By John Ruberry
The biggest news story in Chicago at the end of last week was the vandalism of Chicago’s iconic Buckingham Fountain by pro-Hamas protesters.
That’s tragic, because the more important news was the arrest of 16-year-old Raysean Comer, who according to court records allegedly shot to death a 7-year-old, Jai’mani Amir Rivera, on Chicago’s West Side. Rivera had just completed first grade. The murder occurred about a mile from the United Center, where the Democratic National Convention will be held later this summer.
Say his name: Jai’mani Amir Rivera.
Illinois’ governor, J.B. Pritzker, a likely 2028 presidential candidate–and possibly even this year–was the main catalyst for bringing the DNC to Chicago.
Again, according to court records as well as the essential CWB Chicago site, Comer was on pre-trial release, but under electronic monitoring, for alleged aggravated battery and being in possession of a stolen automobile. Two weeks ago, according to local officials, Comer cut off his ankle monitor.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is in charge of the county electronic monitoring program.
Hey Dart! Did you try to find Comer after he removed his ankle monitor?
Back to Pritzker.
With great fanfare in response to the George Floyd murder–the Chicago Democrat signed the SAFE-T Act into law–it eliminates cash bail throughout Illinois. It took effect last autumn.
Comer is now locked up in Cook County Jail. But he’s the 14th person in Chicago this year, according to CWB Chicago, who is accused of shooting, attempting to shoot, or killing someone while on pretrial release.
Hey Jackass, another great Chicago site, notes that last week was a very bloody one. “Final tally for the week of 6/16 – 6/22: 125 people shot, 24 fatally,” Hey Jackass posted Sunday morning on X. “The last time #Chicago tallied at least 125 shot in a single week was 9/26/21 – 10/2/21 with 23 killed, 102 wounded.”
Violent crime is increasing in Chicago, despite false assurances otherwise. Murders, for now, being an exception. As I’ve noted earlier here at DTG, Pritzker, and Chicago’s leftist mayor, Brandon Johnson, scored a lucky break when a court challenge delayed implementation of the SAFE-T Act. Summer is the most violent season in Chicago, and the summer of 2024, as we know, has started off badly in terms of public safety.
So far this year, according to Larry Snelling, Chicago’s police superintendant, 127 youths have been shot. And seventeen of them have died.
Chicago’s violent crime epidemic pre-dates the SAFE-T Act. Eight years ago, a George Soros-funded catch-and-release prosecutor, Kim Foxx, was elected as Cook County’s state’s attorney. She chose not to run for a third term, her successor will be an improvement.
Friday night, the Chicago Police Department held a press conference announcing the arrest of Comer. It was one of those “all-hands-on-deck” events. Perhaps they were out of town or otherwise busy, but three people were noticeably absent at the presser: Foxx, Dart, and Mayor Brandon Johnson. Chicago’s mayor spoke favorably of the Defund the Police movement in 2020, and he’s the most egregious minimizer of crime in his city.
The SAFE-T Act is a monumental failure, and it needs to be repealed.
If Pritzker runs for president, law-and-order Americans–still a majority in this country–needs to tell everyone else that he signed the SAFE-T Act into law. Or better yet, chant “SAFE-T Act!”
Johnson needs to be reminded that his most important duty is to protect the lives of 2.7 million Chicagoans. His dismissal of youth violence as kids doing “silly things” makes things worse.
Good riddance to Foxx.
Say his name: Jai’mani Amir Rivera.
There is a GoFundMe page dedicated to covering Rivera’s funeral expenses. Click here to donate.
John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.
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