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Curtis Hill, Jr., former Indiana attorney general and an ambassador
for the black conservative coalition Project 21, said Chicago
mayor-elect Brandon Johnson was a poor choice by voters as he
“listens to the cries of criminals and hoods instead of the pleas
for help from honest citizens wanting to live in peace.”
Hill pointed to Johnson’s response to the April 15 riot in Chicago.
Hoards of teens smashed windows, climbed onto vehicles and harassed
tourists in the Chicago Loop. Two teenagers were shot in the melee.
Johnson has refused to condemn the rioters and said the young people
were acting out of desperation.
“They’re young. Sometimes they make silly decisions, and so we have
to make sure that we are investing to make sure that young people
know they are supported,” said Johnson at a press conference in
Springfield.
Hill said Lori Lightfoot was voted out of office partly because she
was soft on crime.
“And then they turn around and elect someone who appears to be by
his responses to be just as bad if not worse when it comes to
understanding what it takes to deal with the criminal element,” said
Hill to The Center Square.
State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, also defended the actions of
the rioters. He took to Twitter and called the rioting “a mass
protest against poverty and segregation.”
Chicago police said plans are in place to prevent further mayhem. A
curfew for minors in Millennium Park will be enforced. Anyone under
18 was required to be accompanied by an adult after 4 p.m. Friday.
Another member of Project 21 and co-pastor at Fernwood Community
Outreach Church in Chicago, David Lowery, Jr., is not pleased with
the voter’s choice for Chicago mayor.
“Johnson will be a puppet for the Chicago Teachers Union and won’t
do anything other than follow instructions of the handlers who put
him in office. Chicago will continue to suffer because its citizens
chose somebody with black skin instead of experience,” said Lowery
in a statement.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in Illinois
for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of experience in radio
news reporting throughout the Midwest
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