Grundy Reporter

State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) can’t believe what she’s hearing from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“I am absolutely astonished that the mayor of Chicago would try to blame businesses for the increase in crime within the city that she is the top official,” Rezin recently tweeted. “The responsibility to uphold public safety and prevent crime doesn’t belong to businesses.”

Lightfoot recently raised eyebrows when she charged store owners are not doing enough to safeguard themselves from being theft victims.

"Some of the retailers downtown in Michigan Avenue, I will tell you, I'm disappointed that they are not doing more to take safety and make it a priority,” Lightfoot said during a recent crime summit at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

“For example, we still have retailers that won't institute plans like having security officers in their stores,” she added. “Making sure that they've got cameras that are actually operational, locking up their merchandise at night, chaining high-end bags, these purses seem to be something that is attracting a lot of organized retail theft units."

Illinois Retail Merchants Association CEO Rob Karr agrees with Rezin about Lightfoot pointing her finger in the wrong direction.  

 "The comments that retailers need to do more are sadly misinformed,” he told Fox Business. “I think it ignores the fact that retailers spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year on security. We're not going to put the entire store behind glass cases or under lock and key. Retail doesn't work that way. We have a fine line to walk. I don't think the mayor wants a line of armed personnel in every store."