Chicago residents say their 56th mayor has some explaining to do after posting a TikTok of her singing karaoke Wednesday despite a 37% spike in violent crime in the city.
The video, made to promote Chicago’s citywide karaoke competition, was posted to encourage people to participate in the challenge, which ends November 6.
“It’s time to sing your hearts out, Chicago!” reads the video’s caption. Our karaoke competition is starting Sunday and will go until Nov. 6th. Now’s your time to shine.”
The video comes at a vulnerable time in Chicago, where more violent crime is being reported in 2022 the when she took office in 2019, according to the Chicago Police Department.
About 21 Chicago residents out of every 100,000 are shot every year, according to way.com. For every 100,000 people, 21 are killed. This year alone, there have been 1,432 sexual assault cases and 6,883 reports of aggravated battery.
Chicago leads the nation in mass shootings, with an average of one per week. After the third mass shooting in four days, Lightfoot said: “We are part of a club of cities to which no one wants to belong: cities with mass shooting.”
On Monday, Lightfoot unveiled her City Hall budget, which includes a $64 million dollar increase in funding the Chicago Police Department. She also announced she plans to add 35 positions in the Department, according to local news station, WTTW.
The increase will be used to “fund our consent decree obligations, as well as replacement of the aging vehicle fleet, new technologies for @Chicago_Police & the department & the replacement of CPD helicopters,” Lightfoot said in a tweet.
Lightfoot is the first LGBTQ mayor and first black female mayor of Chicago and was sworn in by Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox in May 2019.
