Chicago’s violent weekend: 30-plus shootings and zero arrests

More than 30 shootings occurred over the weekend in Chicago , marking the third straight weekend with such high criminal activity.

An 18-year-old woman was shot in the head while sitting in a parked car. She was pronounced dead upon being taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. The same hospital listed a 16-year-old boy in critical condition after he was shot in the abdomen while standing in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant.

These heartbreaking tragedies are unfortunately nothing new for the city of Chicago. Over Memorial Day weekend, at least 42 people were shot and nine killed.

Underlying the disturbing nature of this trend is a far too common reality: Not a single arrest was made in relation to these senseless acts of violence. Not one.

That is not to place blame or imply incompetence on the Chicago Police Department but to highlight an ethical virtue that no longer seems to matter in so many blue cities. The entire concept of justice appears to have disappeared from their moral consciences.

Those who wreaked so much havoc in Chicago this weekend will most likely pay no price for their abhorrent behavior. When criminals think (or know) that they can get away with committing a crime, they’re significantly more likely to carry one out. And when no punishment is inflicted, time and time again, innocent people are going to increasingly lose their lives to violent criminal activity.

Is there any easy solution? No, of course not. Gun violence has long been a major problem in America’s cities, and it’s a complicated problem that features nuance and legal complexities. Where we might want to start, however, is by making it clear that we should extend our sympathy first to the victims of crimes before we extend any to the perpetrators.

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The light-on-crime policies adopted by progressive cities such as Chicago (at the behest of leftist mayors like Brandon Johnson ) cause more problems than they solve. Those criminals from this past weekend are all still out on the street. The issue of a revolving door is irrelevant when no arrests are made in the first place.

The power of justice lies not in the suffering of the criminal but in the peace and inner strength afforded to the victim and their loved ones. May those whose lives were upended by the violence this past weekend receive that which they deserve.