The crime "crisis" in Chicago has gotten so bad under Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot that McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski is saying staff is scared to come to work.
"Everywhere I go, I'm confronted by the same question: 'What's going on in Chicago?'" Kempczinski told the Economic Club of Chicago, The Wall Street Journal reported. "There is a general sense out there that our city is in crisis."
Kempczinski is calling on Lightfoot address crime in the city that houses the fast-foot giant's corporate headquarters.
Kempczinski has denounced Chicago's crime under Lightfoot before, including a 2021 double homicide at a Chicago McDonald's drive-thru. Activists and Democrats called for the CEO's resignation for the remarks.
He remains the CEO and he remains concerned about crime in the city, where McDonald's says it has a $2 billion impact on the local economy.
Kempczinski is a registered Republican but his only significant donation in recent years was to former Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., who lost a Senate bid, Restaurant Business reported.
"We see every single day in our restaurants what's happening at society at large," Kempczinski said. "It's not going to be something that McDonald's can solve on its own. We need to be able to do it with the public sector as well."
Chicago's crime rate is up 38% in 2022 over last year and thefts are up 65%.
Also, inflation and supply-chain woes have hit the economy, and McDonald's has felt it.
"As I look out at 2023, I see more challenges," Kempczinski told the forum, according to the report. "We are heading to probably hopefully a minor recession in the U.S., probably a more significant one in Europe."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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