Chicago is a food desert because it’s a crime paradise and virtue-signaling by Mayor Brandon Johnson won’t help. (Opinion)
by Merrill Matthews
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has a plan for addressing Chicago’s food-desert problem on the South and West sides. Could it be that he’s going to increase police funding and tackle the rampant crime and theft that have forced so many stores to close?
Of course not! Where’s the leftist virtue signaling in that! No, the mayor is going to create a government-owned and -operated grocery store.
On Sept. 13, the mayor’s office announced, “Today, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a partnership with the Economic Security Project to start on a pathway towards the opening of a municipally owned grocery store in Chicago.”
The statement explains, “This collaboration furthers the Johnson administration’s work towards repairing past harms that have contributed to purposeful disinvestment and exclusion and lack of food access in historically underserved communities.”
Let’s be clear: Nothing has contributed more “to purposeful disinvestment and exclusion and lack of food access” than the progressive policies of Johnson, his predecessor Lori Lightfoot, and the rest of the city’s elected officials.
The statement adds, “Historic disinvestment has led to inequitable access to food retail across Chicago, and these existing inequities have been exacerbated as at least six grocery stores closed on the South and West sides over the past two years.”
Hmmm. What happened in the last two years that might have led to the closing of those six grocery stores? Oh, I know, it was the Defund the Police and soft-on-crime policies embraced by so many big, blue cities like Chicago.
Next comes the hoped-for “reimagining” of government that thrills so many progressives: “The City of Chicago is reimagining the role government can play in our lives by exploring a public option for grocery stores via a municipally owned grocery store and market.”
A project advisor concludes, “The strides being made in the realm of food justice are now poised for a significant advancement towards innovative solutions. This opportunity marks a pivotal moment to forge pathways for food accessibility, with the City recognizing its role as a key partner in addressing market shortcomings.”
No, market shortcomings did not lead to Chicago’s food deserts. It’s the shortcomings of progressive policies. Six grocery stores—and probably many more—closed their doors in Chicago because of theft and physical violence.
Grocery stores are high-volume, low-profit enterprises. In Chicago, elected officials are ensuring too many of those stores have become high-crime, no-profit enterprises. So, the city will open its own grocery store.
But if Chicago politicians can’t run a successful city, why would anyone think they could run a successful grocery store?
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Originally published by Institute for Policy Innovation. Republished with permission.
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