John Kass was a long-time reporter/commentator for the Chicago Tribune. He has left the paper and now writes his own blog.
Mr. Kass is greatly concerned – outraged – by the actions of Chicago Mayor brandon johnson and Illinois Governor j. b. pritzker. In his latest commentary, he calls their actions a return the confederacy/a throwback to pre-civil war 1859. Here is a substantial part of – ok most of – what he has to say/why he feels this way:
Are we living in 1859?
I ask it that way because all you can see and hear from Chicago are chaos, anarchy, violence, leftist conspiracy theories and exhortations by Democrats to ruin, and murder federal officials enforcing the law. It’s getting worse by the day.
The residents of the Democrat fever swamp now scream across broadcast media that President Trump will end Democracy in a year. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to rely on information from the local left-leaning corporate legacy news media–Sun Times and Tribune–as violent leftist mobs backed by Democrat politicians continue attacking federal law enforcement officers across the country.
A leader of the Latin Kings Street gang was charged with ordering the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, whom Gov. JB Pritzker spent days defaming. Pritzker put a target on Bovino. The Latin King leader Juan Espinoza Martinez is now under arrest. Is that insurrection?
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (6 percent approval rating) and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker continue to demonize federal law enforcement officers. And the Chicago Police Department shamed itself by telling officers to stand down rather than come to the aid of Immigration and Customs enforcement agents being swarmed by leftist mobs on the Southwest Side and nearby suburbs.
Johnson and Pritzker shamed themselves, but their constant screaming against ICE agents put pressure on police to turn their backs on ICE agents calling for help on Saturday. Their vehicle was rammed by rioters. They were surrounded by the angry crowd whipped to a frenzy by Pritzker and Johnson. They were abandoned by CPD. Many officers were disgusted and ashamed. Police Supt. Larry Snelling did himself and his department no favors by not speaking clearly as to who gave the order to abandon the ICE agents.
Was it the mayor?
I’ve been a reporter in Chicago for almost 50 years and I’ve never heard of Chicago police abandoning fellow Law Enforcement officers. It goes against everything I know about them. Shameful and disgusting are just words. This is more than words. There may not have been an order to stand down, but the order was clear: turn your cars around and leave it alone.
At a press conference on Monday, the comically illiterate buffoon Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, already famous for his battles with reality and his wild panic attacks continued painting his deranged Civil War fantasies.
This time the mayor claimed that “the extreme Right in this country refuse to accept the results of the Civil War. They have repeatedly called for a rematch.”
A rematch?
Republicans were opposed to slavery then, and it was the Democrat Party protecting slavery and slaughtering Americans in the hope of preserving it. And they fought to allow the racist KKK to spread fear in the South.
Johnson also issued executive orders of dubious legal merit, creating “ICE free” zones where federal law would not apply.
He boasted that “in the coming weeks, we will use this opportunity to build greater resistance.” He then accused Trump of escalating “a war in Chicago.”
ICE Free Zones where federal law—approved by Congress and signed by a living president—doesn’t apply?
For years now, Chicago Democrats—from Johnson and Gov. J.B. Pritzker have gone on and on, screaming, full of angry rage against federal forces enforcing federal immigration law. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson: “The right wing of this country wants a REMATCH of the Civil War… The President has declared war on the people of Chicago and people across America.”
Again I ask all Americans: Are we living in 1859?
Well said, Mr. Kass. I wish it were otherwise, but you’ve pretty much nailed it.
On one level I pity the residents of Chicago and the State of Illinois for being led by two unbelievably disastrous political clowns like johnson and pritzker.
On another, however, they voted for these two – and you get what you vote for. So they – especially Chicagoans who, in one poll, gave johnson a single-digit approval ratings (which I have never in my life seen for any other politician) – deserve both of them.
One other thing: I’ve actually read that j.b. pritzker has designs on getting the Democrat nomination and winning the presidency in 2028; i.e. what he’s doing for Illinois he can do for the rest of us.
I don’t have the words…..
