Mayor outraged over parties in Chicago: 'We will arrest you and take you to jail'
Mayor Lightfoot warns that large parties might lead to arrests
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was outraged on Saturday that people in Chicago are going to large parties during the stay-at-home order and the coronavirus pandemic. "We will arrest you and we will take you to jail. Don't make us treat you like a criminal. If you refuse to do what is necessary to save lives, we will take you to jail. Period. We're not playing games. We mean business," Lightfoot said.
CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was outraged on Saturday that people in Chicago are going to large parties during the stay-at-home order and the coronavirus pandemic.
"We will arrest you and we will take you to jail. Don't make us treat you like a criminal. If you refuse to do what is necessary to save lives, we will take you to jail. Period. We're not playing games. We mean business," Lightfoot said.
The mayor was responding to recent reports of a huge party in Galewood last weekend. She spoke at the corner of Springfield and Adams in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on Saturday, where she said that a party was being planned.
"We will be towing cars. We will arrest the homeowners. We have given enough warning. If our message is not resonating, we have to take that next level of enforcement to make sure we save lives," said CPD Superintendent David Brown.
Brown said there are six parties planned for Saturday night, and there were several parties dispersed on Friday night.
"You need to stay at your home. That is what this means. Going to party now while Chicagoans are still dying is the height of foolishness," Lightfoot said. "If you want to have a dance party, TikTok. For every foolish person that hosts a party, you are putting yourself in danger and others in danger."
"Black people can get COVID-19. The first death in our city was that of a black woman," the mayor added. She noted that 53% of the deaths are among black people.
"When you go home to your mama or your grandma, you are bringing death to their doorstep. Make no mistake about it. If you care about them, you will stop this foolish, recekless behavior," Lightfoot said.
Jahmal Cole, founder of My Block My Hood My City also addressed the people who had the huge party in Galewood last weekend during the governor's press conference on Saturday.
"You use your graphic design skills to make a beautiful flyer, you had hundreds of people show up. That demonstrates you got the skills. Why don't you do event planning somewhere?" Cole said. "Set some goals and do something with your life."
Parties are not the only things in violation of the Stay-at-Home order. A beauty store on Doty Avenue that was also seen to be open.
And a "Reopen Illinois" rally on Friday in Chicago attracted about 300 people, most of whom did not wear masks or follow social distancing guidelines. That rally was mostly held on state property, Lightfoot said Saturday.
"As long as they were complying, we had a good strategy and plan. There were a couple knuckleheads who wouldn't listen and they got arrested," Lightfoot said.
"We want to be a constitutional policing organization," Brown said, noting that the protesters were exercising their First Amendment rights.