CHICAGO — Presidential candidate Donald Trump is expected to pick Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a vocal critic of Chicago at times, as his running mate.
Like Trump, Pence has had a strained relationship with Chicago.
#FF to Feb. '07 when @Colts took home a Superbowl win over the Chicago Bears. Looking forward to #SB50 this weekend! pic.twitter.com/Kl4K0nfRj8
— Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) February 5, 2016
Officials, including President Barack Obama, have pointed to Indiana's gun laws as playing a critical role in Chicago's violence. Chicago Police have said many of the guns used in Chicago are obtained through "straw purchasing" out of state: People buy guns in Indiana or nearby states and then sell or give away guns to people in Chicago.
"Sixty percent of guns recovered in crimes come from out of state," Obama said in October. "You just have to hop across the border."
A spokesman for Pence criticized Obama's remarks about Indiana's gun laws, and the governor doubled down on his support for Indiana's gun laws in January.
“I believe that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens makes our communities more safe, not less safe,” Pence said, according to FOX59.
Trump has also been a critic of Chicago and its gun laws.
Pence and Chicago have also traded barbs when it comes to business. In recent years, Indiana has run ads that ask Illinois businesses if they're "Illinoyed by higher taxes?"
Mayor Rahm Emanuel wrote to Indiana businesses in March 2015 during controversy over Indiana's "religious freedom" law, according to Crain's. Emanuel told businesses the law would discriminate against gay and lesbian people and suggested they move to Chicago.
Pence's office fired back: "Our businesses want to be here because Indiana is a great place to do business — far better than Illinois by just about any measure," a spokeswoman for Pence said, according to Crain's.
I love going to Illinois to talk about Indiana's success story. It's what we call low hanging fruit.
— Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) March 27, 2014
Earlier this year, Whole Foods announced it would move its distribution center and dozens of jobs from Indiana to Chicago. Emanuel said the move would benefit the Far South Side, calling it "another bad day for Indiana," according to WBAA.
A spokesperson for Pence said "insinuating that Indiana is struggling is laughable" after that remark, according to WBAA.
Yet Pence does have ties to Chicago: His grandfather, whom Pence is named after, was a bus driver in the city after immigrating here from Ireland in the 1920s, according to Time Magazine and the Republic newspaper. Another grandfather worked in Chicago's stockyards.
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