Is Crime in Chicago on a Doom Loop?
Bail reforms may be making witnesses more reluctant to come forward.
“Three o’clock in the afternoon, my wife got carjacked right in the city of Chicago and it’s absolutely insane what’s going on here,” Chicago Mercantile Exchange CEO Terry Duffy complained during a March 13, 2023, podcast interview.
“Ninety percent of the carjackings in Chicago are done by juveniles,” Mr. Duffy added. “So the juveniles go in and they come right back out literally an hour later.”
“CME CEO Duffy Says Firm Is Prepared to Leave Chicago ‘If We Had To,’” reported Tracy Alloway and Joe Wiesenthal on a related note for Bloomberg last week.
“We have sold all of our property in the state of Illinois, in the city of Chicago,” Mr. Duffy said. “We don’t own anything any longer. In our leases, we have a language in there that says if there’s something that’s ill-conceived from the city or the state, that our leases are null and void. We’re in a very strong position. If we had to leave, we could leave.”
Chicago city leaders, chief among them newly sworn-in Mayor Brandon Johnson are in a much weaker position. The city is badly in need of revenue, while at the same time dealing with an eroding tax base. Too many major corporations have pulled up stakes in Chicago over the past three years.