On Monday, Daniel Figueroa, a 28-year-old Downers Grove resident, was working an Uber Eats shift to bring in extra income to support his girlfriend and young son. Around 2 a.m., he was making a delivery to a doctor at Loretto Hospital when three suspects tried to steal his van. They dragged him for half a block before leaving him fatally injured in the street.
“I used to live in the city. I moved away from all of that to give my kids a better life. Not for this, and the city took him from me,” his father, Carlos Figueroa, told WGN.
We have heard from our elected officials that crime is down and we are grateful for the professionalism of Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling and Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke. But when you look at the toll crime continues to take on regular, working people, it is impossible to feel like the job is done. Our officials cannot take their foot off the pedal.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange CEO Terry Duffy warned of the pernicious effect crime has on the city years ago, even before his wife Jenny was carjacked in broad daylight in March 2023. People paid attention to that story, and rightfully so. One of Duffy’s messages to then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot was that crime was making it hard to get employees to return to the office. Translation: People were afraid to go to work.
But fear can’t win the day when a father needs to put food on the table, and that was the situation Figueroa was in.
Daniel Figueroa was a father and a partner trying to take care of his family. He was a beloved son and a hard worker. He was in harm’s way because of a job that was far, far tougher than the employment of most of us who pontificate about crime being up or down.
His family deserves justice, and all working people here in Chicago should be able to make a living without fearing for their lives.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
