Chicago mayoral challenger Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia unveils public safety plan

CHICAGO - Arguing that a mayor who "cannot keep us safe" is a mayor Chicago "cannot afford to keep," U.S. Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia on Friday unveiled a sweeping plan to stop the violent crime that is foremost on the minds of voters.

Garcia joined the parade of mayoral challengers promising to deliver Chicago from violence after delivering a blistering indictment of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s leadership on the issue that was supposed to be her greatest strength as a former Police Board president.

"She turned her back on reform. She fired the people who were its biggest champions. She installed a police chief who lost the faith of everyone around him. She was supposed to be tough and results-oriented. I know. I endorsed her. But when she failed, instead of doing what a leader does — taking responsibility and solving problems — she dug in," Garcia said.

"While she was … pointing fingers and hurling insults, Chicagoans were dying. There are no words for … the shattered families, for the children senselessly shot as they walk out of school, for the people dealing with the trauma of carjackings and armed robberies. A mayor who cannot keep us safe is a mayor we cannot afford to keep."

With demoralized police officers retiring faster than the city can hire replacements, police staffing levels are "near their lowest in recent history," Garcia said. Between 2019 and August 2022 "about 2,406 officers and staff retired, nearly 1,000 officers resigned."

Garcia vowed to rebuild staffing levels and police morale by disbanding citywide task forces and reassigning those officers to neighborhood beats; hiring civilians to handle all administrative positions; using predictable and rational scheduling to stop the relentless string of canceled days off; and dramatically increasing pilot programs that free officers from responding to calls for mental health services and other nonpolice emergencies that comprise so many 911 calls.

He also promised to implement hiring and retention incentives for officers and take proven violence prevention programs "to scale" in Chicago’s 15 most violent neighborhoods.

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"I know some people are surprised to hear a guy like me who spent decades as a community activist, community builder supporting hiring police officers. But building the violence prevention programs in Little Village was only possible by having an understanding with police," Garcia said.

"Yes, we have to hold police accountable. But we cannot treat them like the enemy and expect things to get better. I’ve spent decades working on better police-community relations and I can tell you: As long as police officers feel attacked, nothing will change. The other side to that coin is the question of accountability. We need to set and enforce clear standards for police conduct."

Like mayoral challenger Sophia King, Garcia also vowed to tackle a vexing issue that Chicago mayors have been avoiding for decades — by putting more police officers where calls for service are the highest.

Nearly two years ago, a model designed by the University of Chicago Crime Lab called for a radical approach to the perennial demand to assign more Chicago Police Department officers in those violent neighborhoods most in need of steadily diminishing police resources.

The U of C’s pro bono study created a formula taking into account calls for service, total violent crime in the area, population and attrition of retiring officers.

Under the formula, veterans and rookies would be reassigned immediately, based on those and other factors. The conclusion: CPD can staff high-crime districts at proper levels, even after a recent wave of retirements.

Garcia accused Lightfoot and her hand-picked police Supt. David Brown, whom he has vowed to dump, of "burying" that report and fudging response time to make them look better than they really are.

"They seem to think that citywide task forces that do not know our communities can swoop in and keep us safe. They are stuck in the past. And do you know who knows it? The carjackers, the shooters, the armed robbers. And they’re acting with impunity across the city," Garcia said.

"If you want to know what Mayor Lightfoot thinks about Chicagoans who are concerned about crimes, just look at her latest ad. Instead of moving us forward, she calls us `haters.’ Really? `Haters.’ That’s what she calls everyone who does not think the city is doing all it can to make us safe. She’s not serious. I am serious. And it’s time to stop blaming everyone and to start doing the job."

Garcia was the last candidate to enter the nine-candidate race for mayor of Chicago. He is also the last to unveil his plan to confront violent crime.

Even before Garcia joined the parade, former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas accused the apparent mayoral frontrunner of "giving lip service" to public safety.

Vallas noted that every member of Congress is allowed to "select priority projects for additional funding," including 10 in fiscal year 2022 and 15 more projects in fiscal 2023.

Of the 25 projects chosen by Garcia, "not a single project addresses public safety," Vallas said.