Chicago alderman slams the murder capital's ‘disregard for human life'
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By Stephanie Samsel
Published March 31, 2025
Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez blamed the city's crime on the political elite's "love with criminality," while its mayor touts reported decreases in its total crime rates.
"We have a political elite that is in love with criminality, that encourages criminal behavior, pushes down our police officers, demonize[s] their work on a daily basis, and elevates the perpetrators of crime as the victims of society themselves," Lopez argued on "Fox Report," Sunday. "And that kind of coddling has brought us to where we are today."
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During a March congressional hearing, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson asserted that the city's 2024 number of murders reached its "lowest amount in five years under [his] leadership." This comes as Chicago is named the nation's homicide capital for the 13th year in a row, according to an analysis by Wirepoints.
Lopez blamed Johnson and other politicians for what he called Chicago's "disregard for human life."
"For the 13th year in a row right now, the disregard for human life is so high in the city of Chicago that you can literally have a group of 100 teens enjoying a warm day and almost expect at least two or three to be shot," Lopez said.
"And we, in fact, saw that just two days ago, where a 15-year-old was shot in a crowd walking down the Magnificent Mile," Lopez continued. "And many of our politicians, like Brandon Johnson and others, continue to make excuses, continue to rationalize this behavior, as opposed to hold them and their parents accountable for what's going on."
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Meanwhile, the Chicago Police Department reported a 10% decrease in the city's murders and a 17% decrease in total crimes in 2025, compared to 2024.
Lopez accused the mayor of lying about true crime statistics, blaming the reported decreases in crime on fewer people calling the police.
"People aren't calling 911 anymore," Lopez stated. "People are afraid. Police are unable to do their job because of cancellation of gunshot detection technology and other things."
The alderman went on to argue that politicians "negate" crime numbers in expressways or county roads considered outside of the city. The "South and West sides [of Chicago] and predominantly African-American communities" are especially impacted by crime, he added.
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"You have entrepreneurs trying to pursue the American dream and are being vandalized, shoplifted and destroyed simply because of the location, because the mayor refuses to call out communities for the behavior that's going on in them," Lopez contended.
"When you look at the robberies, the battery, the assaults, people are simply not calling 911 anymore," Lopez insisted. "And if that is what you're putting your victory lap on, that people refused to call 911, then you are doing a very poor job as mayor and truly don't understand the fact that crime has not changed, just people's accustomed accommodating it has."
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In February, only 6.6% of Chicago voters rated their mayor favorably, according to a poll from M3 Strategies. Print Close
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