FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 30, 2023

CHICAGO REPUBLICANS:  NO “RACE CARDS,” MAYOR! 

The Chicago Republican Party condemns Mayor Brandon Johnson’s recent “race card” attack, wherein he asserted that “right-wing extremism” has targeted “democratically-run cities that are led by people of color” to “create disruption and chaos, while referring specifically to the Republican Party. To the contrary, the Chicago Republican Party has proposed solutions to the multiple issues facing our city. 

“This deep crisis in Chicago will not be solved by race cards and dog whistle politics,” stated Chicago Republican Chair Steve Boulton.  “We need consensus on sound polices to fight crime, promote prosperity, and address the illegals. Our constructive proposals have simply been ignored by the Johnson Administration.”  

On crime, the Republicans offered a plan for restructuring police oversight while installing the community policing strategy that has worked in other cities.  The City Council instead adopted the “GAPA” plan, which is unworkable for both the dedicated police officers and the public.  Republicans will soon be offering a candidate for Cook County State’s Attorney who will end the chaos stemming from the failing policies of Kim Foxx. 

“There cannot be justice without order,” Boulton added. “There cannot be prosperity without peace.”  

On illegal immigration, Republicans have offered specific suggestions on policies and governmental changes to better address the crisis, while warning that as long as the southern border remains open things will only worsen. We have attended meetings of outraged residents without seeking to speak or incite - but the Republican Party has been there when many Democratic officials have not. We have protested in a civil manner the expenditure of multiple millions in city funds without accountability and transparency for taxpayers, when those funds are now being denied to citizens who reside in minority communities.  

In all, the Republicans of Chicago reject completely the Mayor’s attempt to shift blame for the multiple crises created by failed Democrat policies. We instead urge the Mayor to seek constructive dialogue with persons with whom he disagrees, rather than dredging up racialist aspersions reaching back over a hundred years (and we remind him that Democrats, not Republicans, fought to preserve slavery in the Civil War). The problems in Brighton Park and other Chicago neighborhoods are immediate for those sincere residents who have valid views.  

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