Seven people dead, at least 38 wounded, and the man running Illinois posted about Father's Day. That's the weekend in Chicago — and the stakes for every American who has to live under leaders who refuse to enforce the law.
At least two dozen shootings ripped through the city from Friday evening through the weekend, according to Chicago police. The worst came Juneteenth night on the South Side: an SUV rolled up to a crowd, two gunmen inside opened fire, and a dozen people — men and women ages 17 to 47 — went to four hospitals. A 32-year-old man was shot in the head. A 26-year-old was listed in critical condition. The shooters drove off and were still loose as of Sunday.
The Associated Press counted seven dead and 38 injured across the weekend. The New York Post, citing local reports, put the toll at five dead and 22 wounded — a significant discrepancy that speaks to the chaos on the ground and the difficulty of getting straight numbers from a city that has every incentive to downplay the carnage. The Post also reported that Pritzker posted on X about Father's Day on Sunday but did not acknowledge the violence — a detail the AP and Hartford Courant both buried.
President Trump called it out directly: "Why isn't Governor Pritzker calling me for help? I could make Chicago a safe City in ONE MONTH, in ONE YEAR, it would be one of the safest!!!" he wrote on Truth Social. Pritzker's office did not respond to requests for comment from either outlet. Under Trump, National Guard troops have already been deployed for crime-fighting missions in New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and Memphis.
Mayor Brandon Johnson offered the usual script: "Violence has no place in our city, and those responsible will be held accountable." Every weekend in Chicago, that promise gets broken.
The AP was careful to note that violent crime rates have "generally dropped" in recent years, and the Post acknowledged murders are down 35% compared to four years ago — but also reported homicides are up 8% so far this year. The trend line the establishment press wants you to see is the long one. The trend line on the ground is the one heading back up.
Here's what connects the border crisis and the urban crisis: the same political class that won't lock down the southern border won't lock down the streets of Chicago either. Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, can't answer for a weekend of bloodshed in his own state — but he wants the authority to tell the rest of the country how to handle national security. The bipartisan failure isn't just in Washington. It's in every governor's mansion and city hall where enforcement takes a back seat to politics.
The shooters in that SUV are still out there. Pritzker still hasn't said a word about the dead. And next weekend in Chicago is already on the calendar.
