During a press briefing on Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson found himself in a heated exchange with independent journalist William J. Kelly.
The confrontation arose when Kelly posed a question regarding the city's escalating teen violence, which he suggested was overshadowing public safety concerns at a Christmas market near City Hall. Kelly's question was pointed: "Why is it that you think a Christmas market across the street from City Hall is more of a threat to public safety than violent black teenagers running down State Street, shooting people at a Christmas tree lighting? Shows your priorities. What do you say to those [concerned citizens]?"
Mayor Johnson, a Democrat, responded sharply, labeling the inquiry as "disgusting and racist," and dismissed it by stating, "That they should avoid you. I'm not going to entertain [it] because the whole premise of everything that you bring up is not only disgusting and racist, there's no fact to it." According to The Post Millennial, the question referenced a tragic incident on November 21, when a 14-year-old boy was killed and eight other teenagers were injured in a shooting that followed the Mayor's Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Millennium Park. The violence erupted into riots and two separate shootings along State Street, raising concerns about the city's handling of public safety.
Kelly, undeterred by the Mayor's rebuke, took to social media to describe Johnson and his staff as "petty schoolyard bullies." Prior to questioning the Mayor about the State Street incident, Kelly highlighted another violent episode involving 26-year-old Bethany McKee, who was brutally attacked on a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) L train. The suspect, Lawrence Reed, a repeat offender with over 70 prior arrests, had doused McKee in gasoline and set her on fire. Mayor Johnson had previously characterized this attack as an "isolated" case, attributing it to a systemic "sickness" that incarcerates "violent repeat offenders who look like him."
The Mayor's comments have faced backlash from various quarters, including residents and business leaders, particularly within the black and brown communities. Kelly's probing questions about the city's public safety strategy seemed to strike a nerve, leaving Mayor Johnson visibly unsettled and on the defensive.
The exchange underscores the ongoing debate over how best to address crime and safety in Chicago, a city grappling with complex social and economic challenges.
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