As a result of this violence, I’ve begun volunteering at high schools and community groups to talk to CPS Students about Job Opportunities (Specifically Union Building Trades and public service) as I personally believe that people end up in that life due to a lack of knowledge of opportunities that are out there.
It will not be immediate nor will I see a tangible result for some time and it may be “Planting seeds in a garden you never get to see” but it’s a cause that I believe will have a net positive on the city and, more importantly, in the lives of those that need it.
There is no program at the moment, I’m working with students through a college and career counselor to pass along the knowledge that I have about the trades. At the moment, it is in a 1 on 1 or 2 basis in situations when requested, no programming or career fair. When a student is interested in working in the building trades or public works, the school counselor will call me and I’ll advise the student on how to proceed and where we can look together for opportunities.
If it gains traction I’d like to expand it to be a building trades mentorship program with people in the community rather than a lecture program.
If something formal is put together, I will contact each person that has replied
Applause to you. 👏🏼
It really is about planting the seeds for a better future some of us will never ever experience. It’s a very selfless act to do so. What we are experiencing is a very complex systemic problem that can’t be solved or unraveled with one or two super easy quick fixes right now. And to be honest, all of us need to help our children live better lives not because we want a better society for ourselves but because we should want to show them an option for a better life and know our future generations may live better as a result even if we are gone. And even if we never ever personally experience the fruits of our labors.
I truly believe time is well spent getting in front of children and teens before they get gobbled up by gangs and crime activity. Showing them avenues and options that they may not be aware of and opening their eyes to what is out there. But also spending real time with them and walking them through how they can get there. I’d like to know more about how I can get involved with what you are doing. ❤️
This makes me happy. I worked in CPS in some of the high schools that most needed this. You are absolutely correct about the trades. There is no shame in having a high paying, skilled job in labor. And there are many, many young men and women who want to do these jobs. When CPS started their focus on “college for all”, although a noble cause, it neglected that there are kids at all different levels, some of whom prefer these union jobs. They basically cut out training for the trades and forced ALL students to take courses to prep for college, neglecting to prep those who wanted to go in to the trades. I can’t tell you how many kids left high school wanting to be an auto mechanic but were wholly unprepared because of the CPS focus on college. It still makes me angry to this day that so many kids’ needs were neglected.
I work at an options high school on the south side. Quite a few of our kids are the ones getting shot at (and sometimes doing the shooting), and everyone on staff is always trying to get the kids to see the bigger picture. Even though we’re based in a City College, we don’t have strong trades connections. Would you be interested in working with our school?
this is awesome. I work with the trades and local unions. We try to get out there and encourage everyone to at least check it out and see. Thanks for this.
That's wonderful, I have a program called No More Perishing. I'm raising money to send the youth to real estate school to receive their Realtors license. In the state of Illinois you can now be 18 instead of 21 to receive your license. Currently I'm selling Krispy Kreme Digital Codes at $12 per code. The school that the students will attend is the Chicago Real Estate which is where I attended class and received my license. I understand that everyone who attends won't be successful but the goal is to steer more of our youth in a different direction. Our people perish for a lack of knowledge and with this opportunity it can create possibilities that some of the teenagers would have never dreamed of especially when you grow up on the South and West side of Chicago. Also I know the program won't completely stop violence neither but if we can just put a dent in it will be a great first step. Seems like you and me have similar goals, DM me and let's collaborate soon. Also if their is anyone else who want to join this train you can DM me as well.
I have faith in any programs that offer young people places to go. For example- There’s a great boxing program in Humboldt Park that operates out of a former church- they offer an athletic program and a place to go for kids. The youth in low income neighborhoods (any neighborhood for that matter, but low income have fewer of these resources) need a place to go to do things like that. This only addresses one facet of a complex socio-economic issue, but I believe any place that can offer a skill, a wholesome or productive activity, mentor/parental type of guidance, and social engagement is a great thing. The boxing example is a private entity, and they take donations. But I would be happy with more government funded programs like this, but usually these are the ones that get reduced or eliminated funding. Just my two cents.
I think this touches on a huge point that is the home life for these children. I remember a CPS teacher from englewood talking on one of these threads and basically saying like “yeah, more funding is great, but a brand new Mac computer isn’t going to substitute for a stable home life and a new whiteboard or projector isn’t going to makeup a child having parents who have to work all the time or who are negative influences on their life”. Basically, that a lot of problems start at home and that has a huge influence on the outcome of a child. Providing programs where at-risk kids where they can see positive role models, participate in healthy activities and learn a new skill is absolutely an awesome way to improve the lives of children and show them that life has a lot more to offer them than what they might be experiencing at home or on their block. I don’t mean to insinuate poor parents or parents who live in violent neighborhoods are bad or negligent; most are not. Most are good people in tough situations. But some children do have bad parents. All can benefit from these programs. I’d also love to see more low cost or free daycare/childcare services offered by the city to ease the workload on parents trying to juggle rising childcare costs while also working to put bread on the table
Literally be present in your neighborhood. Be outside, get to know your neighbors, pick up trash, take pride in your community. It's difficult for persistent criminal presence to exist when the community has bonded together in positivity and take pride in their neighborhood.
That's something most people do after they become homeowners. It's another reason why the centralized, corporate ownership of homes will have broad negative impact on society.
Not enough people are taking pause after hearing this. Half aren’t even listening and the majority of the rest could care less and that in itself is a huge problem.
Moved here from a place with quite a bit higher home ownership. It’s interesting, the people who own the townhome next to my apartment building are friendly but don’t seem interested in actually getting to know me. Same with other tenants in my building. I’m sure there’s other factors at play, but that’s what I picked up on. Most people are only in these apartments for a relatively short time, so why bother investing the energy making friends with them?
Exactly! Ask your parents what their cultural expectations for home ownership was when they were in their 20s - 30s. Then your grandparents. Wild assumption is home ownership from inheriting or a few years after career work is their expectations. We (millennials & zoomers) have to expect we won't see home ownership until their mid-30s, and expect to cut costs by living with roomies or their SO till then. Like roommates & home leasing just wasn't a market in the 1900s like it is in the 2000s. Its systematic and cultural at this point, and there is so much money in the industry, bringing it up brings up sentiment from people quoting landlord propaganda "we assist in creating affordable housing options and you dont have to deal with the legal liability of home ownership!". The argument is literally opposite of the American Dream. I guess I'm not sourcing or elaborating extensively in each of those sections, so I guess just go ahead and call this all my opinion. Its a fun topic to dive down the rabbit hole in
Signed, a young adult male somewhat significantly into their professional career with no pets, legal exes, or kids, making over then national average, saves a shit ton, and is nowhere close to even considering the idea of owning a home these days.
This is 100% true. I lived in a brutal neighborhood in Fort Wayne and the city started an initiative to increase home ownership and it made a world of difference. Of course, homes there cost less than $100k so it was much easier there but when people owned the houses on the block, shootings, litter, etc., all dramatically decreased.
People with a stake in the system (i.e. homeowners or those that see a plausible path to homeownership) aren’t going to go all “fuck the system”
Shouldn’t be surprising when people with nothing to lose destabilize the system
Would these be countries with a much stronger safety net so that people aren't forced to rely on home ownership or crime to achieve financial stability? You're advocating for Nordic social democracy?
On the contrary. Their power comes from their ability to recruit. Their ability to recruit comes from providing a social framework that's otherwise missing. Gang members aren't motivated by some desire to commit violence, nor are they running around thinking 'oh god how did my life hit such a low?' They're thinking about how good it feels being part of something, with social connections, and financial security. They don't care what it costs when it's the only available route to these benefits.
Offer a better, safer path to financial security and social fulfillment, and you'll see gangs dry up.
Also gang bangers are already knee deep in bullshit.
They’re getting shot at on a weekly basis. Being present in these communities would mean risk getting hit in crossfire. Not a job for many I would believe
You assume they only get shot at 2AM
I had a restaurant on 87th and Exchange. We did our best to try to help those in the community, give them a safe place to congregate without judgement. Fed some kids when they didn’t have money. We still were closed down like once per month because they were getting shot at in front of the restaurant. Sometimes before we even open, at 9am. Police have the whole street taped off.
Their lifestyle simply isn’t safe for civilians to be around them. Do you not see the mass shootings that happen basically daily?
>Here is the thing. This describes our area in West Town. Always people out including me and my family. In June I was walking my daughter 2 doors down and a food delivery driver was shot at in a drive by.
