By Mark Weyermuller -
On the last day of the 2020, a couple hundred people gathered at the Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue to honor the 792 people killed in Chicago this year. The group was led by Father Michael Pfleger of Saint Sabina Church.
Father Pfleger said this: “Unfortunately while we have been working on COVID 19, we have ignored the virus of violence in the city of Chicago.” Each person at the rally was given a city of Chicago flag with gunshots on it and dripping in blood. The group marched north on Michigan Avenue to the water tower to hold a prayer vigil.
The website heyjackass.com has reported crime statistics daily. They also have reported over 4000 shootings in 2020. Another good site for crime information is cwbchicago.com. Unfortunately local newspapers and television stations have not covered crime as a priority in Chicago.
In 2019, there were 495 homicides in Chicago which is a 62% increase for 2020. There is much speculation on causes. It seems having kids not in school was an large part the problem. The courts letting people out for Covid and other reasons also contributed to the problem. According to CWBChicago, 33 people charged last year with murder were out on bond for other crimes.
What happened to home monitoring and other conditions of bond?
Many blame Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx for being soft on crime. The rioting and huge increase in retail thief has also contributed to violence. Now the state will not prosecute retail thief under $1000. Macy’s just announced they are leaving their flagship store on Michigan. I’m sure partly due to retail thief issues. People are also afraid to travel downtown.
Some have said the the conversation of defunding the police has contributed to the problem. Many blame guns but I blame the criminals. There needs to be less focus on guns and more on the criminals. There are rumors too that there has been a informal “stand down order” preventing police from doing interventions prior to crimes being committed.
Adam Hollingsworth joined the march with a sign reading “Kids Lives Matter.” He goes by the name of “Dreadlock Cowboy.” In September he rode his horse named NuNu on the Dan Ryan Expressway to bring attention to the violence against kids. The horse allegedly was injured leading to animal cruelty charges against him. There were reports that NuNu the horse was hurt but those stories appear untrue as he is being kept at a Tinley Park Petting Zoo, in excellent shape. It’s unclear why Kim Foxx is pursuing this case with the massive violence going on in the city.
One theory is Mayor Lightfoot was mad about the expressway stunt. Earlier in the year Lightfoot hired Hollingworth as the “census cowboy” to promote people filling out the census. He has been riding his horse at events for the past couple of years on the south side and is well known in the community. Hollingsworth has also been seen doing some fashion modeling for a high end clothing line His court case is coming up again later in January.
One case, I am following is the murder of Yesenia Venegas. She was beaten, stabbed, and dumped in the Chicago River near the Addison Street bridge in October. I took the photos below of a shrine set up on the river walk in Clarke Park.
There appear to be no arrests in this case and zero media coverage since that week in October.
Much of the leadership of Chicago now is only focused on Covid. Others like me are focused on reopening Chicago.
Day 296: What happened to 14 days to flatten the curve? We need to reopen at 100%, lift all regulations, open indoor dining, & put kids back in the classrooms.
We need to promote freedom, liberty, and opportunity to get Chicago back on track. We also need to support the police, as they say, “Back the Blue.” I’m optimistic for 2021 as I’m seeing good people step up.
Mark Weyermuller is a small business person, retired real estate professional, and conservative activist in Chicago. He is a citizen journalist, frequent guest on talk radio, and regular contributor to Illinois Review.
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