Chicagoans face government-owned supermarkets as retailers flee city

Chicago residents may soon be purchasing their food from the government as supermarkets close due to rampant crime.

Crime in Chicago has nearly doubled since 2020. The spike has been blamed on both former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and current Mayor Brandon Johnson, who assumed office this year. Johnson has advocated for Illinois' zero cash bail policy, blamed car companies for making vehicles too easy to steal, defended violent criminals as being “starved of opportunities,” and has called for defunding the police.

Six major grocery stores have closed their doors over the last two years due to crime, including a Whole Foods branch and four Walmart locations this April alone. While Walmart did not specifically cite crime, the Daily Caller notes there have been at least 15,806 thefts over the last four years in the vicinity of the now-closed Walmart branches. Only 7% of those resulted in arrests.

To fill the retail void, Johnson has announced plans “to start on a pathway towards the opening of a municipally owned grocery store in Chicago.” The city is partnering with the Economic Security Project, a nonprofit which will provide “technical assistance” for the project.

Economic Security Project Senior Advisor Ameya Pawar said city officials are “reimagining” government’s role in the lives of taxpayers. A private-owned market, she added, is little different from a government-owned store.

“The City of Chicago is reimagining the role government can play in our lives by exploring a public option for grocery stores via a municipally owned grocery store and market,” said Pawar in a press release. “Not dissimilar from the way a library or the postal service operates, a public option offers economic choice and power to communities. A City-owned grocery store in the South or West side of Chicago would be a viable way to restore access to healthy food in areas that have suffered from historic and systemic disinvestment."

Pawar, who served a fellowship at George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, has also advocated for a universal basic income program in Chicago.

Johnson’s crime-enabling policies are exacerbated by Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx, a Soros-backed DA who "drops felony cases, especially those involving violence and gun offenses, at an alarming rate."

Last year McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski warned city officials to tackle the crime driving away businesses. In July 2022 Starbucks announced the closure of 16 locations over crime-related concerns, reported the Wall Street Journal. Boeing and hedge fund firm Citadel also announced plans to move their headquarters out of Chicago, with employees citing crime as one of the considerations.