CHICAGO (WLS) — Two months before the Democratic National Convention, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wrote an urgent appeal to President Joe Biden, asking for federal help to stop gun violence in the city. Oddly, Mayor Johnson’s letter to President Biden makes no mention of the Democratic National Convention, instead focusing on the summer holiday weekends when shootings and murders typically spike.
“We need help,” is the gist of the mayor’s personal letter to the president dated June 18, obtained by the I-Team through a public records request. It asks for concrete federal assistance to curb gun violence, to arrive before the expected violence of the Fourth of July weekend.
Given the 109 shootings over the Independence Day long weekend, in which 19 people were killed by gunfire, there was no indication that the mayor’s letter to the president would have led to the arrival of federal aid.
The letter, addressed to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, begins by boasting that the number of murders and shootings in the city has decreased this year. But then the mayor writes: “I am reaching out to you because our city needs your help.” Johnson names agencies and resources in the Department of Justice “that could support Chicago, such as emergency response, victim assistance, and crisis intervention units.”
In the June 18 letter, the mayor then asks the president to “discuss how Chicago can access these resources and secure additional support before July 4.” This gives the White House two weeks to quickly organize aid for Chicago.
City Hall emails, also obtained by the I-Team through a public records request, show that after the mayor’s letter, there were some conversations between administration officials in Washington and senior staff members of the mayor.
After the bloodshed began that Fourth of July holiday weekend, many of the emails among the mayor’s staff revolved around planning a post-July 8 police press conference and drafting a speech for the mayor about the escalating violence in Chicago.
Without mentioning his letter to the President, Mayor Johnson referred to the city’s need for assistance during the press conference. “I am confident that our ongoing discussions will ensure that our partners at the state and federal levels come to the aid of the City of Chicago quickly. The City cannot afford to wait any longer,” said Mayor Johnson.
A City Hall spokesperson confirmed to the I-Team that the “Office of Public Safety meets regularly with federal partners” to discuss resources for the city and safe streets and communities.
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