By: José Niño
Could Chicago be facing a major purge of law enforcement?
Roughly half of Chicago’s police force —13,000 to be exact — refused to share Wuhan virus vaccination information with the City of Chicago by the deadline of October 15, 2021. Because of their refusal to receive the vaccine and share information concerning this matter, these police officers could be fired.
Earlier this month, John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, called on police officers to ignore the city’s Wuhan virus vaccine reporting mandate. He urged them to file exemptions to receive the vaccine and not provide any information to the city’s vaccine portal.
Chicago’s Police Superintendent David Brown threatened to fire police officers who don’t comply with the city’s vaccine mandate. He even warned that the police officers’ retirement benefits could also be stripped. The last line of defense for Chicago, a city situated in an already anti-gun state, could now be on the chopping block. This does not augur well for public order in the Windy City.
Right now, Chicago is being afflicted by a nasty crime wave. John Boch of The Truth About Guns put some crime figures in perspective. As of October 25, there have been 701 homicides in Chicago. Boch noted these numbers represented “more homicides than 38 states had for all of 2020.”
Chicago’s governance is negligent all around. Cook County’s State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is notorious for her lax crime policies. One of the most egregious incidents of negligence on Foxx’s part was her refusal to charge gang members who carried out a violent shootout. Her rationale for this decision was that these gang members were involved in “mutual combat.”
The combination of stringent gun control laws and weakened law enforcement has all the makings of a social disaster for Chicago. Americans living in red states should feel blessed knowing that they can exercise their right to bear arms and at least rely on law enforcement that can complete their basic functions. Most other Americans must cope with the unfortunate reality of living in jurisdictions where they’re deprived of basic freedoms and cannot count on the government to defend them.
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.