There is nothing like the downward slide a deep blue city experiences in the hands of a mayor committed to the worst principles of a progressive socialist agenda. It's even worse if that mayor is in a position to be able to indulge the most extreme of them.
Chicago is an excellent example of what happens when a crusading progressive of little talent but much umbrage meets a big city machine that hands over the keys to his worst whims. Mayor Brandon 'Bear of Little Brains' Johnson, teacher's union tool and crusading social justice warrior of small renown, has been at the city's helm for three years now. And in that time, the residents and folks who have to work there have seen their safety and quality of life plummet even further than the already sketchy city was known for. Perversely, those who would prey on them have experienced a revival of spirits, with a city administration in office that actively removes impediments to their criminal activity while offering soothing noises to calm taxpayer anger about that activity itself.
Rioting, destructive, and rampaging teens are not mobs and out of control - they are exuberant youths who simply need guidance.
One cannot arrest and incarcerate one's way out of a crime wave.
These are but a few of the Bear's bromides.
Another choice made early in his tenure took a little doing, as he was going against the express wishes of the very people he was claiming he was trying to protect from the racism this crime-fighting tool represented - Shotspotter. The crime-ridden neighborhoods where these gunshot noise detection devices were located wanted them to remain. The mayor insisted they were racist and eventually won his battle to cancel the contract and have them all removed.
Who needs the cops quickly at a specific location when bullets fly, vice wandering around wondering exactly where? Besides, Johnson is none too fond of cops in any event, so it was a win-win for him.
Hizzoner's still virtue-signaling away with the important stuff - creating official Chicago city offices so more non-governmental organizations can get grants to administer some of that sweet cha-ching to 'prevent violence.'
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to tighten city gun purchasing rules with executive order
...The executive order is designed to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent only on firearm vendors that demonstrate strong legal compliance and responsible business practices. Gun violence prevention advocates say the measure uses the city's purchasing power to hold firearm manufacturers and vendors to higher standards of accountability.
...The executive order is the latest step in Johnson's broader public safety agenda.
Last month, the mayor signed an executive order creating Chicago's Office of Gun Violence Reduction. The office is responsible for developing a five-year citywide strategy, coordinating services for victims of gun violence and laying the foundation for a permanent city department focused on violence reduction.
The office also supports the city's summer safety strategy and the Chicago Department of Public Health's incident command initiative, which targets 27 neighborhoods with violence intervention and crisis response efforts.
As opposed to having Shotspotter get cops there quicker to arrest criminals committing violent acts.
See how that works?
Johnson's not the least bit interested in the grandmother terrorized by gangs of 13-year-olds with automatic weapons in her neighborhood who go to all the classes in the world and then are out in front of her humble walkup at 2 in the morning.
The mayor is more about the NGO that's developing the classes that never do seem to reduce anything but the city's coffers.
There was also a very public dust-up between the Bear of Little Brains and the President of the United States over crime on and around the lines of the Chicago Transit Authority's rail system.
President Donald Trump is escalating his criticism of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson following the arrest of a repeat offender accused of setting a woman on fire aboard a Chicago Transit Authority train.
The attack occurred last week and left a 26-year-old woman severely injured. The suspect, 50-year-old Lawrence Reed, has a lengthy criminal history — 72 prior arrests and eight felony convictions. In August, a Cook County judge released Reed after he allegedly hit a social worker so hard she was knocked unconscious.
“They burned this beautiful woman riding in a train,” Trump said Tuesday. “A man was arrested 72 times — think of that. And they’ll let him out again. The liberal judges will let him out again.”
The president also blasted state and local leadership, calling the mayor “incompetent” and saying the governor has “totally lost control.”
Johnson's answer was basically...
But the Bear had to pretend he was doing something because now he was under pressure from the Feds and being compared to the mayor of Charlotte. No matter how often he called Trump a racist, the facts were always pointing back at Chicago's lax attitude toward crime, either prevention or prosecution.
By April of this year, his latest perfunctory efforts to improve CTA rider safety and get the Trump administration off his back were - SURPRISE (!) - turning out badly. I can't imagine why - Johnson had private unarmed security guards known as 'violence interrupters' on CTA trains against the thugs who prey on CTA riders.
The “violence interrupters” were unsuccessful huh?
— Herschel Schmoikel Pinchas Yarucham Krustovsky (@FredAll98654008) April 21, 2026
By the end of this past April, Cook County Sheriff deputies were riding shotgun on the cars and platforms.
You were forced to do this by the Trump Administration to get your federal funding, not because you want to do your job of protecting the people of Illinois. Keep voting democrat retards.
— Victor Talbott (@VictorE1369) April 21, 2026
But oftentimes, and perhaps you've noticed this with certain people in your own sphere, when one is really stupid, one is really stubbornly determined to continue on stupidly.
This maxim applies to the Bear of Little Brains who has rolled out his latest and possibly greatest attempt to thwart both railway transit crime and the constant beating he is taking from the Trump administration over his failures at every step.
Johnson's putting up signs in every CTA car that explain politely that violence has no place there.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office and the Chicago Transit Authority are launching a new public awareness campaign warning that prosecutors will seek pretrial detention for people accused of committing violent crimes on public transit.
CTA launches anti-violence awareness campaign
The initiative will place more than 7,000 signs on CTA buses and trains that say, "Violence on the CTA will not be tolerated. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office will prosecute and seek pretrial detention for all violent offenses on public transit."
Should work.
Chicago's new solution to crime: Signs on the CTA that say violence is illegal. NOT satire. pic.twitter.com/obVVOYXW4o
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 28, 2026
Just like another fabled anti-violence campaign I was immediately reminded of when I saw these two smiling women and their sign posting.
Remember the anti-rape video released by the Finnish government, which was intended to educate their unassimilated immigrant and culturally diverse new population about the sexual differences in their new home? Ah, the 'No-No Square' lesson.
Chicago might as well be singing...
Stop! Don't stab/rob/beat me here!
This is the No-No car!
Editor’s Note: Help us continue to report the truth about corrupt politicians.
Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member