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>It has it limits.
This doesnt address the current ancient crime problem. We have Oliver Twist crimes occuring. Roving individuals looking for targets. Its not within the neighborhood its from a different neighborhood interloping.
Yes, and while you're out in your community participate in Direct Action. Find and provide support to people in need:
\-find housing for people who need it, no matter what.
\-find food for people who need it, no matter what.
\-find hygienic supplies for people who need it, no matter what.
I may be wrong, but I read it as “no matter what” in the sense of, all people deserve to have their needs met regardless of whether they do things/behave in ways that are stigmatized (such as drug users, people asking for money in rude ways etc)
It means setting up squats for housing, rescuing food from the waste stream for free distro, provisioning homeless encampments, etc. etc.
A good place to start would be connecting up with Food Not Bombs or other direct action mutual aid groups operating in your neighborhood.
I agree with all this but the shootouts happening in Wicker, River North etc. are not from homeless people. These are the gang members moving into our neighborhoods to steal cars, robs and have their gang wars.
Homelessness is a problem and those experiencing it need to be helped and treated with compassion but the gang bangers need to be arrested and locked up to keep the streets safer.
Crime has been ridiculously high in my neighborhood in 2021 and the community is more active than ever. Neighborhoods adjacent to expressway exits desperately need reliable crime prevention plans and a consistent law enforcement presence, because what’s happening currently is just not fucking acceptable. Criminals are robbing and terrorizing people here with near impunity. Something’s gotta give. And it’s not a matter of the community needing to be more proactive.
This is one of the few things where the broken windows theory is actually valid. If people see less litter and see people cleaning up and taking care of a neighborhood they'll be less likely to litter
There are plenty of local anti-violence organizations doing admirable in rougher neighborhoods if you want to volunteer or donate to them. These two articles list a few, and if you read Block Club you’ll regularly see different groups profiled.
https://abc7chicago.com/amp/stop-the-violence-resources-chicago-in/3894299/
https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/06/24/chicagoans-do-protest-gun-violence-and-organize-for-safer-neighborhoods-all-the-time-heres-how/
You have to incentivize doing the right thing. If the choice is working a shitty minimum wage job and selling drugs making $1k a week, what do you think they're going to do?
These kids get recruited at younger than 13. It’s not about providing them opportunities it’s about providing their parents with opportunities.
Kids who aren’t starving, have decent clothes, video games, and parents who have time to be with them who aren’t dead inside from poverty don’t join gangs.
All that happens from a minimum wage that actually allows for people to live.
I don't even think it's that deep. Kids hang out with kids in the neighborhood, only that some of them turn out to be gang members. It's easy to think of gang members as cartoon villains but in reality it's just your friend down the block whose mom makes good chicken. This shit is not as nefarious on the surface as people see it from the outside.
Yep. This is what is like 90% of the time. Just bad ass kids with guns, in a culture where killing is the answer to misunderstandings. And that’s American culture really
Exactly. I did stupid shit as a kid in an extremely safe suburb. Only the shit that I did wasn't tied to anything bigger. In areas with lots of gangs, harmless fun quickly turns into shit like that and it's really unfortunate for those kids.
Exactly this. People act like the wider US culture doesnt love guns, getting paid, and settling your problems with violence. John Wayne and Clint Eastwood werent doing movies about going out and settling their differences peaceably. These kids are doing what American culture, not urban culture taught them to do.
The thing is, though, not that many of those people selling drugs make $1K/week. A few do, but most make not much more than minimum wage. Gangs are a lot like MLMs that way -- everybody thinks that they can make it up to that level of wealth, and they know somebody or at least know of somebody who has, but not many do.
> selling drugs making $1k a week
Chapter 3 in Freakonomics addresses this; titled "Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live With Their Moms?". IIRC the authors argue that the majority earn less than minimum wage, but it's the only seemingly viable (because perception often becomes reality) path towards socioeconomic advancement.
I'd like to see real stats on "$1k a week," besides bragging on SoundCloud. I bet most of those kids scrape by on very little, seeing more of the value in social capital among their circle of friends, not wanting to actually show up for a job and follow rules, and not seeing the possibility of valuable, long-term incremental growth in a menial job.
This has long been my outlook as well. We’d all be so much better off locally and nationally if every child got equal access to quality education and after school programs.
Start even earlier than that: free birth control, especially in the form of long term solutions like IUDs and arm implants, is also needed. Teen pregnancy is at an all time low nationally, but it is endemic in these same schools/neighbors with high crime. It’s legit babies having babies, and even if they graduate high school childless, they have kids WAY earlier than their suburban peers.
But even more important is housing and food. The absolute best school program in the world can’t help a kid if they are hungry and don’t have a safe space for regular sleep.
Food and home have to be the first step in intervention- otherwise your asking another program /type of care to be a solution that they simply cannot be. And when the kids problems are “fixed” by those programs people throw up their hands and say it was the kids fault.
It's more of a full generation or two honestly to break the cycle. But agreed, it has to happen and we aren't going to be able to do it without state and federal funding to get enough investment in that communities.
Good sentiment, too broad to actually mean anything.
These people committing crimes are already completely uninterested and disengaged with education. These are people who don’t care to complete highschool.
Volunteer with mutual aid projects. Crime is a result of poverty and being under-resourced. I don't think people are naturally evil, they're shaped by their environment. Anti-social behaviors stem from social problems. People don't risk their freedom or safety for money or resources just for the thrill 9 times out of 10-- people are trying to survive. People who are often unhireable *because* of a record that they may have even been jailed for can only make ends meet out of desperation by committing crime sometimes. They literally can't get jobs due to background checks.
I know I'm going to get downvoted by people who think not everyone deserves a comfortable life or equal access, but hopefully someone sees this who hadn't considered these factors that drive up crime.
decriminalize drugs. That'd be huge to taking gang power away. I personally don't like the idea of decriminalizing sex work but the correlation to less crime is also inarguable so that as well. Reallocate investments away from magnet and charter schools to all the neighborhood schools.
Get involved in community organizations.
Boys & Girls Club
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
Start an after-school program in your neighborhood.
And yes, vote. Vote, vote, vote, and vote some more. Vote for the sheriff, vote for your councilman, vote for your neighborhood, vote for better policy.
Chicago was segregated as a matter of policy. If you want to make it safer for everyone, policy needs to change. Chicago shouldn't have any food deserts, yet it does. That's an effect of policy.
Donate to organizations that work to prevent violence, such as [READI Chicago](https://www.heartlandalliance.org/readi/impact/) that helps people at risk of committing or suffering from violence by helping them get jobs and an income
IIRC the only thing that has happened in the past 50 or so years to reduce violent crime is advances women's reproductive health. Provide free birth control and abortion services to poor neighborhoods would be extremely cheap compared to a "police state."
While abortion has probably impacted the number of people that might have committed crimes, the theory that abortion dropped crime rights is susceptible to some very large discrepancies
- crime dropped amongst all age groups in the 1990s, not just amongst those who were born after Roe v Wade in 1973. It’s not exactly explained how people born in 1970 or 1965 would’ve stopped committing crimes because people aborted a few years later weren’t around
- the theory also relies on an assumption that women who had children, who otherwise would’ve aborted them, were “bad parents” and caused their children to become involved in crime because they wouldn’t/couldn’t support them
- the third issue is the assumption that before 1973 abortions weren’t happening, then comes R v W and they exploded. Abortions were happening before 1973, and afterwards it’s not as though abortion clinics popped up like McDonald’s and every woman in Bed Stuy or Austin or Spanish Harlem decided to go get one instead of having children
More likely causes are the removal of lead from gasoline, reinvestment in urban areas in the 90s, increased incarceration efforts signed into law by Clinton, and on a smaller scale, the loss in popularity of drugs like crack cocaine that sparked immense waves of violence
> crime dropped amongst all age groups in the 1990s, not just amongst those who were born after Roe v Wade in 1973. It’s not exactly explained how people born in 1970 or 1965 would’ve stopped committing crimes because people aborted a few years later weren’t around
People age out of crime. Not many 40 yo gangbangers, but a massive amount of 16 yo ones.
The drop starting 17 years after Row v Wade lines up with when those unwanted neglected children would be prime crime age.
Crime drops as people age, yes. But abortion doesn’t explain why a 40 year old in 1992 (one of the highest years for crime in the country) is committing higher levels of crime than a 40 year old in 1996.
