Chicago mayor pens letter to President Biden asking for help to stop violence

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two months before the Democratic Convention, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson made an urgent plea to President Joe Biden for federal help to stop city gun violence. Oddly, the letter from Mayor Johnson to President Biden never mentions the Democratic Convention, but zeroes in on summertime holiday weekends, when shootings and murders typically spike.

We need help, is the essence of the June 18th personal letter from the mayor to the president obtained by the I-Team through a public records request. It asked for specific federal assistance aimed at curbing gun violence to arrive before the expected July 4 weekend violence.

With 109 shootings, including 19 people killed by gunfire, during the long Independence Day weekend, there was nothing to indicate that the mayor's letter to the president resulted in the arrival of any federal help.

The letter, addressed to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, initially touts that city "homicides and shootings are down this year." But then the mayor writes: "I am reaching out because our city requires your assistance." Johnson cites Justice Department agencies and resources that "could support Chicago, such as emergency response, victim services, and crisis response units."

Then, in the June 18th letter, the mayor asks the president "to discuss how Chicago can access these resources and secure additional support before the 4th of July." That gave the White House two weeks to scramble help for Chicago.

According to City Hall emails also obtained by the I-Team as part of a public records request, there were some discussions between administration officials in Washington and top mayoral aides after the mayor's letter.

After the bloodshed started that July 4th holiday weekend, many of the emails between mayoral staffers focused on plans for a post-holiday police news conference on July 8th, and writing up a speech by the mayor about Chicago's violent surge.

Without mentioning his letter to the president, during the press conference Mayor Johnson made a reference to the city's need for help. "I'm hopeful that our ongoing discussions will ensure that our state partners, as well as our federal partners, will swiftly come into the support of the city of Chicago. The city cannot afford to wait any longer," said Mayor Johnson.

A City Hall spokesperson confirmed to the I-Team that their "Office for Community Safety has been meeting regularly with federal partners" concerning resources for the city, safe streets and communities.