Chicago and the rotten harvest of Progressive policies

Another typical weekend in Chicago, where 30 people were shot. One guy was sitting outside on a porch before midnight when unidentified individuals pulled out guns and started blasting. The victim is in grave condition but still breathing, for now.

Not so lucky was the man who was hanging out on a “sidewalk when someone opened fire on him and took off.” He didn’t make it, succumbing to his injuries later at the hospital. Overall, out of the 30 folks wounded by gunfire, 5 didn’t survive.

This level of bloodshed has long plagued Chicago, earning it the title of murder capital of the U.S. for 12 consecutive years — a distinction that would scare even Al Capone, to borrow a line from the Wall Street Journal. From 2022 to 2023 alone, violent crime surged by 11.5%, and homicide rates are now 50% higher than they were 10 years earlier.

The Bible says you’ll know a tree by its fruit. And when it comes to progressive governance, the fruit isn’t merely rotten — it’s downright deadly.

So it’s fitting that Chicago hosted the left’s grand convention last week. Not only because of their “criminals are the real victims” mindset but also because the city stands as a warning to the havoc leftism would inflict on America as a whole. If we’re not careful, what’s happened to Chicago is exactly what progressive politicians have in store for the rest of us.

Let’s dig into the details, shall we?

Like other lib strongholds, Chicago’s leaders have basically decriminalized theft for anything under $1,000. What do criminals do as a result? They ensure that their haul doesn’t cross that magic number. If they do get caught — and that’s a big if — they’re only looking at a slap-on-the-wrist misdemeanor instead of a more serious felony.

This misguided priority is what the left calls social justice — which, practically speaking, means that business owners are at the mercy of retail gangs, all because Mayor Brandon Johnson is more fixated on launching a “reparations task force” than on protecting his residents and their property. To the mayor, the swarms of hostile mobs terrorizing neighborhoods are simply restless teenagers who have been “starved of opportunities.”

On that last point, Johnson might be onto something — but not in the way he thinks.

Chicago’s public school system is a chaotic environment where safety is scarce and educational progress is virtually nonexistent. Taxpayers in the Windy City fork out nearly $30,000 per pupil, yet only 25% of students meet the expected reading standards for their grade. For black students, that number plummets to 17%. Math scores are equally dismal.

Meanwhile, violence in these school districts has spiked by 26%, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. To make matters worse, the city decided to kick school police officers off campus despite students facing escalating threats to their physical well-being.

And how is the teachers’ union compensated for fostering this anarchy? With an average salary of around $94,000 a year. That’s not enough, however: They’re presently demanding an additional $50 billion in taxpayer funding for pay raises and other “benefits,” including subsidized abortions.

That’s the yield of leftist education: churning out kids who are functionally illiterate and sending them into the war zone known as public schools, all while staunchly opposing vouchers and other school choice options for parents desperate for something better.

Take the head of Chicago’s Teachers Union, for example, who sent her own son to a private school so that he could “live out his dream,” even as she works tirelessly to shatter those dreams for families who can’t afford to do the same.

If this is the fruit the left is offering — rotten schools and unsafe neighborhoods — I’d rather go hungry. And with Mayor Johnson’s plan to open city-owned grocery stores, Chicagoans might soon get that chance.

Rampant crime has led to the inevitable closure of many retailers, including supermarkets, leaving certain communities with what are called “food deserts.”

What’s the mayor’s grand idea?

He wants to fund government-run grocery stores — three of them, to be exact.

“In the absence of private sector action or commitment to provide sustainable grocery options, it is necessary for the city to play a role in creating and sustaining grocery services in neighborhoods that lack grocery access,” a report commissioned by his office explains.

Of course, there’s no “private sector action” because Chicago politicians refuse to protect businesses operating in these blighted areas. Profit margins are already slim. Stores can’t withstand the financial blows from the ongoing “social justice” smash-and-grabs. And when a business can’t remain profitable, it either shuts down or relocates — both of which are happening at breakneck speed.

Rather than addressing the root cause of these food deserts — lawlessness — Johnson wants City Hall to assume authority. The price tag? A cool $26.7 million “upfront,” with who knows how many millions down the drain afterward.

Conservatives haven’t overseen Chicago for almost a century, so the government grocery store will likely get the green light. When it does, the locals will quickly learn the harsh reality of government-controlled pricing and food distribution: shortages.

In fact, if Johnson thinks “food insecurity” is currently a problem, just wait until the city starts running out of other people’s money to spend.

Chicago is already sitting on a $538 million budget deficit. At some point, the cash cow will realize he’s being milked dry by power-hungry politicians and will seek greener pastures. As the New York Post observed, Chicago has seen nine continuous years of population decline, losing nearly 130,000 residents over that time period.

What was once the heartbeat of Midwestern grit and culture is now the poster child for what happens when progressivism takes hold: sky-high crime, economic decay, crumbling public schools, and people fleeing faster than Kamala dodging questions.

That’s the harvest. And Chicagoans are choking on it.

Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center.