "to promote and protect the fire service while providing continued education and resources to members along with preserving the history and heritage of the black firefighters."