CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she would like to see cooperation throughout the region to deal with the growing number of carjackings in and around her city.
On a day when the City Council honored a Chicago firefighter killed during an attempted carjacking, Mayor Lightfoot said combatting these kinds of violent crimes is a top priority.
Lightfoot said she’s convening a meeting of mayors and police superintendents from the region this week. Carjacking is a problem that has no borders, she said.
The mayor concedes many of those carrying out the crimes are juveniles, but she doesn’t support proposals to charge all the young suspects as adults.
Each case is different, she said, and officials and community leaders need to get to young people before they make fatal decisions.
Meanwhile, Lightfoot said Wednesday, the Chicago Police Department is increasing the number of officers assigned to the issue.
Also Wednesday, the Chicago City Council approved a measure that would strengthen city’s so-called “Welcoming City” ordinance.
Among other things, the revised ordinance would remove exceptions to the ban on Chicago Police cooperating with federal immigration authorities, though a judge might bring the feds into a case.
Alderman Raymond Lopez voted “no,” saying immigrants in the 15th Ward believe that would protect undocumented immigrants in street gangs.
Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) — a lead sponsor — said Lopez is mistaken. She said it’s simply about due process for people who might be accused of a crime.
The Council voted 41-8 to approve the changes. Lightfoot said some of the remarks made about the measure were “racist.”
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