Chicago alderman forced to abandon pledge to camp out in crime-ridden ward after narrowly missing gunfire
One Chicago alderman is speaking out against city leadership after police urged him to abandon his pledge to camp out in the crime-ridden portion of his ward due to escalating violence.
17th Ward Alderman David Moore was camping out in a tent for two nights on an abandoned lot in West Englewood to draw attention to an alleged open-air drug market before gunfire rang out just feet from him, ultimately injuring one victim. After the incident, Chicago police vowed to work with Moore to create a plan to end the drug violence in the area.
"What is going to take is this administration and certain policies to uncuff… take the handcuffs off our police," Moore told "Fox & Friends" Monday. "We have to make sure that they have the tools, including the item called ShotSpotter. They detect gunshots, making sure that they have the tools that they need to combat these problems. We need to stop listening to all of these activists… where White progressives are making a whole bunch of money to tell Black people what to do in their community and telling them to stop things like car stops in order to get guns and drugs off the street."
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"These type of policies are hurting our communities, keeping young people from being able to come out and play and seniors able to sit on their porches," he continued.
Moore's goal in camping out in his crime-ridden ward was to end drug trafficking in the area. He vowed to work alongside Chicago police officers to ensure they execute their plan to curb city violence.
Leading up to the shooting, Moore said he heard lingering threats that morning but was largely unconcerned because he had security with him at the time.
He said one woman approached him saying there was going to be a Father's Day barbecue on the block he was camped out on, and shortly thereafter gunfire rang out. He claims there was a rival crew that was in a territorial dispute with another group. One person was injured in the shooting.
Moore said while law enforcement has been battling crime and violence for years, it ultimately has not been enough to curb the bloodshed.
Co-host Lawrence Jones asked Moore what progressive Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has coined himself as an activist, has done to combat the ongoing trend.
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"Being an activist – there's nothing wrong, I was an activist as well, but you got to be activating the right issues, and you activate those right issues by listening to the people in those communities, not what you think your ideology is or what those people who put you in place, usually... rich, White progressives who want their policies pushed in order to keep poor people down because there's profit in poverty," Moore said in response.
In Moore's Ward alone, there have already been 13 murders, 136 aggravated assaults and 92 drug abuse violations this year, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee is set to hold its 2024 convention in the Windy City in August, which is expected to draw thousands of tourists and delegates.
"Do you believe having the convention there is going to show the problem at large, or do they find some way to clean up the city just for the convention?" Jones asked Moore.
"It's not going to show the problem at large, for the simple fact is that, this administration wants to extend – like I was talking about ShotSpotter through the DNC, right? But you don't want it after the DNC, so we want ShotSpotter there to protect the dignitaries and highfalutin people, but we don't need it... to protect the everyday people," he responded.
"The DNC won't be on… West 73rd Place. They'll be in a beautiful downtown area with lots of police, lots of state police, lots of federal police, and so you're going to see a different Chicago instead of the two Chicagos that we know of," he continued.