Daily Herald editorial: A war of words: We need leaders to tone down the rhetoric before things get out of hand
If you listen to President Donald Trump and officials in his administration, Chicago is a “hellhole” and is one of the most dangerous cities in America.
On the other side, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Trump has declared war on the city.
“There is no insurrection here,” he said. “Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and pawns in his illegal attempt to militarize our nation’s cities.”
While both sides trade sound-bite jabs, the courts will decide the legality of deploying National Guard troops on the streets of Chicago.
In the meantime, it’s wise for everyone to tone down the rhetoric. Sound-bite jabs are doing nothing to keep this situation from boiling over into something that could lead to more violence.
The Trump administration would be wise to heed advice offered by U.S. District Judge April Perry during a hearing on Monday at which she declined to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois.
“If I were the federal government, I’d strongly urge holding off until Thursday,” she said of the plan to activate troops. Perry is scheduled to hear arguments on the case on Thursday.
According to numerous reports, troops were on the ground in the Chicago area Tuesday morning.
Masked agents with guns standing around downtown Chicago landmarks might look like action to some, but it’s doing nothing to lower the temperature. What purpose do they serve other than to intimidate people and inflame tensions?
Masked agents using a helicopter and unmarked vehicles to storm an apartment building and using zip ties to restrain people — some of them U.S. citizens — are not doing anything to make people here feel safer. More troops with guns are not the answer to the predicament we find ourselves in now.
Certainly, Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other leading Democrats could do more to denounce the tactics of some protesters who go too far and encourage more non-violent rallies and marches like the one our Barbara Vitello attended on Saturday in West Chicago.
But, at the same time, Pritzker and other officials here didn't start this situation, and the Trump administration officials who did — as well as many of their political supporters — are not helping matters with continually ramped-up rhetoric, innuendo and sometimes outright false declarations
We need our leaders, on both sides, to step up and find a way to lower the temperature before things really get out of hand and innocent people are caught in the crossfire.