Lori Lightfoot has one more month of being mayor of Chicago, but after this weekend, she’s probably glad to be handing the keys over to Brandon Johnson and seeing how well he does with this chaos.

If Johnson’s statements to the press are indicative of how he’s going to govern as mayor, then the answer is “not good at all.”

In case you missed it, Chicago this weekend turned into a teenage riot. The chaos began on Friday night, but it was Saturday night that saw the most violence.

On Friday night, hundreds went to 31st Street Beach, running around and lighting a fire. They brazenly chased police cars and smashed the window on a squad car. A 14-year-old was shot nearby.”

On Saturday night, hundreds of teenagers went to Chicago’s downtown area, which is known as “The Loop.” They tried to get into Millennium Park (home of the Bean) and ran up and down Michigan Avenue. They jumped on cars and a CTA bus. One woman told FOX 32 Chicago that people jumped on her windshield, smashed it, and then attacked her husband as he sat inside the vehicle.”

By the end of Saturday night, 15 people were under arrest and two teenagers had been shot.”

Considering that there were “hundreds of teenagers” running around causing havoc, and only 15 arrested, it sounds to me like the police were absolutely overrun. There are multiple factors being blamed right now. First, the weather in Chicago warmed up to 82 degrees on Friday, and the same on Saturday, before the temperatures dropped and snow came into the picture. Apparently, the warm weather just makes the kids feel like smashing things! But if you point this out, you’re a “snitch,” says state Senator Robert Peters.

Just doom scrolling about Black children and snitch tagging media late at night seems unbearably depressing. Like it was a nice spring week and they’re expecting snow on Monday. Chill.

— Robert Peters (@RobertJPeters) April 15, 2023

It should be noted that Peters put out that statement on Saturday morning. But he wasn’t sorry for it on Sunday afternoon. In fact, this was his attitude after three teenagers were shot.

Since I’m a glutton for punishment and I’m sure I’m gonna get the most unhinged, crime weirdo replies but:

I would look at the behavior of young people as a political act and statement. It’s a mass protest against poverty and segregation.

Rest in peace to my mentions.

— Robert Peters (@RobertJPeters) April 16, 2023

So, kids beating up random people, smashing cars, and shooting other teenagers is a “mass protest against poverty and segregation.” Sure. You know who didn’t use that excuse? Lori Lightfoot. She issued a press release (why bother being on camera, it’s not like this is going to be her problem in a month) and told parents that they are responsible for what their kids are up to. Wow.

Twice in the last few days, several large groups of young people have gathered across the city. Many of them were there to have a good time and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. However, some of those young people were involved in reckless, disrespectful and unlawful behavior. As I have said before, we as a city cannot and will not allow any of our public spaces to become a platform for criminal conduct. Most importantly, parents and guardians must know where their children are and be responsible for their actions. Instilling the important values of respect for people and property must begin at home.”

I appreciate the individuals and business people who have reached out to me to express concerns. I have shared those concerns with the acting Superintendent and senior leadership within the Police Department in very candid and productive conversations.”

CPD leadership has assured me that they will make the necessary adjustments to address these teen trends issues as we move into the summer months.”

We have invested millions of dollars to support community-based organizations to partner with youth to co-activate fun, safe spaces all over the City throughout the year. We ask parents to partner with us by making sure that your children’s plans are safe and that they know when to exit a situation before it becomes unsafe.”

Now, Lori Lightfoot has tried to push the idea of parental responsibility and curfews in the past. But it’s now clear that with the election of Brandon Johnson, that talking point is going to be abandoned.

Johnson, for his part, has zero control of anything at the moment, but he wanted this job. I predicted that reality would come knocking at his door immediately, but before he’s even mayor? That seemed a bit much. Still, he’s going to be walking into this situation – and he still doesn’t want to accept the reality of it. In fact, Johnson is actively shifting blame AWAY from the “youth” who are actually COMMITTING CRIMES.

Chicago’s incoming mayor really tried to say “last night rioting was bad but please don’t blame the rioters.” https://t.co/fcX1pABZY6

— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) April 16, 2023

Wow, Chicago, you’ve got a real winner here. So, it’s not the KIDS’ fault for smashing cars and a bus – it’s because they’re… bored? “Starved of opportunities” to smash up cars in “their own communities.” What does this mean OTHER than “please don’t yell at the kids, I haven’t had a chance to do things MY way yet!” I’m going to guess that things like this do NOT make people feel like Chicago is a safe place to be, and that future mayor Brandon Johnson has no earth-shattering plans to keep the kids from running wild. He plans on throwing money at more programs and more cronies (hello, teachers’ unions!) because that is the progressive way to solve problems: spend money. And when those plans fail, the answer is spend MORE money.

Politicians like Peters and Johnson are giving the kids a pass because they want this violence to fit their political agenda. Do you think the kids actually care about that? I doubt that. These problems are going to follow Johnson into office, and unless he is willing to deal in realities instead of progressive unicorn farts, I expect that not much is going to change for the city of Chicago.

Featured image via campaign website brandonforchicago.com, cropped