Mayor Blames Violent Holiday Weekend On Booze, Heat

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jul 8, 2009 5:20PM

Reacting to the violent holiday weekend that saw 11 people killed in over 60 shootings (and a stabbing thrown in for good measure), Mayor Daley took to the defensive, citing other reasons rather than the diversion of police to cover the Taste of Chicago (which had its own issues). Namely, the mayor blamed alcohol and the warmer weather for the outbreak.

“Anytime you have a long weekend -- weekends are very difficult -- especially big holiday weekends,” the mayor said.

With Weis crediting a cool spring for a drop in homicides, Daley was asked if hot weather could be blamed for the surge in homicides.

“We always have hot weather during the summer. That’s one thing we always do. I hope the mayor doesn’t have to make that announcement,” Daley said sarcastically.

Turning serious, he said, “Hot weather always does. ... Let’s be realistic. People are drinking more.”

We're not going to harp on the unseasonably cool weather we had over the weekend because there's definitely truth to the "(warmer weather + booze) x holiday = outbreak of violence" equation the mayor laid out. Still, given the uproar over last year's Taste of Chicago violence and our general sense of cynicism that comes with anything involving the Mayor, there may be a kernel of truth in the idea that redirecting the majority of an over-worked and under-staffed police force towards one specific area may have led to an uptick in violence in outlying parts of the city. [WBBM]