Chicago Mayor Lightfoot: 'Way Too Many Guns on Our Streets'

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she and other mayors have been working on police reform, but at the same time, people are dying in record numbers because there are "way too many guns" on her city's streets. 

"We are surrounded by states that you can go over the border and buy military-grade weapons at any quantity, any price," Lightfoot said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" while commenting on the city's record-setting deaths on May 31, when 18 people lost their lives in Chicago's most-deadly 24-hour period in 60 years. 

"We also have a significant gang problem in certain neighborhoods in our city on the South and West Side. They're shooting, killing each other. There are no two ways about it."

Lightfoot is leading a coalition of mayors from Chicago, Tampa, and Cincinnati and police chiefs from Baltimore, Phoenix, and Columbia S.C., on violence in their cities, an effort being done to look holistically at violence and other issues. 

There "hasn't been enough historic investment in brown and black neighborhoods," said Lightfoot, "but that's what we're trying to do now. We're not going to erase decades of disinvestment in one year or two years, but we have to have commitment and focus and that's what we're doing."

Part of the focus is on making a priority in social service investments, including in mental health, housing, healthcare, and violence prevention, she added. 

In addition to the social issues, Lightfoot said she's concerned about the spread of coronavirus, including during the protests that have sprung up in her city and nationally. 

"I think some people probably thought I was a little bit ironic when I said, look, if you're out there, please wear a mask, please try to social distance," said Lightfoot. "What we advised the protesters is, you really need to self-quarantine for two weeks."

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