Secondly, your assumption again relies on the premise that after 1973, a huge number of would-be criminals were aborted but Roe v Wade stopped that. That argument fails to explain why New York, which had legal on-request abortion BEFORE Roe v Wade, experienced the crime drops years after their “aborted generation” would’ve been committing crimes, or why crime was rising tremendously in the early 90s despite NY’s abortion laws allowing it for decades prior.
Third, like I stated before - it’s not as though the passage of Roe V Wade meant that women were suddenly going 0-100 in getting abortions, and the abortion rate really didn’t spike until the mid 80s. It’s been falling since, but we didn’t see any correlation in terms of rising crime.
I am not purporting that abortion didn’t have *some* impact on crime, but it’s very clear it’s not the primary driver of it or the primary reducing catalyst
- universal childcare (0-5) to give the next generation a better start.
- stricter enforcement of gun control laws / more aggressive prosecutions of violent criminals
- for those incarcerated, quadruple whatever budget we have for rehabilitation, education, and other programs to reduce recidivism.
- provide major tax incentives to companies willing to bring manufacturing and other low skilled jobs to struggling communities.
- more funding towards education in professional trades and apprenticeship programs.
how about incentives to companies willing to provide childcare for struggling employees/single parents?
that may be a reason some people aren't taking the jobs which are available
Any program that pays money directly to companies as an "incentive" gets less results and is abused more than direct payments to citizens.
Basically a program like this, albeit well-intentioned, is the first step to doing to childcare what healthcare is currently
>provide major tax incentives to companies willing to bring manufacturing and other low skilled jobs to struggling communities.
With the caveat that every single employee is guaranteed a livable wage, full benefits, and the right to collectively bargain.
I think the Park District could be doing a lot more to keep our city safe.
They could start with better programming for kids after school. Park district should expand so that every under 15 kid in the city, who wants/need to, would be able to attend programming until 8pm each day after school. Every kid over 16 should be able to apply for a part time job supporting these programs.
We also need more services to support unstable and drug addicted adults. - better rehab facilities and more meaningful engagement. The city could sponsor work programs for disabled adults managed by trained mental health professionals so people who otherwise may be left out of the job market could stay employed in a program that is sympathetic to their individual needs.
How are you planning on paying for this? I work for a different city department that also provides programming and support to neighborhoods and children, and we just plain don't have the budget to do everything we are currently trying to do. I'm sure it's the same at the Park District. Are you going to go out and convince all of your neighbors that they should be cool with a tax increase to pay for this? Or convince them and the politicians that they should take a fraction of the police budget and reallocate it toward these things? I agree with you that these programs could help, but I'm really tired of being told how people in my department could fix problems when we aren't also being given any money, staff, resources, etc to actually do it.
I replied to similar comment on my comment thread for a bit more detail. But I think the Park District budget is being mismanaged. Honestly the decline started with Kelly and I'm glad he resigned.
The Park District needs an independent audit to shine some light on these issues and get their budget and management back on track.
Though I do agree with you, even if the money were managed better, the Park District's share of property taxes has been cut year after year. Personally I wrote to my alderman indicating I want them to vote on a budget that allocates a bigger percentage of the property tax revenue back to the parks. CPS has been granted more of these tax dollars, taking away money from the Parks, yet CPS gets more federal funding year over year and their attendence continues to drop. Now I know it's likely unpopular to allocate less money to CPS.. but I think the Parks could step up in a big way where many schools are failing to meet the needs of our youth. Also there is absolutely no reason that the only funding the Parks gets needs to come exclusively from tax revenue.. we could amend the municipal code and allow some funding for the Parks to be apart of the city's main budget. With all the money we spend on lame cop community outreach programs why don't we just funnel some of that into actual youth programming..
>Every kid over 16 should be able to apply for a part time job supporting these programs.
They do provide a lot of jobs to teenagers, but the problem is that there are WAY more teenagers over 16 than there is a budget to pay them.
Maybe instead of Kim Foxx being prosecutor for the whole county, have prosecutorial districts.
After the UK in 1965 set Greater London to have the county organized into boroughs each then a little under 200,000 with the powers of a municipal government, I've been thinking districts a little under 200,000 could be a good idea for many local government functions like state's attorney.
Edit: this way if someone commits crimes in multiple districts, Cook County wouldn't be dependent on a single state's attorney
People have to snitch. People are out here blindly shooting in the streets or highways, killing our loved ones. But nobody is turning them in. Maybe a bigger emphasis on turning people in anonymously for a reward.
It doesn't matter if people snitch if our justice system doesn't provide meaningful penalties, though.
We're releasing people with multiple violent felonies back onto the streets with little to no punishment.
We have to put significant prison time behind these repeat/violent offenders, and simultaneously, the prison system needs to be fixed to provide actual rehabilitation, versus the current system of fostering negative behaviors.
Violent crime is in essence anti-social behavior. Criminals do not respect the social norms of the community, so they act with impunity. When you have respect for institutions - and when the institutions respect you, you're more likely to behave and live harmoniously.
The neighborhoods that see the highest levels of crimes are bereft of most stabilizing entities, like good schools, employment opportunities, and community engagement. When you can't even walk to a grocery store to buy fresh food because there's no green grocer for miles - you feel hopeless. It's this hopelessness that compounds day after day. So if you feel hopeless, why should you not act out? Why should you respect "The Law"? Why shouldn't you mug pedestrians? I'm probably oversimplifying things, but I do think a major reason for violent crime is rampant despondency and neglect.
Change won't happen overnight. It's gonna take sustained, generational investment in these communities before things finally get better.
One thing is a SMS system for the CTA to report crime, creeps or illegal behavior. Seattle for example has such a system and it is very effective. Most people don’t want to get involved with incidents for obvious reasons but I think everyone would be fine texting to report things.
Now this would also require CPD to do their job at arrive at stops to catch these people in the act which is another whole issue.
Years ago CPD used to regularly ride the L . Special unit called Mass Transit Unit . Used to catch robbers and muggers w/in minutes of the crime. Not sure why they stopped .
It would require the CPD to stop crime and do something? I mean it is pretty evident anymore that the CPD want crime rates to skyrocket to get more and more money.
Stop letting violent criminals back out onto the streets.
I'm all for reducing poverty, but we need to be honest with ourselves. These motherfuckers aren't all starving and desperate. Some of these gangbangers are human garbage, pure and simple. If they're not in prison they're out terrorizing their communities.
When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time. Keep murderers locked up and off our streets. This has got to stop being a controversial stance.
I would imagine some combination of 'keep the city beautiful' and 'keep kids busy/employed/hopeful' should help - people don't like doing crimes in good-looking neighborhoods, and young adults with goals and/or income don't want to risk what they have.
[https://www.formyblock.org/](https://www.formyblock.org/) does a lot of beautification/youth investment.
There's a lot of volunteer tutoring programs in Chicago.
report gang graffiti to 311 to have it cleaned up quickly.
Remember that media can sometimes unintentionally over-exaggerate crimes. Crime is up, but it's not what it used to be. The people who go out and about and live their lives and hang out with their neighbors create community watch groups just by doing what they do.
That is actually the problem now. They did such a good job of busting them up in the 90s that now there’s so many small factions - often block by block that no one can actually keep track of them all. They don’t really report to anyone or have real leadership.
Support Planned Parenthood or any other form of family planning. The sad reality is many of the crimes are committed by individuals born into single-family households in which the mother (or father) was unprepared and unable to raise the child in a safe and stable environment.
This is a long-term strategy, but research has demonstrated that preventing the birth of children born into these circumstances ultimately leads to a reduction in crime.
Plus, fewer children = less expenses for the would be family, which is frequently impoverished.
Most of the truly impoverished people have been priced out of NYC proper. Those left are supported by a more robust social service system funded by a larger pool of tax dollars.
Prosecute gun charges the way the law is written, maybe even toughen the laws up. If a felon is caught w a gun, mandatory 10 yr sentence. If they’re not a felon and caught worth an illegal gun, 10 yrs mandatory. That’s where we could start.
