# Mayor Johnson on Community Safety: Investment, Not Invasion

- Date: August 26, 2025
- Type: Video
- Length: 15:57
- Topic: Other
- Video: [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx5oozycXYo)
- Transcript: Machine transcription, 2,618 words ([text](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/files/transcripts/youtube/wx5oozycXYo.txt))
- Mayor: [Brandon Johnson](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor)

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=0) Responding to troop threat
- [1:30](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=90) Violence prevention funds
- [4:55](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=295) Policing and community
- [9:21](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=561) Investing in education
- [13:14](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=794) Future vision for Chicago

## Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson discusses President Trump’s threats to occupy Chicago with the National Guard, investing in people, and positive trends in Chicago’s community safety with the crew on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

## Transcript

[0:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=0) Let's bring to the conversation, Democratic Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, to respond to what you heard right there. Mayor Johnson, thanks for your time this morning. We appreciate it. I don't have to tell you about the generations-old problem of gun violence on the streets of Chicago. You are making some headway there just in the last couple of years. But what is your response to President Trump as he floats the idea of sending the National Guard into Chicago? Well, good morning. First of all, a military occupation of the city of Chicago would not only be illegal, but unconstitutional and costly.

[0:32](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=32) The city of Chicago is not requesting that federal troops come and occupy our city. In fact, I have not heard any mayor across this country call for American troops to come and occupy our cities. Look, we're working hard every single day to drive violence down in the city of Chicago. Since I've been in office, there's been a precipitous decline in violent crime in every single category. Just this year alone, we have a 32 percent reduction in homicides, almost 40 percent reduction in shootings and shooting victims.

[1:06](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=66) Robberies are down nearly 35 percent. Carjackings are down nearly 50 percent. We're moving in the right direction because we're making critical investments. If this president was actually serious about driving violence down in the city of Chicago and American cities across this country, he would work with mayors to make sure that we have the necessary investments to continue to do the work that we have been doing. Well, you've led me to my next question, Mr. Mayor, which is, if not for these troops coming into Chicago, what would a productive relationship with the Trump administration look like?

[1:40](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=100) If they were serious about fighting crime in the streets of Chicago, what could they offer you that would be helpful? Yeah, it's an excellent question. First of all, he could start by restoring the over $800 million that was taken away from violence prevention efforts back in April. Look, when I first became mayor of the city of Chicago, I made multiple requests to the previous administration to invest in violence prevention. That request remains. But these are also requests that I know that are being made in Baltimore by Brandon Scott, who's doing an incredible job.

[2:14](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=134) Barbara Lee in Oakland, who's doing an amazing job. Karen Bass in Los Angeles. Many mayors across this country. Randall Woodfin in Birmingham, Alabama. You are seeing declines that we have not seen in a generation. In fact, just the month of April this year, 2025, it was the safest April since 1962. Our work is working. This president and the federal government has a responsibility to ensure that cities have the resources that they need in order to continue to drive violence down across this country.

[2:50](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=170) And what programs would you want funded? What specifically do you consider to be violence prevention programs? What would the $800 million be used for? Yeah, that's a great question. So we have been working with Community Violence Intervention Workers, or CVI. These are community-led organizations that are spending time on the ground in the neighborhoods working to squash conflict to prevent retaliation from occurring. Look, I live on the west side of Chicago.

[3:21](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=201) It's the Austin neighborhood, one of the most dynamic communities in the entire city, but it has been mired in disinvestment. I'm likely the first mayor in the history of Chicago to wake up in one of the most difficult, challenging communities. And that's why not only are we investing in CVI or our community violence intervention workers, we're also investing in youth employment. This summer alone, we hired 31,119 young people. And in the neighborhoods where youth employment was the highest, we saw the most significant decline in violence.

[3:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=234) He also can help support mental and behavioral health care services. I've reopened the three mental health clinics. We've expanded mental health crisis workers all over the city so that when mental health crises occurs, a police officer doesn't have to show up to that scene. But we have a trained professional to be able to address these crises. The other thing that he can help us with is the federal government can help us with. I've revamped the entire detectives bureau within the city of Chicago.

