Daley Is Up in Arms Over Drugs and Gangs
Mayor Daley has called for the Chicago Police to be provided with high-powered rifles in the intense fight against gangs.
So, it has come down to this. We’ll provide even more deadly weapons for our police in an effort to combat gangs. If it were only that simple.
Look, we understand the mayor’s frustration. The most recent count had 24 Chicago Public School students killed in a violent fashion. The majority of those killings were by gunfire.
We don’t want to criticize the mayor for trying to understand why that is happening. He called for a summit last week and talked to religious and civic leaders to get to the root of the cause of this bloodshed.
What we think he will find and what will be explained is that poverty and ignorance breeds crime and violence. When we have communities that have for decades only known despair and frustration, the only reality many have is violent behavior.
Needless to say, many of these gangbangers are just no good, simple as that. But when youngsters can’t find jobs, come from broken homes and have few if any role models, that spells trouble.
Instead of supplying police with high-powered rifles, the mayor and others have to find ways to bring life to these communities. The mayor has done an admirable job of beautifying the lakefront and has added attractions such as Cloud Gate (“The Bean”) and Millennium Park.
However, those attractions are miles away from some South Side neighborhoods that are in despair. If the mayor is going to have conversations with business, community and religious leaders, he will find this out.
Instead of providing high-powered rifles, the mayor should try to provide opportunities and activities to these often forgotten neighborhoods.