Under the leadership of Lori Lightfoot, Chicago has seen an unprecedented rise in theft and violent crime.
As residents look for ways to remain safe in “Chi-raq”, as it is sometimes called due to its high violence, many large corporations are withdrawing from the Windy City.
Tyson Foods Inc. has now added its name to the growing list of large companies that have withdrawn from Chicago amid high crime in the city.
“You’re talking about a situation where you have a hollowed out economy, where you have businesses leaving, there are no jobs,” said Heritage Foundation senior research fellow in the Center for Health and Welfare Policy Robert Moffit in a conversation with Fox News. “And the people who are desperately hurt by this are the mostly low-income and black and minority residents who suffer the most from this high crime.”
The Tyson Foods relocation will begin early next year and was announced by CEO Donnie King in a press release.
“Bringing our talented corporate team members and businesses together under one roof unlocks greater opportunities to share perspectives and ideas, while also enabling us to act quickly to solve problems and provide the innovative products and solutions that our customers deserve and value,” said the executive.
The company is relocating to a number of locations, notably the deep red state of Arkansas
Another executive who pulled their company away from Chicago was Chris Kempczinski, who is the CEO of McDonald’s.
Kempczinski was much more direct and open about his criticism of the Democrat-run city.
“We have violent crime that’s happening in our restaurants… we’re seeing homelessness issues in our restaurants. We’re having drug overdoses that are happening in our restaurants,” said Kempczinski. “So we see in our restaurants, every single day, what’s happening in society at large.”
Ever since 2020, crime in Chicago has surged.
Some claim this is a result of the extended lockdowns during the covid pandemic, while others say this all began with rioting (and a lack of consequences for the rioting) in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
In 2021, Chicago had 797 homicides, the most for the city in the last 25 years and an amount that seems downright insane for a first-world city.
Fox News Digital reports a different reason for the crime spike, in an interview with Chicago Police Department Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy.
He claims that Chicago officials are quietly defunding its police departments, depleting police departments’ resources and causing staffing issues.
A small business owner in the city had this to say about his struggles during the crime surge.
“We would do thousands of jobs a year in the city, but as we got robbed more, my people operating rollers and paves got robbed, our equipment would get stolen in broad daylight and there would usually be a gun involved, and it got expensive and it got dangerous,” he said.
This is a harrowing story of the effects that crimes on businesses can have on owners and employees alike.
Some people like to claim that theft from stores and restaurants is a victimless crime, but that is not the case in Chicago.
By: Goose
This story syndicated with permission from Gen Z Conservative