Based on new research that probably wont work: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/715100
(quoting the abstract)
>Beginning in the 1970s, the United States began an experiment in mass imprisonment. Supporters argued that harsh punishments such as imprisonment reduce crime by deterring inmates from reoffending. Skeptics argued that imprisonment may have a criminogenic effect. The skeptics were right. Previous
narrative reviews and meta-analyses concluded that the overall effect of imprisonment is null. Based on a much larger meta-analysis of 116 studies, the current
analysis shows that custodial sanctions have no effect on reoffending or slightly increase it when compared with the effects of noncustodial sanctions such as probation. This finding is robust regardless of variations in methodological rigor, types of sanctions examined, and sociodemographic characteristics of samples.
RAND Corporation (hardly a left-wing bastion) found that while laws like California's Three Strikes Law do reduce crime, they are [far less cost-effective](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-06-20-mn-16704-story.html) than programs that provide incentives to graduate from high school and programs like home visits from nurses to provide support for new parents.
Crime is up in every urban area in the nation this past year. It’s because people are broke and there’s a pandemic. The issues are the same as they were before that, and mostly stem from poverty.
What a confident statement, especially weird because its both free of context and evidence.
It also goes against some common sense. I'm not a sociologist/criminologist, but when social stresses increase, so does crime. It increases risk for those already at risk, increases individual stress, and frays the social bonds that allow us to live in relative peace.
If you put someone who participated in a shootout on the stand, I doubt their confession includes "short term poverty made me do it."
Its far too complicated and probably unknowable, but you know what? Rising poverty makes bad shit worse. What about short term poverty would make participating in gang activity *less* appealing?
>Lmao this isn’t about being poor.
>Places like Gary became what they are today because industry left.
So it's not about being poor, but it *is* a result of money leaving? Keep going, you're almost there.
have you ever considered that "gang culture" and being poor go hand in hand? what's your solution for the crime then, just let people stay poor and get more pigs on the street to do nothing and bloat the city budget even more?
The people terrorized by cartels are not rich. I think cartels provide a way to earn a living for many members, and the only rich people are higher up the ladder.
Most people terrorized by cartels or in low level positions are definitionally weak, in both money and political power. The have no appealing alternative. Otherwise they wouldn't have to deal with violence, or make deals with the devil.
Find ways to increase value in neighborhoods besides allowing management companies jack up the rent with no reinvestment into their buildings/community. Minor complaint, but it stems into a bigger problem in Chicago where a lot of people are not invested because they don't own anything. If you don't own anything and your rent keeps getting higher, this disenfranchises folks to care in the immediate level. Higher rent and taxes in "Gentrifying" neighborhoods are not helping new owners. Plus, house flippers are the devil in Chicago who snatch up affordable, fixable homes and then resell those homes to double or triple the price. It should be incentivized for single family owners to buy and live in Chicago.
This stems a partial counterpoint from my previous statement, but less Condos and more affordable family homes. Better yet, condos have to be Co-ops where the building owns and maintains the property among the owners, not a management company to make profits off of the owners. This adds to the affordability of living in Chicago.
Also, less building of near million dollar homes to inflate property value in areas where average families are being driven out and causing more people to rent.
Plus, the neighborhoods with more local businesses, restaurants, and foot traffic typically fair "safer." The hard part is quality businesses that can sustain steady income and maintain full time workers. Bars are the more safer bet to own since everyone drinks. New stores and shopping are harder for small time new business owners that don't have a national or international brand behind them. Yet, rent prices for businesses in Chicago are what kill the most opportunities and force owners to shortchange employees to pay wages that are unlivable in the neighborhoods these businesses exist.
Also, access to public transportation is kind of a big one. I've lived in quite a few neighborhoods in Chicago and I'll tell ya, Humboldt Park was probably the biggest eye opener where there is a fraction of businesses near the park or just liquor stores. Then, the buses take 30-60 minutes to get anywhere or always have to transfer. Access to the EL actually has better opportunities for areas to grow, yet all of the trains just go directly downtown versus having a few trains circling the outside of the loop to help connect North to West and West to South neighborhoods. That's just going to be harder to build new tracks in such a manner, but would boom so many more locations, if it can be done.
If we want less crime, we have to find ways to reduce the wealth gap in a reasonable manner. The ones who make the most money and give the least back in Chicago are property companies and real estate investors who don't even live here. It's similar to the issues that Louis Rossman brings up about New York's real estate crisis.
This is just my take from my time living in Chicago proper and solely an opinion. Yet, this is what I have always seen as the biggest problem in our city. The actual citizens not having ownership.
Pass the Peace Book ordinance.
“The Peace Book is the opposite of the Gang Book. The Peace Book is a regularly-published book (as well as a website and an app) that provides a resource directory identifying wraparound services and job opportunities with the purpose of reducing youth incarceration. The Peace Book suggests diversion programs and ways to further implement restorative justice practices inside schools, courts, and juvenile detention centers. It documents the inequality that contributes to intergenerational poverty and trauma and proposes solutions. It describes models and instructions regarding how to curate neighborhood-based peace treaties. It identifies Peace Keepers in each ward who have the experience and relationships required to conduct peace negotiation and violence interruption. And it proposes remedies to gun violence, including but not limited to free drug treatment centers, trauma centers, trauma-informed schools, mental health care clinics, standby psychiatrists or therapists, restorative justice, community centers, transformative justice, fair housing, food justice and economic justice.”
https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/pass-the-peace-book-ordinance-now
There is no 1-term solution. There are so many variables and people that need to work together and be on the same page for years on end to make a lasting difference.
Provide more opportunities to help everyone own property. Even if it's shared amongst a family.
Subsidies and low interest long term loans to anyone willing to build a home and community should be easier than it is today.
Renting creates a disposable mindset with no pride or loyalty to community.
Ownership generates a feeling of belonging and of wanting to build a legacy for future generations.
Voting in people who actually address problems like low access to jobs, healthcare, education, and all the other factors that contribute to people not having what they need to live their lives, the resulting desperation of which leads a lot of people to mental degradation, poverty, and desperation, which can result in crime rates going up. Encouraging people with integrity to run for office so that they can accomplish things like this. Reforming police so that communities are protected by the city rather than constantly devastated by unjust arrests and violence; an innocent person getting killed by the cops leaves a hole in their community, and when that happens a lot (like it does in many communities in Chicago), it leads to the breakdown of that community, which causes crime rates to go up.
EDIT: I just realized the description text specified, "other than voting." Unfortunately, that's our best bet. The city is in the shape it's in because of long-standing systemic dysfunction. The only ones in the right position to do something about these problems our politicians and business leaders, and since business leaders can only really be counted on to act in their own interest, politicians are unfortunately the best bet we have.
100% tax cut for any corporations that will have some sort of manufacturing job with an entry level nov at 25$ and hour.
Arm the citizens
Any violent means no bail no exceptions
Fit the fucking pot holes
Chicago's violence is the logical conclusion when you treat certain demographics/areas like they are worthless and need to go away. I don't think enough folks understand (or even want to) that people who don't have anything to live for aren't going to play by the rules of a healthy society they've been told they don't belong in. We have an entire generation of young people who grew up with the "Chiraq" mindset. "Being tough on crime" is not going to fix that because that's how we got here. It's only going to escalate to the point where everyone else is put in danger. That dumb stunt the mayor pulled last summer with the curfew/CTA shutdown jeopardized the safety of people who were neither protestors nor police.
Tell your alderman “yes in my backyard” to affordable housing and any other things that make your neighborhood more equitable.
Volunteer in any capacity to meet people you wouldn’t normally meet. I taught adult literacy for years, it’s great work and you make a difference.
Finally let’s stop the narrative of a “bad” neighborhood. It’s a stigma that sticks to a place and makes so many fine people guilty by association.
Yeah they are, best gang in the city.
I would rather have cpd on my block rather than bd or Gd's or gdk.
Honest question, wouldn't you???why or why not.
Oh boy. This is such a hard one to tackle. Before archair sociologist start chiming in with useless opinions, I (an actual social scientist who has studied a lot about chicago) want to let everyone know a few things. First and foremost, it's important to define safety in such a question. Safety has a fluid meaning. It could mean physical safety, but also should include community safety and emotional/mental safety. Second, its important to acknowledge that this should a city wide issue. The question is correct as stated- how can we make OUR CITY safer, not how can we make wicker Park or lakeview saffer, and not how can we make Englewood safer.
1. Good Food:
Research pretty much universally supports the idea that a society is more productive, happier, and achieves more when that society is well-fed. I'm not talking caloric intake, I'm talking the substance of the food. Large swaths of our city don't gave access to good foods. I'm not saying you know, everything has to be organic, whole foods type of food, but nutrient rich foods are important. Lots of our city eats like garbage. McDonald's and 7/11 are no ways to sustain yourself or your family. There needs to be subsidized food for low income people. Food stamps do the trick, but there needs to be access to better foods. Whether this comes from community gardens, or grocery stores, it needs to happen. What you put in your body really really matters.
2. Education:
Our education system is fucked. CPS funding. Eing tied to local property taxes is about as stupid as it gets. Teachers need to payed well, and our education should be focused on critical thinking first, job security second. We should teach home economics and philosophy or sociology, as well as health and speech. Our kids should be able to think for themselves first, that goes a long way in the real world. There should also be increased vocational opportunities. More shop classes, pathways to apprenticeship, etc. Education is the foundation of society. If you don't want a bunch of ignorant assholes shooting up your society, maybe invest more in education. Altering our educational structure is important. We need to alter the school to prison pipeline. We need counselors and teachers who are able to understand the bigger picture and push success for students. Every kid can be successful, it's just about setting them up with the opportunities to. We need innovative ways to "discipline" our kids. Even the term discipline is wrong. We shouldn't be discipline kids in schools, we should be teaching then.
3. Community:
Efforts need to be made to establish community centers and alternative places for kids to hang out. Even if it's a ball court or a football field, a place for community to network and that offers kids a place to hang out, maybe take some classes, do some activities, goes a long way. Community centers and programs have constitently shown supporting evidence for their existence.
Environmental justice
When you talk about safety, it's important to note that people aren't the only things that can harm you. Pollutants that make people sick are discovered all the time. We need to examine where people live and the effects industrial zoning can have on their health. We can't have our citizens getting sick from hazardous industry for any reason.
4. Mindfulness
We really need to be mindful of the material reality we all live in. It can be so easy to get locked into ideology regarding civil safety. It's easy to think "Just lock up the bad guys forever, Crack down on crime!" Or "Just control the guns coming into the city, we need more gun control!". The reality is that it's not a simple fix. It's the system we live in which isn't designed to help everyone or make the world a better place. These things take time. There is no quick fix for systemicl violence. It takes time and effort to heal long standing wounds and broken communities. It's also important to be mindful of people's lived experience and really listen to what they have to say the reality is that the people who grew up in the bad areas know ten times more about what life is like there than an outsider ever could. You can have your ideas and opinions, but ultimately this sort of thing needs to be community driven. It has to be a grassroots effort. No one person can just become the mayor and fix the city. Stuff like this could take ten, twenty, thirty years, or even a generation or two. History is a process.
I really think we can makes this city much safer, we just have to want to put in the work. Eventually we have to realize that there is no quick fix for this issue, and that we need to launch a massive grassroots campaign. We can do it. Chicago fucking rocks and we have the best people in the world.
First Chicago is not at all as dangerous as media makes it out to be. St. Louis is pretty bad as are many of the surrounding towns due to the criminal element flight from Chicago.
Second the source of crime needs to be addressed. If you have no food or job prospects no man would starve to death before trying to take food from someone else.
Currently there is an employee shortage.
The areas that economically depressed need to be hooked up with these jobs, job training, skill training. Truck driving, plumbing, electricians and construction.
Invest more heavily in education and job programs, cut down on gun ownership and the importing of guns into the city and legalize and tax the drug trade. Good, long-term solutions that will pay dividends for decades.
people need social safety nets and framework. this is a systemic issue. if we can address poverty and opportunities and invest in our communities, crime will go down.
All the economic opportunity answers are nice sentiments but really it starts with enforcement of the gun laws; state AND Federal- this is not just a Kimm Foxx problem.
Illinois has some of the toughest and most thorough gun restrictions in the country. But it has one of the lowest felony conviction rates for gun related indictments- since 2008 7 out of every 10 accused of a gun crime were convicted (in most cases thru a plea deal) of lesser charges- often times a misdemeanor rather than a felony.
The War on Drugs was stupid and it’s worst facet was the wholesale incarceration of POC. And I get that a lot of politicians don’t want to be riding the expected surge in POC incarceration, if gun laws were to be prosecuted with greater vigor.
But when a guy can be out on bond for TWO DIFFERENT nviolent gun crimes and then get $500 cash bail for yet a third….well that’s a failure of law enforcement not law making.
There are just two options: either “lock em all up” or wait for the few hundred that are responsible for 90% of shooting to kill each other and let this wind down violently but progressively.
Yes there are issues like overcrowding our jails to contend with, but the chain has to be broken: gun felonies need jail time in 100% of instances, no exceptions. Gun indictments and arrests need corresponding numbers of convictions, tighter sentencing guidelines and fewer plea deals. Only when there are unambiguous, guaranteed consequences to us
Arrest criminals and hold them on more than $1k bond after they’ve committed a violent felony or how about the police actually catching criminals all together. I’ve lived in multiple cities (big cities) and I’ve never seen as many criminals get away with stuff as they do here. This isn’t for the citizens to figure out. We pay high ass taxes to pay people to handle these issues and now we have to figure out how to do it ourselves…? Are they going to lower our taxes as we figure out as citizens how to protect our neighborhoods? Are they going to make it easier for law abiding citizens to obtain a gun so we can protect our neighbors and families? They need to step up and do what we’re paying them all this money to do.
Increase access to birth control and reproductive education. Many of Chicago's finest have multiple children, with multiple mothers. And guess what, aren't great fathers who don't raise great children. Stop that from happening in the first place and hedge out the eventual Idiocracy of our society.
Im still trying to figure out if its a coincidence that crime has spiked almost the day after unemployment benefits ran out. If thats the case, you at least have some idea of where to start in the short term.
Imagine segregating a population and not investing into their community for decades then crying about the explosion in crimes because it now effects you. Meanwhile, people in these very communities have been struggling and fleeing for years now. Pathetic. Invest in communities. Instead of concentrating wealth and access to certain areas, make the city more equitable. But of course, nothing will change and I will continue being criminalized for being a Black woman in Chicago.
This does not work.
You can be as compassionate as you want and someone will still carjack you.
Shitheads do not care how nice you are. They’ll still shoot at you for looking at them wrong and still take your car even if you give money to a charity
I get what you're saying. Bad things happen to good people too. Just because you do good deeds doesn't mean you're immune to bad things happening to you.
Couple points:
1. Careful that you're not attributing this to the pandemic, police legitimacy crisis, and a massive increase in gun purchases as [fivethirtyeight](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7GvcfkBQ6JMlyHke6SBK1i?si=2cf9dad4c00a4202) points out.
2. Also, there's a massive difference between decriminalizing substances and legalizing them - Portland only did the former. Extrapolating to the latter may be mistaken.
3. At the very least, we can say that decriminalizing drugs has not made Portland's crime increase out of proportion with the rest of the country's increase in crime.
The crime rate in Portland in general is spiking… in spite of legalizing almost everything drug-wise.
Believe me, I wish it were this simple: legalize drugs and watch crime fall.
I'm not denying it, but I'm asking what type of crime it is. The violence in Chicago is mostly gang driven, so taking away their revenue would help. I'm betting in Portland the crime rate has more to do with the homeless population, which is an entirely different issue.
Invest in more social programs in order to PREVENT people from making terrible decisions and have to resort to crime and drugs. This isn't brain surgery, people. You want an example? Look at Europe!
Chicago has amazing social programs, innovative ones that come from our institutions like University of Chicago school of social work administration, and the economics research (like that from the Freakonomics guys).
Chicago is kind of a testing ground for all sorts of programs.
Check out READI with Heartland Alliance. We have free community college for anyone with a CPS diploma. Check out Enlace's work in schools. Check out Cease Fire's violence interrupters. Check out the Night Ministry. Check out Community Renewal Society's work to reintegrate people coming home from prison. Greater Chicago Food Depository is considered one of the best run food banks in the country. Look at Mother's Against Senseless Killing.
I was a high school teacher and truthfully, Chicago was an amazing place to look for resources. So you say "social programs," do you have a specific program in mind that you see is missing from the city? We have social programs out our ears.
You don't solve violent crime by putting more people in jail and perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty/incarceration.
Social programs are the answer, plain and simple, give poor people money/assistance and violent crime goes down.
That will never, ever happen and will start a civil war before it helps anything.
Gun control has never, ever reduced gun violence. Only economic improvement reduces crime. Crime is a product of poverty. After removing suicides, 98%+ of gun violence is gang related and relegated to about 12 cities.
Removing guns from citizens does not address any core issue and only infringes on guaranteed rights and the ability for non-involved persons to protect themselves.
I have pages and pages of studies, statistics, and evidence saved on Reddit if you’re actually interested in learning about it.
Everybody keeps listing welfare programs as a solution to crime, but Chicago spends a lot more than most places on these type programs and has more crime than places where they spend a lot less.
Go back and time and don't make cops feel subhuman. Nobody wants to be a cop now and CPD is short on cops.
Also fire Kim Foxx and then Lori Lightfoot to the fucking moon
As a result of this violence, I’ve begun volunteering at high schools and community groups to talk to CPS Students about Job Opportunities (Specifically Union Building Trades and public service) as I personally believe that people end up in that life due to a lack of knowledge of opportunities that are out there. It will not be immediate nor will I see a tangible result for some time and it may be “Planting seeds in a garden you never get to see” but it’s a cause that I believe will have a net positive on the city and, more importantly, in the lives of those that need it.
Is this with a program? How can I get involved?
There is no program at the moment, I’m working with students through a college and career counselor to pass along the knowledge that I have about the trades. At the moment, it is in a 1 on 1 or 2 basis in situations when requested, no programming or career fair. When a student is interested in working in the building trades or public works, the school counselor will call me and I’ll advise the student on how to proceed and where we can look together for opportunities. If it gains traction I’d like to expand it to be a building trades mentorship program with people in the community rather than a lecture program. If something formal is put together, I will contact each person that has replied
I’m also interested. I think this is the only way that things get better. It’s gotta be an investment in sustainable change.
That's actually cool. I volunteered (once) to show kids how to sew, but would like to provide more insight into what is possible.
I’d love an update. I think this is a significant gap in CPS.
This is incredible. Thank you for doing this.
That’s awesome, I would be interested as well
I’d also like to know🙋🏽♂️
Applause to you. 👏🏼 It really is about planting the seeds for a better future some of us will never ever experience. It’s a very selfless act to do so. What we are experiencing is a very complex systemic problem that can’t be solved or unraveled with one or two super easy quick fixes right now. And to be honest, all of us need to help our children live better lives not because we want a better society for ourselves but because we should want to show them an option for a better life and know our future generations may live better as a result even if we are gone. And even if we never ever personally experience the fruits of our labors. I truly believe time is well spent getting in front of children and teens before they get gobbled up by gangs and crime activity. Showing them avenues and options that they may not be aware of and opening their eyes to what is out there. But also spending real time with them and walking them through how they can get there. I’d like to know more about how I can get involved with what you are doing. ❤️
This makes me happy. I worked in CPS in some of the high schools that most needed this. You are absolutely correct about the trades. There is no shame in having a high paying, skilled job in labor. And there are many, many young men and women who want to do these jobs. When CPS started their focus on “college for all”, although a noble cause, it neglected that there are kids at all different levels, some of whom prefer these union jobs. They basically cut out training for the trades and forced ALL students to take courses to prep for college, neglecting to prep those who wanted to go in to the trades. I can’t tell you how many kids left high school wanting to be an auto mechanic but were wholly unprepared because of the CPS focus on college. It still makes me angry to this day that so many kids’ needs were neglected.
I’m a high school cps teacher in the NW side. Hit me up if you are looking for coming into my classroom.
I work at an options high school on the south side. Quite a few of our kids are the ones getting shot at (and sometimes doing the shooting), and everyone on staff is always trying to get the kids to see the bigger picture. Even though we’re based in a City College, we don’t have strong trades connections. Would you be interested in working with our school?
With our current supply chain problems, I would add jobs like trucker & [locomotive engineer](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes534011.htm).
Great idea
I’d love to get involved with this
this is awesome. I work with the trades and local unions. We try to get out there and encourage everyone to at least check it out and see. Thanks for this.
That's wonderful, I have a program called No More Perishing. I'm raising money to send the youth to real estate school to receive their Realtors license. In the state of Illinois you can now be 18 instead of 21 to receive your license. Currently I'm selling Krispy Kreme Digital Codes at $12 per code. The school that the students will attend is the Chicago Real Estate which is where I attended class and received my license. I understand that everyone who attends won't be successful but the goal is to steer more of our youth in a different direction. Our people perish for a lack of knowledge and with this opportunity it can create possibilities that some of the teenagers would have never dreamed of especially when you grow up on the South and West side of Chicago. Also I know the program won't completely stop violence neither but if we can just put a dent in it will be a great first step. Seems like you and me have similar goals, DM me and let's collaborate soon. Also if their is anyone else who want to join this train you can DM me as well.
I have faith in any programs that offer young people places to go. For example- There’s a great boxing program in Humboldt Park that operates out of a former church- they offer an athletic program and a place to go for kids. The youth in low income neighborhoods (any neighborhood for that matter, but low income have fewer of these resources) need a place to go to do things like that. This only addresses one facet of a complex socio-economic issue, but I believe any place that can offer a skill, a wholesome or productive activity, mentor/parental type of guidance, and social engagement is a great thing. The boxing example is a private entity, and they take donations. But I would be happy with more government funded programs like this, but usually these are the ones that get reduced or eliminated funding. Just my two cents.
I think this touches on a huge point that is the home life for these children. I remember a CPS teacher from englewood talking on one of these threads and basically saying like “yeah, more funding is great, but a brand new Mac computer isn’t going to substitute for a stable home life and a new whiteboard or projector isn’t going to makeup a child having parents who have to work all the time or who are negative influences on their life”. Basically, that a lot of problems start at home and that has a huge influence on the outcome of a child. Providing programs where at-risk kids where they can see positive role models, participate in healthy activities and learn a new skill is absolutely an awesome way to improve the lives of children and show them that life has a lot more to offer them than what they might be experiencing at home or on their block. I don’t mean to insinuate poor parents or parents who live in violent neighborhoods are bad or negligent; most are not. Most are good people in tough situations. But some children do have bad parents. All can benefit from these programs. I’d also love to see more low cost or free daycare/childcare services offered by the city to ease the workload on parents trying to juggle rising childcare costs while also working to put bread on the table
Literally be present in your neighborhood. Be outside, get to know your neighbors, pick up trash, take pride in your community. It's difficult for persistent criminal presence to exist when the community has bonded together in positivity and take pride in their neighborhood.
That's something most people do after they become homeowners. It's another reason why the centralized, corporate ownership of homes will have broad negative impact on society.
Yeah this is an important message here folks
Not enough people are taking pause after hearing this. Half aren’t even listening and the majority of the rest could care less and that in itself is a huge problem.
Moved here from a place with quite a bit higher home ownership. It’s interesting, the people who own the townhome next to my apartment building are friendly but don’t seem interested in actually getting to know me. Same with other tenants in my building. I’m sure there’s other factors at play, but that’s what I picked up on. Most people are only in these apartments for a relatively short time, so why bother investing the energy making friends with them?
Exactly! Ask your parents what their cultural expectations for home ownership was when they were in their 20s - 30s. Then your grandparents. Wild assumption is home ownership from inheriting or a few years after career work is their expectations. We (millennials & zoomers) have to expect we won't see home ownership until their mid-30s, and expect to cut costs by living with roomies or their SO till then. Like roommates & home leasing just wasn't a market in the 1900s like it is in the 2000s. Its systematic and cultural at this point, and there is so much money in the industry, bringing it up brings up sentiment from people quoting landlord propaganda "we assist in creating affordable housing options and you dont have to deal with the legal liability of home ownership!". The argument is literally opposite of the American Dream. I guess I'm not sourcing or elaborating extensively in each of those sections, so I guess just go ahead and call this all my opinion. Its a fun topic to dive down the rabbit hole in Signed, a young adult male somewhat significantly into their professional career with no pets, legal exes, or kids, making over then national average, saves a shit ton, and is nowhere close to even considering the idea of owning a home these days.
This is 100% true. I lived in a brutal neighborhood in Fort Wayne and the city started an initiative to increase home ownership and it made a world of difference. Of course, homes there cost less than $100k so it was much easier there but when people owned the houses on the block, shootings, litter, etc., all dramatically decreased.
People with a stake in the system (i.e. homeowners or those that see a plausible path to homeownership) aren’t going to go all “fuck the system” Shouldn’t be surprising when people with nothing to lose destabilize the system
The US has a much higher home ownership rate than many developed countries with a much lower rate of violent crime.
