Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has issued a stern warning to city residents who don’t abide by stay-at-home orders.
“We will shut you down, we will cite you, and if we need to, we will arrest you and we will take you to jail,” Lightfoot, a Democrat, said Saturday during a press conference. “Don’t make us treat you like a criminal, but if you act like a criminal and you violate the law and you refuse to do what is necessary to save lives in this city during a pandemic, we will take you to jail, period.”
Police in Chicago have recently broken up house parties, including one Friday night with 150 people.
“This frankly doesn’t come as a surprise, given the warm weather. We’ve all been cooped up. We all miss our friends, and we all want to go outside and gather in groups,” Lightfoot said. “However, those aspirations simply cannot become a reality in the middle of a pandemic.
“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 added. “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 previously came under fire in early April for getting a haircut despite enforcing stay-at-home measures in the city.
“I’m the public face of this city. I’m on national media, and I’m out in the public eye,” she said after being confronted by a reporter. “I’m a person who, I take my personal hygiene very seriously. As I said, I felt like I needed to have a haircut.”
The hosts of The View took issue with the haircut as others across the country are forced to forgo nonessential business, such as trips to the salon.
“I just think it’s really despicable, in fact. If you are the face of the city, then you need to look like everyone else is looking,” co-host Sunny Hostin said at the time. “Your gel nails should be grown out. Your roots should be showing. Your gray hair should be showing, all those things that everyone else is going through. I was really, really surprised at this from the mayor of Chicago. Really disappointed.”
