Article from For Liberty by Norm Leahy.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned residents to stay off the streets and obey the strict stay-at-home orders or face possible fines and arrest.

“We will shut you down, we will cite you, and if we have to, we will arrest you,” she said. “Don’t make us treat you like a criminal, but if you act like a criminal and you violate the law and refuse to do what’s necessary to save lives in the middle of a pandemic, we will take you to jail. Period.”

The state’s “stay-at-home” order is a legal mandate, and Chicago police have the authority to issue citations and to arrest those who are not complying with the order.

“If you host a party, promote a party, or go to a party, we are not playing games. We mean business, and we will shut this down one way or another,” she said. “The time for educating people into compliance is over. Don’t be stupid. We’re watching you, and we’re going to take decisive action.”

Lightfoot followed up her press conference by approaching a group of young people at a playground telling them “let’s move on, let’s move on.”

One person said, “Y’all need to find a cure, you’re talking about go home. You go home.”

In mid-April, Lightfoot faced criticism for getting a haircut, despite the shutdown of personal care businesses and her own remarks that “getting your roots done is not essential.”

Lightfoot defended getting her hair done, saying “I’m the public face of this city. I’m on national media and I’m out in the public eye.”

Image Credit: By Jamelle Bouie [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons