Rahm Emanuel has tried almost everything a lefty anti-gun big city may can think of to cut back on the murder epidemic in his violent city. He’s fired and hired police superintendents, he’s tried (unsuccessfully) to eliminate gun stores within city limits, he’s tried (unsuccessfully) to keep shooting ranges out of his town, he fought concealed carry to the bitter end, and he’s mumbled meaningless platitudes like “public-private mentoring partnerships” and wrung his hands over the perpetual need for more “neighborhood resources.”

He’s tried bogus “violence interruptor” programs, basically paying gang bangers (with city tax dollars) to stop banging. He’s even written big checks to the Second Amendment Foundation to further civilian gun rights when he’s lost in the Supreme Court, although, to be fair, he did that while kicking and screaming.

What he hasn’t done is encourage Chicagoans to exercise their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms. A move that would let the city’s persistent criminal population know that trying to victimize the law-abiging could be hazardous to their health. Neither has he lifted a finger to reform the city’s joke of a criminal justice system. A sorry “catch and release” operation that puts violent criminals back on the streets to cause more havoc, frequently before their victims have left the hospital.

But now Mayor Rahm has a new idea that’s sure to cut the city’s murder rate down to size:

Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel has come up with a brilliant new plan to stem the city’s gun violence problem and cut down on the approximately 600 homicides committed within the city each year: punish banks who make loans to weapons manufacturers.

That’s right, he’s jumping on the same bandwagon that got rolling when the American Federation of Teachers and the New York State Comptroller began threatening big banks with the loss of their deposits if they didn’t stop doing business with gun manufacturers.

Emanuel echoed calls from other anti-gun agitators, including Parkland student David Hogg, to force lending organizations and investment banks to drop gun-related clients, even if those clients are freely engaging in the flow of commerce. The mayor’s plan is a little different from Hogg’s, however. Instead of pulling support and interest from financial institutions, Emanuel would cut those same financial institutions off from receiving contracts with the city of Chicago unless those same institutions filed affidavits “verifying that their customers ban the sale of bump stocks and high-capacity magazines” and wouldn’t sell guns to anyone under 21 years of age (three years older than the federal minimum age for firearm purchases, 18).

But Emanuel doesn’t have nearly as much clout with the banks as he thinks he does. That’s because his city’s financial situation is a shambles.

If Chicago is hesitant to do business with banks, banks are more hesitant to do business with Chicago. Chicago’s credit rating is hovering just above “junk bond” status, and the city has sold off so much debt, financial institutions are already wary of entering into contracts with any aspect of Chicago city government.

So Rahm is going to have to rack his brain to come up with some new ideas as to how to keep his citizens from gunning each other down at an already alarming rate. As always, we’d be happy to pitch a few ideas, but we won’t hold our breath waiting for his call.