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John Catanzara, who has criticized city officials and their
handling of crime, is meeting with city residents to try and
help solve the city's crime problem.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has been in office since May, and car
thefts and robberies have risen significantly since. Overall,
crime is up 26% when compared to last year.
Last month, Johnson said crime is down.
"It is something that I think about every day, I really do.
Violence is literally outside my front door, but now it is
better," Johnson said. "What makes a city safe is creating
opportunities and investment, and we've done that already."
Catanzara said numbers may show crime is down in some areas, but
perception is everything.
"We are taking suggestions and recommendations on what should be
done because it is getting worse, not better," Catanzara said.
"Violent crime may be down, but the feeling of being less safe
in this city is prevalent."
This comes after a weekend in which 44 people were shot, and two
died from their injuries. There have been 1,977 shooting
incidents in the city so far this year.
The city is also dealing with a flow of non-citizens who have
been bused to the Windy City from the southern U.S. border.
On CBS's Face The Nation Sunday, Pritzker was asked if he thinks
the city will be able to handle the Democratic National
Convention, which is scheduled for next August, in the middle of
the migrant influx.
"I am confident that we can handle it. But again, it will
require help from the federal government, and someone needs to
work in Texas with these border politicians to have them stop
sending people only to blue cities and blue states," Pritzker
said.
Catanzara said if the city doesn't get it under control, there
will be issues.
"Our hands are somewhat tied. We have done everything we have
possibly could to limit the impact on our police stations [where
some migrants have been housed] and our members," Catanzara
said. "It is likely to get worse over the next 6 to 9 months
before the convention."
Chicago has seen over 16,000 migrants arrive over the past 13
months.
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