1000 Shootings in Chicago, Gun Group Tells Emanuel: ‘Time to Go’

Mayor Rahm Emanuel. (Photo: Jim Young / Reuters/Landov)

Chicago is a hotbed for violence.  So far this year, there have been over 1,000 people shot in the Windy City, according to a recent report published by The Chicago Tribune.

Placed in a historical context, the timing of that tally shows that things aren’t getting better, they’re only getting worse. The city reached that unfortunate milestone last Wednesday, “six to nine weeks earlier than in the previous four years,”  as the Tribune noted.

At the city’s helm is embattled mayor Rahm Emanuel, who despite various calls to action and policy proposals has failed to right the ship.  Consequently, there are many calling for his immediate resignation.

One such individual is Alan Gottlieb, the chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, a grassroots pro-gun organization with 650,000 members and supporters nationwide.

“Rahm Emanuel’s administration has been a disaster for public safety,” said Gottlieb in a press release. “His incompetence and anti-gun ideology as a public official are responsible for his inability to deal with this situation. So far this year, there have been more than 170 homicides, and the mayor has been all talk and no results.”

Gottlieb pointed out how Emanuel has worked to undermine one’s Constitutional right to keep and bear arms by making it difficult for gun stores and gun ranges to set up shop in the city.

“While the mayor has allowed his city to descend toward anarchy,” Gottlieb added, “his administration has worked aggressively to keep the public disarmed and vulnerable, making them all victims of Emanuel’s failed policies.”

“When an elected official consistently fails to lead, when his policies result in more suffering for the citizens he is supposed to represent, and when his strategies have proven to be one huge demonstrable failure, then it is time for him to step down,” Gottlieb insisted.

Of course, Emanuel has shown no sign of stepping down.  Instead, he seems to be offering more of the same sanguine language.   

“As a city, we cannot rest until we fully address the systemic issues facing the Chicago Police Department, and the steps announced today build on our road to reform,” said mayor Emanuel Thursday.

Emanuel’s reforms include “strengthening CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs so it can better hold officers accountable for wrongdoing,” and “improving CPD training programs so they help officers better understand cultural differences,” among other steps that are designed to “increase transparency,” “restore trust” and “strengthen police accountability.”

“Under the leadership of Superintendent Eddie Johnson, the police department will implement these reforms immediately while we continue to work together to find additional ways to restore the fabric of trust in communities across Chicago,” he continued.  “As we look toward the future, our city will be better off because we faced up to these challenges and confronted them head on.”

In a nutshell, it’s more of the same from the Emanuel administration.  The sad thing is that as his administration continues to spin its tires trying to solve this issue, law-abiding citizens are left to fend for themselves in the war zone that is Chiraq, most likely unarmed and defenseless (Illinois CCW issuing process is not only time-consuming but cost prohibitive as well, particularly for low-income residents, i.e. those most likely to live in high-crime neighborhoods).