A video showing a massive house party that reportedly took place on Chicago’s West Side has prompted strong reactions from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who on Twitter blasted partygoers for putting everyone around them in danger.
“I have seen the video which shows what appears to be a house party taking place inside a Chicago residence,” the mayor tweeted. “What was depicted on the video was reckless and utterly unacceptable.”
State officials previously issued a statewide stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic and have asked Illinois residents to practice social distancing and wear masks to help prevent the spread of the virus.
“I know this is a very difficult time for Chicagoans, but there is a reason we are asking you to stay home and socially distance: it saves lives,” Lightfoot urged.
The video, posted by Facebook user Tink Purcell, showed hundreds of people at the party (warning: the video contains graphic language and has not been edited), and had been shared more than 60,000 times and been viewed more than 1.3 million times as of Sunday evening.
“While most Chicagoans are doing their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19, reckless actions like these threaten our public health and risk erasing the progress we have made,” Lightfoot wrote in a follow-up tweet. “We will hold those responsible accountable. I am asking everyone to be in this together.”
Lightfoot also asked residents to submit any anonymous tips to cpdtip.com and urged Chicagoans to stay home.
“The fewer people who comply with the ‘Stay At Home’ Order, the sicker our residents will get and the harder it will be for us to recover.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker also criticized the individuals seen in the video at his daily coronavirus press briefing on Sunday, in what the governor called a violation of the stay-at-home order.
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“By standing together, not social distancing and not wearing masks, you’re literally putting everyone around you in danger,” Pritzker said. “They’re putting you in danger, and very importantly, all of those people are putting their families and friends who are not there with them in danger.”
Chicago police say they are looking into the matter, but have not been able to confirm details of the video.