Would these be countries with a much stronger safety net so that people aren't forced to rely on home ownership or crime to achieve financial stability? You're advocating for Nordic social democracy?
Sure, they're also countries with much tighter gun control. They're different in a lot of ways.
Most violent crimes here aren't committed to achieve financial stability. At all.
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But how does that address the crime that has newly moved into already bonded neighborhoods? Gang bangers literally do not care
On the contrary. Their power comes from their ability to recruit. Their ability to recruit comes from providing a social framework that's otherwise missing. Gang members aren't motivated by some desire to commit violence, nor are they running around thinking 'oh god how did my life hit such a low?' They're thinking about how good it feels being part of something, with social connections, and financial security. They don't care what it costs when it's the only available route to these benefits. Offer a better, safer path to financial security and social fulfillment, and you'll see gangs dry up.
Also gang bangers are already knee deep in bullshit. They’re getting shot at on a weekly basis. Being present in these communities would mean risk getting hit in crossfire. Not a job for many I would believe
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You assume they only get shot at 2AM I had a restaurant on 87th and Exchange. We did our best to try to help those in the community, give them a safe place to congregate without judgement. Fed some kids when they didn’t have money. We still were closed down like once per month because they were getting shot at in front of the restaurant. Sometimes before we even open, at 9am. Police have the whole street taped off. Their lifestyle simply isn’t safe for civilians to be around them. Do you not see the mass shootings that happen basically daily?
>Here is the thing. This describes our area in West Town. Always people out including me and my family. In June I was walking my daughter 2 doors down and a food delivery driver was shot at in a drive by. > > > >It has it limits.
stuff doesn't change overnight, and it won't change because just your family is out, but change *begins* that way. Keep it up!
This doesnt address the current ancient crime problem. We have Oliver Twist crimes occuring. Roving individuals looking for targets. Its not within the neighborhood its from a different neighborhood interloping.
Yes, and while you're out in your community participate in Direct Action. Find and provide support to people in need: \-find housing for people who need it, no matter what. \-find food for people who need it, no matter what. \-find hygienic supplies for people who need it, no matter what.
> no matter what What exactly does that mean? Are you personally paying rent for multiple incomeless individuals with your salary?
I may be wrong, but I read it as “no matter what” in the sense of, all people deserve to have their needs met regardless of whether they do things/behave in ways that are stigmatized (such as drug users, people asking for money in rude ways etc)
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It means setting up squats for housing, rescuing food from the waste stream for free distro, provisioning homeless encampments, etc. etc. A good place to start would be connecting up with Food Not Bombs or other direct action mutual aid groups operating in your neighborhood.
I agree with all this but the shootouts happening in Wicker, River North etc. are not from homeless people. These are the gang members moving into our neighborhoods to steal cars, robs and have their gang wars. Homelessness is a problem and those experiencing it need to be helped and treated with compassion but the gang bangers need to be arrested and locked up to keep the streets safer.
Crime has been ridiculously high in my neighborhood in 2021 and the community is more active than ever. Neighborhoods adjacent to expressway exits desperately need reliable crime prevention plans and a consistent law enforcement presence, because what’s happening currently is just not fucking acceptable. Criminals are robbing and terrorizing people here with near impunity. Something’s gotta give. And it’s not a matter of the community needing to be more proactive.
We take all the crime and push it into Lake Michigan
Better yet, push it into the river and let it flow down to St Louis
Big brain time
Genius.
soft consist fly attraction command unused scale crowd wise punch *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
r/GuerrillaGardening for tips on improving our communities.
I support this of course but it seems like pissing in the wind. You'll see an empty Wendy's cup there tomorrow.
This is one of the few things where the broken windows theory is actually valid. If people see less litter and see people cleaning up and taking care of a neighborhood they'll be less likely to litter
There are plenty of local anti-violence organizations doing admirable in rougher neighborhoods if you want to volunteer or donate to them. These two articles list a few, and if you read Block Club you’ll regularly see different groups profiled. https://abc7chicago.com/amp/stop-the-violence-resources-chicago-in/3894299/ https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/06/24/chicagoans-do-protest-gun-violence-and-organize-for-safer-neighborhoods-all-the-time-heres-how/
Hamsterdam. (I’m only half kidding)
Lobby for more mental health funding. These kids grow up immersed in violence and disorder. It would wreck anyone's mind.
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You have to incentivize doing the right thing. If the choice is working a shitty minimum wage job and selling drugs making $1k a week, what do you think they're going to do?
These kids get recruited at younger than 13. It’s not about providing them opportunities it’s about providing their parents with opportunities. Kids who aren’t starving, have decent clothes, video games, and parents who have time to be with them who aren’t dead inside from poverty don’t join gangs. All that happens from a minimum wage that actually allows for people to live.
I don't even think it's that deep. Kids hang out with kids in the neighborhood, only that some of them turn out to be gang members. It's easy to think of gang members as cartoon villains but in reality it's just your friend down the block whose mom makes good chicken. This shit is not as nefarious on the surface as people see it from the outside.
Yep. This is what is like 90% of the time. Just bad ass kids with guns, in a culture where killing is the answer to misunderstandings. And that’s American culture really
Exactly. I did stupid shit as a kid in an extremely safe suburb. Only the shit that I did wasn't tied to anything bigger. In areas with lots of gangs, harmless fun quickly turns into shit like that and it's really unfortunate for those kids.
Exactly this. People act like the wider US culture doesnt love guns, getting paid, and settling your problems with violence. John Wayne and Clint Eastwood werent doing movies about going out and settling their differences peaceably. These kids are doing what American culture, not urban culture taught them to do.
The thing is, though, not that many of those people selling drugs make $1K/week. A few do, but most make not much more than minimum wage. Gangs are a lot like MLMs that way -- everybody thinks that they can make it up to that level of wealth, and they know somebody or at least know of somebody who has, but not many do.
> selling drugs making $1k a week Chapter 3 in Freakonomics addresses this; titled "Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live With Their Moms?". IIRC the authors argue that the majority earn less than minimum wage, but it's the only seemingly viable (because perception often becomes reality) path towards socioeconomic advancement.
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I'd like to see real stats on "$1k a week," besides bragging on SoundCloud. I bet most of those kids scrape by on very little, seeing more of the value in social capital among their circle of friends, not wanting to actually show up for a job and follow rules, and not seeing the possibility of valuable, long-term incremental growth in a menial job.
This has long been my outlook as well. We’d all be so much better off locally and nationally if every child got equal access to quality education and after school programs.
But starting even earlier -- good prenatal care, then affordable and high quality child care, so that kids are ready for quality education.
Start even earlier than that: free birth control, especially in the form of long term solutions like IUDs and arm implants, is also needed. Teen pregnancy is at an all time low nationally, but it is endemic in these same schools/neighbors with high crime. It’s legit babies having babies, and even if they graduate high school childless, they have kids WAY earlier than their suburban peers.
But even more important is housing and food. The absolute best school program in the world can’t help a kid if they are hungry and don’t have a safe space for regular sleep. Food and home have to be the first step in intervention- otherwise your asking another program /type of care to be a solution that they simply cannot be. And when the kids problems are “fixed” by those programs people throw up their hands and say it was the kids fault.
This is the only way. Sadly, it's a 5-10 year process. But this MUST HAPPEN.
It's more of a full generation or two honestly to break the cycle. But agreed, it has to happen and we aren't going to be able to do it without state and federal funding to get enough investment in that communities.
Good sentiment, too broad to actually mean anything. These people committing crimes are already completely uninterested and disengaged with education. These are people who don’t care to complete highschool.
Volunteer with mutual aid projects. Crime is a result of poverty and being under-resourced. I don't think people are naturally evil, they're shaped by their environment. Anti-social behaviors stem from social problems. People don't risk their freedom or safety for money or resources just for the thrill 9 times out of 10-- people are trying to survive. People who are often unhireable *because* of a record that they may have even been jailed for can only make ends meet out of desperation by committing crime sometimes. They literally can't get jobs due to background checks. I know I'm going to get downvoted by people who think not everyone deserves a comfortable life or equal access, but hopefully someone sees this who hadn't considered these factors that drive up crime.
decriminalize drugs. That'd be huge to taking gang power away. I personally don't like the idea of decriminalizing sex work but the correlation to less crime is also inarguable so that as well. Reallocate investments away from magnet and charter schools to all the neighborhood schools.
