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“I was one of the first community leaders to call for a
reversal,” Hardiman told The Center Square. “I’m happy to see a
lot of other people getting on the bandwagon now. We have too
many issues to fix in Chicago right now to be trying to fix an
issue that was self-created.”
Hardiman argues the reasons for his position are as apparent as
they are endless.
“There have been over 7,400-plus armed robberies in Chicago this
year; over 540 people have been killed and the crime continues
to increase,” he said. “Now, we have a mayor spending more time
attempting to fix a crisis that was created by bad policy.”
Hardiman further estimates that there are already thousands of
homeless people spread across the city with the government not
doing nearly enough to address the issue, he said.
“Now, all of sudden you want to go meet with the president to
try to secure $5 billion to deal with this particular migrant
crisis,” he said of Johnson’s recent request alongside other
mayors impacted by the crisis. “I feel it’s a slap in the face
of all the people of Chicago.”
Given all of Chicago’s other pressing issues, Hardiman argues
the money could be much better spent in other areas in the push
to get the city back on the right track.
“Why not ask for $5 billion to hire a lot of these young guys in
Chicago that are committing crimes,” he said. “Let’s raise $5
billion to get them off the streets … provide some type of
employment to help them and reduce the gun violence. It’s like a
plague of violence roaming around our city right now … and all
of a sudden you step up to the plate for people coming from a
distant land.”
In penning a letter seeking the additional funding, Johnson was
joined by fellow big city mayors from New York, Los Angeles,
Houston and Denver, all of which have also seen a steady influx
of recent migrant arrivals as so-called sanctuary cities.
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