Everyone misspeaks, especially those constantly in the public eye.
So we tried to give Mayor Brandon Johnson the benefit of the doubt when he, very visibly heated during a news conference last Tuesday, made a highly problematic statement about police and law enforcement.
“Jails and incarceration and law enforcement are a sickness that have not led to safe communities,” he thundered, adding that he would work to “eradicate” this sickness.
It was a lengthy exchange, but that was the hot-button quote that will get replayed lots of times, likely during mayoral campaign that will get underway in earnest a little over a year from now. Johnson critics immediately seized on his statement, believing it exposed their long-held belief that Johnson fundamentally is a radical who would defund the police if it were politically feasible.
The quotes were incendiary enough that Chicago reporters gave Johnson a chance later in the week to walk back his apparent denigration of his own police force. Amazingly, he blew that opportunity and came close to doubling down.
There was a flick to common sense — Johnson noted that law enforcement alone doesn’t keep communities safe and that law enforcement agrees with him on that front; few would disagree — but he again got agitated.
“The people who heard my statement, they knew exactly what I meant and what I’m talking about,” he said. “They’re using this moment to politicize, to justify their own insecurities. I’m not gonna stand for it, I’m not gonna take it, and neither will the residents of this fine city.”
He could’ve said he meant in no way to disparage those putting their lives on the line every day to keep Chicagoans safe. He could have reminded folks he was the one who appointed the popular Larry Snelling police superintendent. He didn’t.
So the message he delivered remained a divisive one, meant to cast aspersions on those who would hold criminals responsible for their actions and to find common cause with those who believe in third, fourth and fifth chances for criminals.
We don’t believe this is a winning political message, but we do think it is revealing of what Johnson really believes — that policing and law enforcement are at best necessary evils in reviving the Chicago neighborhoods most beset by violent crime. And that’s giving Johnson the benefit of the doubt; he did of course initially refer to law enforcement as a disease.
We’re seeing more than one instance recently of saying “the quiet part out loud.” President Donald Trump showed his true colors at the massive memorial service Sunday for Charlie Kirk, the slain conservative political activist and organizer, when he remarked that Kirk didn’t hate his opponents and “wanted the best for them.” “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them,” Trump said.
Unfortunately, we believe the president. That’s how he behaves time and again. But it was revealing to have Trump saying the unspeakable about his fellow Americans out loud like that.
This is not to say that Johnson’s divisive rhetoric around public safety rises to Trump’s level of outrageousness. Rather, the moments served to give us true windows into the actual human beings holding these offices.
We’re fortunate in Chicago that we have a capable police superintendent and strong chief prosecutor in Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke. Both are dedicated to keeping the public safe and making criminals pay. Judging by the decline in violent crime this year, they’re doing a good job of it.
O’Neill Burke called the mayor’s statement “disappointing and disheartening.” We imagine Snelling — and the thousands of CPD officers risking their lives every day — felt the same way even if they weren’t at liberty to comment publicly. It shouldn’t be too much to ask that Snelling in particular have the unequivocal support of the mayor who put him in the job. The morale of both Snelling and O’Neill Burke matters.
Johnson’s controversial comments also added unfortunate fuel to national perceptions that Chicago is a crime-ridden metropolis that is unserious about fixing its own problems. His critics, including Trump, are watching closely for missteps — even asking Chicago Transit Authority leadership for data on crime on the transit system and warning of federal funding cuts if action isn’t taken.
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It shouldn’t be too much to ask that Chicago’s mayor offer the public his confidence that the Police Department (which he ultimately oversees!) is properly enforcing the laws and is not in fact a “sickness.” We find it difficult to believe we have to say so.
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