With a 234% rise in car thefts, Chicago’s mayor is suing those responsible…the automakers

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CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is facing backlash after filing suit against Kia and Hyundai over claims they manufactured cars that lacked appropriate anti-theft measures, ultimately leading to a surge in car crimes.

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Democratic Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) mocked Johnson over the lawsuit on "Fox & Friends," calling the move a "play from a socialist playbook" as crime continues to ravage streets in the Windy City.

"Clearly, we don't have a crime problem. We have a Kia problem in the city of Chicago, according to Mayor Johnson," Lopez told Steve Doocy on Monday. "The numbers speak for themselves. 104% increase from last year, a 234% increase in vehicle thefts from two years ago, but yet it's the car's fault."

"It's the fact that they are so easily taken by criminals who run rampant in the city of Chicago, but we have yet to hear our mayor say anything, one word, about the criminals running rampant in our streets," he continued. "And all he does in turn is lambast the media, lambast those who try to hold criminals accountable by playing word games."

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Lopez argued the surge in car thefts is attributable to the city's liberal policies that favor "criminals on the street" as opposed to vehicle manufacturing.

"Chicago's answer to the Kia problem was to hand out those steering wheel column locks, The Club, as a way of helping our citizens, not necessarily prosecuting those repeat offenders who know that they could steal a car, sell it, or use it in crimes," Lopez said. "I had a friend just last week whose car was stolen. It was used in 12 different robberies on the north side of Chicago."

"We know why they're stealing these cars. We know what they're doing with these cars, but the fact that we refuse to call out this behavior, and we're giving cover to the criminals, seems to just be another liberal ploy," he continued. "And to be perfectly honest, a page from the socialist playbook, because we're blaming the manufacturer of the cars rather than the criminals on the street."

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