More Chicago area businesses are closing up shop as the city’s crime rate continues to worsen.
Over the weekend, at least 11 people were killed and another 26 wounded by gun violence in the Windy City. It’s prompted some like Rabine Group founder Gary Rabine to call it quits.
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“Our employees are being held up for their wallets and their phones at gunpoint,” Rabine told Fox News on Wednesday. “It’s just not worth it anymore, the danger. You know, we are a very safety-oriented company, and we can’t put up with it any longer.”
Rabine, who has spent the last four decades building his business in Chicago, called it “a terrible place to be” and blamed local officials for turning a blind eye to the problem.
“This anarchy is not going to stop as long as we have terrible leaders like Brandon Johnson, J.B. Pritzker, and Lori Lightfoot,” he said. “It will not change. It’s only going to get worse. … I have family members and loved ones that live in the city. They all want out and are getting out, great employees across my companies … would rather be in any state in the country than Illinois. This was never the case five years ago and back. There’s an urgent issue here of change. It’s not going to happen, unfortunately, with the terrible leadership that we have.”
Rabine’s comments come just days after a group of more than 100 teenagers took to the streets in downtown Chicago, torching cars, blaring music, fighting, breaching barricades, and causing other mayhem. Footage captured some of the teenagers jumping on top of a bus, smashing car windows, as well as some shooting guns that sent tourists scattering. Two people were shot, and a bus driver was assaulted. Several others were wounded.
Johnson, who will be sworn in on May 15, made headlines when he said it was “not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.”
Outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the vast majority of people who showed up were there to enjoy the weather, but added, “there are a few that came with different intentions, and they have, and they will be dealt with.”
Chicago has been struggling for years with its crime rate.
Last year, several businesses left the area, citing safety concerns.
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Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, the former richest man in Illinois and a GOP megadonor, announced his investment firm Citadel would relocate to Miami after spending 30 years in Chicago. His decision came eight months after he gave a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago that he was considering moving because of the crime and gave the city several months to turn its statistics around.
Boeing and Caterpillar have also relocated to other cities as Chicago continues to wrestle with its crime problem.
