Chicago Democrat excoriates Lori Lightfoot for emboldening criminals, running the city 'into the ground'
Raymond Lopez also took aim at President Biden for not acknowledging Lightfoot's failed policies in Chicago
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Chicago alderman and mayoral candidate tore into fellow Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday, accusing her of emboldening criminals with her soft-on-crime policies, which he blames for the city's deadly crime wave.
Alderman Raymond Lopez, who is running to unseat the mayor in the fall elections, told "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Thursday that deadly shootings over Memorial Day weekend and other incidents offer a glimpse into the city's dangerous conditions under Lightfoot's leadership.
CRITICS EXCORIATE LORI LIGHTFOOT FOR ‘CALL TO ARMS’ OVER ROE V. WADE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Chicago is in a state of lawlessness right now thanks to the policies of Lori Lightfoot, who has enabled and emboldened criminals to feel that they can literally get away with murder on the streets of Chicago at any day of their choosing," Lopez told Fox News' Jesse Watters.
Lopez told Fox News that hours before his appearance on the program, a police officer had been shot in the city.
"We have seen not only our law-abiding citizens becoming victims to violence with almost 200 people shot and killed in the city this year so far, but we have also had an officer shot not just yesterday but today as well," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 14: Crime scene tape hangs from a door knob outside of a tow company garage following a shooting where at least 15 people were reported to have been shot, two fatally, on March 14, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois.
Lopez's comments come as a reported 35% surge in year-to-date crime continues to cripple The Windy City. A 16-year-old was tragically shot dead in Chicago's Millennium Park, marking just one of the nine fatal shootings reported in the city over the holiday weekend.
"Criminals run around knowing that they have the mayor at their side, that Lori Lightfoot is willing to stand up and enable them to be as lawless as they want," Lopez said. "Going back for the last two years when she first allowed the righteous protesters to come down and destroy the city of Chicago and in every step since she has tried to deflect and divert attention from her failed policies that have led to Chicago the most American of American cities, a global city, to be run into the ground under her leadership."
Lopez also took aim at President Biden and the White House for failing to acknowledge the deadly consequences of Lightfoot's policies.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mayor Lori Lightfoot, shown at City Hall on April 15, 2021. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
"We have had six mass shootings in the city of Chicago this year alone…not once has anyone on the national level, let alone our own mayor called out the shooting for what they were: mass shootings," he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"No one wants to touch it because it’s something that we are directly responsible for in cities like Chicago where we [Democrats] are in charge, where we are the leaders," Lopez argued, "And they choose to deflect and dodge responsibility while we continue to see the carnage on our streets."