CHICAGO— In case you missed it, yesterday Mayor Brandon Johnson hit back at Donald Trump’s latest attempt to distract from his failed, illegal war in Iran by calling upon the President to do the actual work needed to reduce violence across the country by leveraging federal resources to invest in the needs of working people.
“Consider this a call, Mr. President,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “I'm calling on you to invest in building more affordable homes across this country.
I'm calling on you to respond to the needs of people who cannot afford groceries and gas.
I'm calling on you to invest in our public institutions.
If you want to see violence go down in this city, I challenge you to invest in mental health, jobs, education, housing, healthcare, transportation, and environmental justice.
If you are the big man and the big person that you claim to be, make those investments, and I will put everything that I love on the fact that violence will go down across this country.”
WATCH the Mayor’s challenge to Trump in fullhere.
“Instead of sending$100 billion to fight illegal wars, send $100 billion to cities across America, and I guarantee that lives will improve dramatically,” continued Mayor Johnson. “Don't send policing and militarization.
If that's the only thing that you can offer, you're not serious about driving violence down across America.
Invest in the cities.
Invest in working people.
Consider this a call to action, Mr. President.”
Mayor Johnson’s comments come as upwards of 360,000 Illinoisans are losing food assistance due to the Trump administration’s historic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Mayor Johnson moved proactively to respond to federal cuts with aNovember executive orderauthorizing emergency measures to expedite the direction of City resources to respond to hunger and food insecurity.
In April, Mayor Johnsoninvested over $300,000to support 67 community-based organizations in their ongoing mission to expand food availability while scaling up operations to support vulnerable and underserved populations across Chicago.
Despite Trump dismissing lowering housing costs for working families as “so unimportant,” Mayor Johnson has led a concerted effort to invest in affordable housing while driving down housing costs and breaking barriers to homeownership for Chicagoans.
In June, Mayor Johnson launched the HomeGrown Purchase Assistance Program, a landmark initiative to help eligible homebuyers achieve homeownership by providing assistance for down payments and closing costs.
Funded with $21 million from Mayor Johnson’s $1.25 billion Housing and Economic Development Bond, the program is specifically designed to support Chicagoans who may otherwise be priced out of homeownership due to rising housing costs.
In April, Mayor Johnson invested more than $300 million in15 affordable housing developmentsacross Chicago, building upon the Johnson administration’s progress to expand housing availability by creating or preserving 1,223 new homes, 1,164 of which will be affordable.
Driving down violence and forging lasting safety in every community across Chicago remains the Mayor’s top priority.
Building on the historic progress Chicago saw in 2025 when homicides hit their lowest point since 1965, the Johnson administration continues to mobilize every possible resource to combat gun violence and respond to traumatic incidents in our communities with action and meaningful resources.
For the first time in decades, Chicago experiencedzero homicidesduring the Memorial Day holiday weekend while the city suffered the fewest homicides during any Maysince 2007.
More recently, the Fourth of July holiday weekend was the least violent Chicago has seensince 2019.
These historic milestones correspond with the Johnson administration’s continued investment in expandedmental and behavioral healthcare, affordable housing, and Community Violence Interventionpartnerships in addition to the ongoing modernization of the Chicago Police Department’s Detective’s Bureau.