[4:24](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=264) And now we have a clearance rate almost 77 percent. One of the deterrents of crime is to actually solve it, to bring closure, to bring justice. These are just a few examples that I know mayors across the country are calling for. This president in the federal government has literally declared war on poor people. I remember a time when presidents declared war on poverty. The federal government has a moral responsibility to do unto the least of these. And that's what we're doing in the city of Chicago.

[4:55](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=295) So let me ask you, Mr. Mayor, those all sound like great programs. I'm curious. Would you also like to get federal funding to help put 5,000 more cops on the street in Chicago? Would that help drive down crime? Well, look, policing by itself is not the full strategy. No, I understand that. You've talked about the other things you want, and I said those are good and important programs. But I'm asking also, would 5,000 more police officers on the street in Chicago be helpful to go along with all of those social programs that a lot of cities are engaging in and having success with?

[5:34](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=334) Well, look, here's the best way I can put it, Joe, is that in the 90s, when I was in high school, we had 3,000 more police officers and we had 900 people being murdered every single year in Chicago. It's just not policing alone. Of course we want more detectives. I know it's not policing alone, but I know it's not policing alone. You've told me everything else you want. I'm curious, and this does come down to an ideological difference between people. Do you believe that the streets of Chicago would be safer if there were more uniformed police officers on the streets of Chicago?

[6:13](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=373) I believe the city of Chicago and cities across America would be safer if we actually had, you know, affordable housing. Look, that's not the question I asked. My question is, and I just need to answer a no, do you believe the streets of Chicago would be safer if you got all of those other extraordinary programs put back into place, which do have a history of being successful, if that's if that's complemented by having five thousand more cops on the streets of Chicago.

[6:48](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=408) I don't believe that we should narrow it down to just police officers. That is what I'm saying. That is an antiquated approach. I'm saying we've invested in detectives. Are you hearing what I'm saying? I'm agreeing with you that all of these other social programs are extraordinarily important. I just need a yes or a no. And then this will be the last time I ask if you get all of those other social programs that that that 800 million that that New York City does, Los Angeles, other people do with great success.

[7:18](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=438) Would an additional 5000 cops on the streets in Chicago help complement those programs to make Chicago safer? Look, we are working hard to make sure that our police department is fully supported. I don't believe that just simply putting out an arbitrary number around police officers is the answer. What I'm saying is policing and affordable housing. It's policing and mental and behavioral health care services. It's policing and youth employment. It's a full package.

[7:48](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=468) Of course we want to make sure that our police department is fully supported. That's why I've invested in our Detectives Bureau, because what we have seen in the city of Chicago, when we solve crime, it acts and serves as a deterrent. It's policing and all of the other efforts that we're doing. Here's the last thing that I'll say to that. The federal government could work stronger to coordinate with my police department to get guns off the streets of Chicago. We've seen these coordination efforts work just a couple of weeks ago. The ATF working with my police department, we removed over 150 guns off the streets of Chicago that were trafficked in through Mississippi and Indiana.

[8:28](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=508) No one is saying that police officers don't play an incredible role in driving safety. They play an absolute pivotal role in that. But we have asked law enforcement to do too much. Police officers are being asked to be social workers, counselors. What I'm simply saying is if we're going to build safe and affordable cities across America, the one thing that safe communities all have in common, they invest in people. We have a poverty issue in the city of Chicago and cities across America.

[8:59](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=539) Police officers alone will not put food on the table. Police officers alone will not guarantee a high-quality education. Police officers alone won't drive down unemployment. We need all of it. The president of the United States of America and the federal government could restore Medicaid. They could restore SNAP. They could stop defunding our public education system. Here's the most important point here. Justice Brandeis, over 100 years ago, the first Jewish American to sit on the Supreme Court, he said that we could either have a democracy or wealth in the hands of the concentrated few.

[9:35](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=575) He said, but we cannot have both. We are fighting for our democracy and our humanity right now. This president's nescience of the Constitution will lead irrevocable harm on posterity. That's why, as mayor of the city of Chicago, we are standing up to tyranny, and American cities across this country are doing the same. Well, and I agree, Mike, and we've talked. Talked for endlessly over the past several weeks about months about Medicaid cuts disproportionately hurting the poor while tax cuts disproportionately help the richest billionaires, the multinational corporations, same with snap funding.

