Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is facing backlash after describing Chicago’s summer as “amazing,” despite the city’s ongoing struggle with violent crime.
Appearing Thursday on the Pod Save America podcast, Pritzker painted a rosy picture of Chicago’s recent months, citing record tourism and dismissing claims that the city is crime-ridden.
“We’ve had truly an amazing summer,” Pritzker said. “We’ve had greater tourism than ever before in the history of Chicago and in the state of Illinois. The idea that people are wearing flak jackets and murders are happening right and left — it’s ludicrous.”
However, Fox News Chicago reported that between June and August, 123 people were murdered in the city — a grim reality that contradicts Pritzker’s upbeat assessment.
Pritzker acknowledged the city’s history of crime but claimed it has seen progress.
“Four years ago to today, we have half the number of homicides in Chicago,” he said. “The state, including the city, ranks 19th in violent crime. I’d like us to be number one — the safest.”
Officials in the Trump administration were quick to challenge Pritzker’s claims. On Monday, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin blasted the governor for ignoring the suffering of Chicago residents and for “smearing federal law enforcement.”
“Our message to him: go walk your streets,” McLaughlin told Fox News. “Go see the violent crime against your constituents — and against our own law enforcement. J.B. Pritzker needs to get a spine and stand up for the people of Chicago. If he won’t, we will continue to flood the zone and surge federal resources to keep Illinois citizens safe.”
During a follow-up visit to Chicago on Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed that an estimated 110,000 active gang members operate within the city — roughly 4% of its 2.7 million residents, or one gang member for every 24 people.
Patel described the situation as “untenable” and blamed “a culture of corruption, leniency, and political cowardice” that has allowed organized criminal activity to thrive.
Meanwhile, new evidence has surfaced of a shocking breakdown in cooperation between local and federal law enforcement. Radio transmissions obtained by investigators reveal that Chicago Police Department officers were ordered to stand down while federal agents came under fire last weekend in the city’s Brighton Park neighborhood.
According to DHS officials, agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were on routine patrol when they were suddenly ambushed by at least ten vehicles in what authorities have called a “deliberate attack by domestic terrorists.”
The agents managed to escape, but the incident underscored what federal officials described as a “complete failure of leadership” from city and state authorities.