Lightfoot tells McDonald's CEO to 'educate himself' after he warns of rising Chicago crime
'City in crisis': McDonald's CEO calls out Chicago's crime problem
The CEO of McDonald’s told business leaders in Chicago that tough economic conditions including rising crime have made it more difficult to attract employees and suggested the city does not have an adequate plan in place to address the issues and prevent companies like his from joining the growing list of companies that have fled the Windy City.
CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot fired back at the CEO of McDonald’s after he highlighted the difficulty rising crime in the city has caused for his business, telling him he needs to "educate himself" on the matter.
"I think what would have been helpful is for the McDonald's CEO to educate himself before he spoke," Lightfoot said during a media availability on Tuesday.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski warned in a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago luncheon last week that it was time to "face facts" and acknowledge that companies have been leaving the city over the past year due in part to rising crime.
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"The fact is that there are fewer large companies headquartered in Chicago this year than last year," Kempczinski said. "There are fewer this month than last month."
Kempczinski also said that rising crime is hurting his company’s ability to recruit top talent and that employees have been hesitant to return to work at the downtown headquarters due to crime concerns.
(Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images / Getty Images)
In the press conference, Lightfoot also pointed to a letter from World Business Chicago President Michael Fassnacht that she says "lays out in exact detail all the good news, economic news, about what’s happening in our city."
"I’m going to focus on those things and not the comments of CEO of McDonald’s," Lightfoot said.
McDonald’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment from FOX Business.
Several high-profile companies have announced they are moving their headquarters out of Chicago with some of them, including Citadel Securities, citing rising crime as a factor in the decision.
Chris Kempczinski, here in 2017 at the McDonald's corporate restaurant at what was then the company's Oak Brook, Illinois, headquarters. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Chicago’s deadliest year in a quarter-century was 2021, with 797 homicides, the most since 1996 and 25 more than were recorded in 2020.
Additionally, there were 3,561 shooting incidents in 2021, which is just over 300 more than were recorded in 2020 and a staggering 1,415 more than in 2019.
Mayor Lightfoot's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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