[10:15](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=615) And I will say, even though a lot of Democrats don't like to talk about it, I'll even say USAID. We need to help the force of God's creatures overseas as well. So I agree with that. But and I also agree. Police by themselves aren't the answer. But you look at all of the great social programs that the mayor was talking about and a strengthened police force. I think most Americans would recombine. That would make a big difference. Yes, it would. And, you know, Mr. Mayor, in what you were just talking about, Chicago is unlike.

[10:46](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=646) It's just like a lot of other American cities, big American cities, especially. If you pull the string on crime, especially juvenile crime, you'll find that that string will lead you to fractured family structures. It will lead you to juvenile crime, growing juvenile crime, and it will lead you eventually to not enough good teachers and not enough good elementary schools. So my question to you is, in terms of the money that you're talking about the federal government taking from you, how much is being deprived from getting to local public schools in Chicago?

[11:22](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=682) Yeah, that's an excellent question. And as a former public school teacher here in Chicago, I can tell you, you know, our school district is a microcosm of the larger challenges that we have system-wide. And if you just look at ESSER funding, for instance, If the federal government would have extended the ESSER dollars for for for the city of Chicago and cities across this country and school districts, we would literally have a surplus in our budget to provide social workers, counselors, libraries, librarians, class sizes that are manageable, protecting the LGBTQ plus community, protecting the immigrant community, protecting black history, ending this privatization of public assets.

[12:03](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=723) Right. These are real consequential challenges that we are experiencing because of the defunding of our public education system. We're working hard in Chicago and the state of Illinois to ensure that every child has a high quality education. Joe, you said something earlier that really resonated with me. My desire is to build the safest, most affordable big city in America where children can actually walk to school. I'm old enough to remember when we could do that, walk to a neighborhood school where the teachers taught my brothers, they taught my uncles, right?

[12:38](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=758) We're talking about standing communities that allowed for communities to be strong and to be firm. And that's what we're building in Chicago. And you're absolutely right. Cutting those critical resources to poor people across America is unconscionable. It is one of the most iniquitous forms of governance that I've seen. As I said before, Matthew 25, 40, when you do unto the least of these, you do it unto Jesus. And that's the conviction that I lead by. And unfortunately, our federal government has lost its way in terms of its responsibility to working people.

[13:14](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=794) Mr. Mayor, Gene Robinson is with us and has the next question. Jamie. Mr. Mayor, I just want to step back and look at the big picture for a second. Chicago, a great American city whose population in recent decades declined a bit. I believe it may have ticked up again recently, but Chicago has such a glorious past. What's your vision for Chicago's future?

[13:46](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=826) You want to make the streets safer? You want to make the schools better. But what is the future for Chicago and Chicagoland going forward? Yeah, we're the soul of America. You know, the most diverse economy in the entire country. Not one industry comprises of more than 20 percent of our GDP. The world's fresh water is in our front yard between the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. And as I said before, a safe and affordable big city.

[14:17](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=857) What good does it do to have a city where people feel safe but we can't afford to live in it? There are parts of this country where the average price of a home is over a million dollars. In the city of Chicago, you can still afford to purchase a home, rent in some parts of the city, of the country rather, over $4,500 for rent. In Chicago, we're roughly $1,200, and we're working to lower that. By the end of my first term, Eugene, we'll have built over 10,000 affordable units. And as I said before, you're seeing a precipitous decline in violence, 32 percent reduction in homicides, almost 40 percent reduction in shootings and shooting victims.

[14:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=894) My vision for Chicago is pretty straightforward, is to build the safest, most affordable. big city in America. Our population grew last year for the first time in over a decade. We are seeing unprecedented levels of investments, over $20 billion of new investments just since I've taken office. We're talking about thousands of construction jobs. The city of Chicago is a dynamic city, as you know. This is the city that said keep hope alive with Reverend Jesse Jackson. It's the city that said, yes, we can. We're President Barack Obama. We are a strong

[15:27](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo?t=927) labor town, a city that was established by a black Haitian immigrant and a Pottawatomie woman that established a trade post at the bank of the river. And now the world can revel in all of the glory that the city of Chicago has to offer. So safe and affordable. All right. Democratic mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, thank you as always for being with us greatly. Appreciate it.

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Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/wx5oozycXYo · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt