The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board cited Wirepoints’ Chicago crime data in its piece criticizing Mayor Johnson’s idea to open government-run grocery stores on the South and West sides of Chicago.
The problem isn’t corporate racism. It’s crime. In 2022 Chicago reported 54,000 thefts and a mere 4% resulted in an arrest. Of the 8,730 retail thefts, there were 1,450 arrests, or less than 17%, according to Wirepoints and the Chicago city data portal.
Chicago’s arrest rate for retail theft fell to 16.6% in 2022 from 42.5% in 2019. Retailers say there is little they can do when groups of people walk into their stores, grab arm-loads of merchandise and walk out with impunity.
Read the WSJ editorial: Chicago’s Brandon Johnson, Grocery Mogul
Read more from Wirepoints:
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Spam should be the only product in the store. They can shoplift all they want and who knows maybe someone will invent a new variation. Spam and Opus One ??????
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLih-WQwBSc
So I guess he’s saying “free food” with a link card is not enough anymore. When you have spent or sold your card then you REALLY need free food and that’s okay.
Let the CTU puppet fail miserably yet again. Every step towards the direction of recalling him, though painful, is worth it.
Mark, maybe your former union representative UFCW Local 881 can transfer their decades of knowledge in the grocery retail sector into a union-led grocery store.
I vote for Chimart.
The motto could be;
Where you can take what you want and da clerks will always be smiling.
Ladies & Gentlemen, let’s put our hands togather and welcome the hottest new group “The Empty Shelves!”
Just like the city refuses to turn over records on how taxpayers monies are being spent on illegals, you will not see any accounting for the city run grocery store. Expect to see CTU bosses getting ‘free’ steaks and wine.
It’s guaranteed to fail. Johnson is so incredibly clueless, and the citizens of the city will pay for his stupidity.
Congratulations! Great reporting!
No one will starve but all will go hungry.
Will shoplifting be allowed in his grocery stores or will that be frowned upon? Seriously, we actually have to ask this question these days when the store manager is a woke Marxist, just checking on what his policy will be. Also I fully presume that his workers will belong to the union, that’s a given right?
Theft of government property used to be a crime…..
It’s bread-and-circus.
Take the name Chicago out of the Wall Street Journal’s Mouth. 🤣🤣 Watch BJ say something stupid like the Tupac comment. Total fool.
Remember, BJ, when teenagers raid your stores en masse. They’re just doing silly things.
Congrates WP!! keep hitten em hard with the old carny barker shillelagh!!! (from their own data)
All the career grocers at Jewel, Kroger, Walmart, Aldis, Costco, Heinen’s, etc. can’t figure out how to run a grocery store in these crummy neighborhoods. But aren’t we lucky to have a bunch of CPS union wackos on the Mayor’s staff who can teach the industry how to sell food there. Geez. What a city!
BJ The Race Clown Doesn’t Have The Management Skills To Manage A Lemonade Stand — And Now He Wants To Operate A City Owned Grocery Store
Which won’t be able to sell alcohol, or tobacco products.
And won’t be able to sell whatever isn’t a “healthy grocery option.”
Which, I suppose, eliminates the ‘crime-n-shoplifting’ problem, since I doubt that green beans and raw chicken are are much in demand among shoplifters.
Maybe BJ can sell pot in his stores, in place of all those unhealthy processed-n-gmo-n-non nutritious SKU’s he won’t have on his shelves.
How long before they’re lectured how it’s racist for not having a liquor department.
Sure they’ll be stealing raw chicken and green beans. They are just programed to steal. At least this way they can still be heroes and bring home dinner. No evidence leftover!