Is Mayor Lightfoot and Governor Pritzker Turning Illinois Red?
We are a little over a week into December and the city of Chicago has already witnessed 17 homicides. Year-to-date, there have been 4,317 people shot and 805 homicides. Somebody is shot about every 2 hours and a person is murdered every 10 hours. This will be one of the deadliest years in the Windy City in the last three decades.
When discussing the issue of violent crime in Chicago, many reasons from talking heads will be brought to the forefront. Lack of fathers in the home, rap music, COVID, racial inequality, Trump. One of the main culprits has to be the progressive, soft-on-crime policies. Illinois, for instance, became the first state to eliminate cash bail. The result? Robberies and homicides galore.
In a zero bail system, the judges receive more power to release a criminal based on their risk to the public. Obviously, some judges will be more conservative or more lenient than others. This means some defendants are back on the street to commit more violence and potentially skip trial.
More criminals on the street plus a demoralized and defunded police force equals bloodshed. Much of the killing is happening in black and brown neighborhoods, the very people Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot say they want to protect.
When crime spikes, it is natural that citizens pack up and move elsewhere. California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Illinois are among the states with the most outbound residents. Since 2000, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York City, and Chicago have seen the most black residents leave town.
In Chicago, blacks are fleeing the most violent areas. For example, Humboldt Park has seen a 50% decline in its black population over the last 20 years. That percentage is only topped by New City at 56%.
With a reduction in the black population, could that mean reducing the Democrat voting bloc in the state?
Blacks are the most loyal group of Democrat voters. Pew Research reports 87% of blacks identify with Democrats. Unfortunately, blacks and Dems seem to have an abusive relationship that neither side is willing to let go of. Black folks vote Democrats into office. Dems implement policies that do not help blacks (or anybody in the working class.) They blame the black struggle on Republicans and convince blacks to vote for them again. Rinse and repeat.
Perhaps things are changing now. Blacks are moving out of the big, left-leaning metropolises could open an opportunity for Republicans.
Illinois, in recent years, has been a blue enclave. Democrats and Republicans used to be evenly matched. But, after redistricting in the early 2000s, which gave Dems the more populated suburbs and Reps the rural areas downstate, Democrats have dominated the Land of Lincoln. The state has had one Republican governor since 2003 (Bruce Rauner), while Chicago has not elected a Republican mayor since William H. Thompson in 1927.
All signs are pointing towards a red wave in 2022 and 2024. Will the incompetence governing of Pritzker and Lightfoot aid in turning Illinois red again?
