Imagine for just a few seconds that you lived in Chicago. Every single day you read and hear about the soaring violence and the tremendous impact it has on the thousands of victims. In a 14 month period over 875 souls have been murdered, infants, babies, toddlers, hundreds of teens, seniors, no age group or gender spared. Another 4,600 have been shot and over 1,718 have been victims of violent carjackings.

No matter where one lives in the City the violence is real and folks are aware and living, if not in fear then in a state of high alert. So along comes none-other than the Governor of Illinois using his pulpit when signing a Supposed Criminal Justice Reform Bill to label folks as FEARMONGERS who are concerned about a major part of the bill that will completely eliminate cash bail from the Bonding process. Gee! ya think they would be at least a bit concerned to learn that violent criminals will be sent right back through the revolving door they came through in less than 24 hours most times. Not so in the Governor’s mind, HE’S LABELED THOSE CONCERNED FOLKS FEARMONGERS. I’m not sure what kind of a life J.B Pritzker lead before he spent almost 173 million dollars of his own fortune to become Governor, but I’m betting it was either Disney World or the land of the STEPFORD WIVES.

One could not be that out of touch unless he lived on another planet. Not since Hillary Clinton labeled those who disagreed with her political platform a”BASKET OF DEPLORABLES” has a politician besmirched so many decent people with such a blatant disregard for legitimate concerns. Nero fiddled while Rome burned, Marie Antoinette at least offered cake, Pritzker and his family who are surrounded by armed security 24 hours a day offer up an astonishing insult.

I once had a young police officer who was assigned to my unit to work undercover as a decoy. Strong-armed robberies, armed robberies, and chain snatchings were gripping the city’s transit system. He felt that he was not doing something quite right, none of the offenders were picking him out and he was frustrated. I explained to him that it was his demeanor and his sense of security, he was armed, he had other protections on his person, and of course, he had back up no more than 10 seconds away, so his aura, so to speak, gave him away.  He didn’t have the same look as a defenseless citizen would have and the criminal element could sense he was not a typical victim. I sense that Governor Pritzker and his assessment of other people’s fear as Fearmongering also lacked that urgency and most likely NEVER EVER felt what most city folks live with on a daily basis and that is to be alert to your surroundings.  Chicago is not Disney World, dangerous people exist, a little fear and apprehension are sometimes very prudent in order to stay safe.

The question that comes to mind is could a person who was born with billions of dollars and lived in a mansion most of his life ever be able to feel, what hundreds of thousands of others do, who have to negotiate life in a big city? Being a billionaire could possibly cause one to feel “Entitled, Impatient and Arrogant,  but a sense of decency carries no monetary weight. Governor Pritzker needs to know that the mind is slow to unlearn what it learned earlier. Lots of folks in Illinois will not forget being labeled a Fearmonger and maybe another 173 million dollars will not be enough next election. Leadership cannot be bought.  Even people labeled Fearmongers have long memories.