Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Stephen A. Smith Tells JB Pritzker To His Face Chicago Violence Has ‘Been Incredibly Alarming’

Screenshot/YouTube/ Stephen A. Smith

SiriusXM host Stephen A. Smith told Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on “Straight Shooter” Wednesday that the many years of bloodshed in Chicago have been disconcerting to him.

Chicago murder rates for six-month periods from 2018 until June have ranged from 7 to 17.3 per 100,000, according to the Council on Criminal Justice. Smith asked Pritzker on his show how worried he was about the city’s violent crime and how he responded to residents’ concerns.

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“I can’t tell you on how many occasions I’ve been incredibly alarmed by hearing one thing after another about the violence in the city of Chicago,” Smith said. “I know you’re not the mayor of Chicago … and I respect that … and I know that Chicago is not the murder capital. There’s at least six different cities that are worse, for crying out loud. St. Louis, I believe, has been measured as the worst. But I still ask this question. It’s been incredibly alarming to hear one year after another, after another, what’s been going on in the streets of Chicago.”

“And even though the numbers are down … homicides are down 32%, shooting incidents have decreased by 37%, robberies are down by 31.9%. All of that being true, it still alarms me that so much stuff has gone on in the streets of Chicago spanning decades,” he added. “How concerned have you been about it? And most importantly, how do you address local families asking for ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and local law enforcement just to keep them safe?”

Pritzker responded by defending his record while acknowledging more progress was required.

“I’ve added so many more state police than have been there in quite a long time. And we’ve invested in community violence intervention,” the governor said. “And it’s working. And you can see it if you look back four years — every year, every year we’ve reduced significantly. It’s now homicide rate down 50% now from four years ago.”

“There’s a lot more work to do. I don’t want to suggest to you that we’re done. We’re not,” he added. “And that’s why, once again, we continue to make the investments here.”

Moreover, Pritzker described Chicago’s summer as “amazing” on “Pod Save America” on Oct. 9 despite 123 murders occurring in the city in June, July and August, according to an analysis by WBEZ Chicago. While the number of murders in these months was the lowest since 1965, according to WBEZ, they still represent well over one murder each day.

Furthermore, at least 58 people were shot and eight killed during Labor Day weekend in Chicago, according to NBC 5 Chicago. The governor minimized violent crime in Chicago on Sept. 1 following the deadly weekend, telling NBC 5 Chicago reporter Mary Ann Ahern that crime is an inevitability in large cities.

There have also been 453 homicides in Chicago over the last 12 months as of Oct. 14, according to ABC7 Chicago.