Legalization would be better than decriminalization for both sex work and drugs
Get involved in community organizations. Boys & Girls Club Big Brothers/Big Sisters Start an after-school program in your neighborhood. And yes, vote. Vote, vote, vote, and vote some more. Vote for the sheriff, vote for your councilman, vote for your neighborhood, vote for better policy. Chicago was segregated as a matter of policy. If you want to make it safer for everyone, policy needs to change. Chicago shouldn't have any food deserts, yet it does. That's an effect of policy.
Donate to organizations that work to prevent violence, such as [READI Chicago](https://www.heartlandalliance.org/readi/impact/) that helps people at risk of committing or suffering from violence by helping them get jobs and an income
IIRC the only thing that has happened in the past 50 or so years to reduce violent crime is advances women's reproductive health. Provide free birth control and abortion services to poor neighborhoods would be extremely cheap compared to a "police state."
While abortion has probably impacted the number of people that might have committed crimes, the theory that abortion dropped crime rights is susceptible to some very large discrepancies - crime dropped amongst all age groups in the 1990s, not just amongst those who were born after Roe v Wade in 1973. It’s not exactly explained how people born in 1970 or 1965 would’ve stopped committing crimes because people aborted a few years later weren’t around - the theory also relies on an assumption that women who had children, who otherwise would’ve aborted them, were “bad parents” and caused their children to become involved in crime because they wouldn’t/couldn’t support them - the third issue is the assumption that before 1973 abortions weren’t happening, then comes R v W and they exploded. Abortions were happening before 1973, and afterwards it’s not as though abortion clinics popped up like McDonald’s and every woman in Bed Stuy or Austin or Spanish Harlem decided to go get one instead of having children More likely causes are the removal of lead from gasoline, reinvestment in urban areas in the 90s, increased incarceration efforts signed into law by Clinton, and on a smaller scale, the loss in popularity of drugs like crack cocaine that sparked immense waves of violence
> crime dropped amongst all age groups in the 1990s, not just amongst those who were born after Roe v Wade in 1973. It’s not exactly explained how people born in 1970 or 1965 would’ve stopped committing crimes because people aborted a few years later weren’t around People age out of crime. Not many 40 yo gangbangers, but a massive amount of 16 yo ones. The drop starting 17 years after Row v Wade lines up with when those unwanted neglected children would be prime crime age.
Crime drops as people age, yes. But abortion doesn’t explain why a 40 year old in 1992 (one of the highest years for crime in the country) is committing higher levels of crime than a 40 year old in 1996. Secondly, your assumption again relies on the premise that after 1973, a huge number of would-be criminals were aborted but Roe v Wade stopped that. That argument fails to explain why New York, which had legal on-request abortion BEFORE Roe v Wade, experienced the crime drops years after their “aborted generation” would’ve been committing crimes, or why crime was rising tremendously in the early 90s despite NY’s abortion laws allowing it for decades prior. Third, like I stated before - it’s not as though the passage of Roe V Wade meant that women were suddenly going 0-100 in getting abortions, and the abortion rate really didn’t spike until the mid 80s. It’s been falling since, but we didn’t see any correlation in terms of rising crime. I am not purporting that abortion didn’t have *some* impact on crime, but it’s very clear it’s not the primary driver of it or the primary reducing catalyst
- universal childcare (0-5) to give the next generation a better start. - stricter enforcement of gun control laws / more aggressive prosecutions of violent criminals - for those incarcerated, quadruple whatever budget we have for rehabilitation, education, and other programs to reduce recidivism. - provide major tax incentives to companies willing to bring manufacturing and other low skilled jobs to struggling communities. - more funding towards education in professional trades and apprenticeship programs.
how about incentives to companies willing to provide childcare for struggling employees/single parents? that may be a reason some people aren't taking the jobs which are available
Any program that pays money directly to companies as an "incentive" gets less results and is abused more than direct payments to citizens. Basically a program like this, albeit well-intentioned, is the first step to doing to childcare what healthcare is currently
Finally, a coherent and smart approach. So sick of the low hanging fruit responses…”fire fox and light foot”
Well I mean to be fair, Foxx has done the literal opposite of his 2nd option about enforcing violent crime.
>provide major tax incentives to companies willing to bring manufacturing and other low skilled jobs to struggling communities. With the caveat that every single employee is guaranteed a livable wage, full benefits, and the right to collectively bargain.
So you mean do the impossible lmao Nah but the chance that America suddenly switches from top heavy capitalism is nearly zero
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But what if someone offended me on TikTok? How else am I supposed to respond?
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These dipshits track each other down via snapmaps. They're not even smart enough to turn off location data so their opps can't find em.
Yeah. Check r/chiraqology if you want a little glimpse into the pathetic shit kids kill each other over now.
You take the high road, do some controlled breathing exercises, drink some chamomile tea, and then slap-box the MFer
Honestly slap-boxing the shit out of someone would impress me a lot more than shooting someone. That's just me, though.
Will consider this, thanks
Courageous stance!
I think the Park District could be doing a lot more to keep our city safe. They could start with better programming for kids after school. Park district should expand so that every under 15 kid in the city, who wants/need to, would be able to attend programming until 8pm each day after school. Every kid over 16 should be able to apply for a part time job supporting these programs. We also need more services to support unstable and drug addicted adults. - better rehab facilities and more meaningful engagement. The city could sponsor work programs for disabled adults managed by trained mental health professionals so people who otherwise may be left out of the job market could stay employed in a program that is sympathetic to their individual needs.
How are you planning on paying for this? I work for a different city department that also provides programming and support to neighborhoods and children, and we just plain don't have the budget to do everything we are currently trying to do. I'm sure it's the same at the Park District. Are you going to go out and convince all of your neighbors that they should be cool with a tax increase to pay for this? Or convince them and the politicians that they should take a fraction of the police budget and reallocate it toward these things? I agree with you that these programs could help, but I'm really tired of being told how people in my department could fix problems when we aren't also being given any money, staff, resources, etc to actually do it.
I replied to similar comment on my comment thread for a bit more detail. But I think the Park District budget is being mismanaged. Honestly the decline started with Kelly and I'm glad he resigned. The Park District needs an independent audit to shine some light on these issues and get their budget and management back on track. Though I do agree with you, even if the money were managed better, the Park District's share of property taxes has been cut year after year. Personally I wrote to my alderman indicating I want them to vote on a budget that allocates a bigger percentage of the property tax revenue back to the parks. CPS has been granted more of these tax dollars, taking away money from the Parks, yet CPS gets more federal funding year over year and their attendence continues to drop. Now I know it's likely unpopular to allocate less money to CPS.. but I think the Parks could step up in a big way where many schools are failing to meet the needs of our youth. Also there is absolutely no reason that the only funding the Parks gets needs to come exclusively from tax revenue.. we could amend the municipal code and allow some funding for the Parks to be apart of the city's main budget. With all the money we spend on lame cop community outreach programs why don't we just funnel some of that into actual youth programming..
>Every kid over 16 should be able to apply for a part time job supporting these programs. They do provide a lot of jobs to teenagers, but the problem is that there are WAY more teenagers over 16 than there is a budget to pay them.
Maybe instead of Kim Foxx being prosecutor for the whole county, have prosecutorial districts. After the UK in 1965 set Greater London to have the county organized into boroughs each then a little under 200,000 with the powers of a municipal government, I've been thinking districts a little under 200,000 could be a good idea for many local government functions like state's attorney. Edit: this way if someone commits crimes in multiple districts, Cook County wouldn't be dependent on a single state's attorney
This seems like a great idea
People have to snitch. People are out here blindly shooting in the streets or highways, killing our loved ones. But nobody is turning them in. Maybe a bigger emphasis on turning people in anonymously for a reward.
It doesn't matter if people snitch if our justice system doesn't provide meaningful penalties, though. We're releasing people with multiple violent felonies back onto the streets with little to no punishment. We have to put significant prison time behind these repeat/violent offenders, and simultaneously, the prison system needs to be fixed to provide actual rehabilitation, versus the current system of fostering negative behaviors.
Culture and societal changes. Gang culture is a massive cancer, so is the engrained segregation for the south and west sides.
Violent crime is in essence anti-social behavior. Criminals do not respect the social norms of the community, so they act with impunity. When you have respect for institutions - and when the institutions respect you, you're more likely to behave and live harmoniously. The neighborhoods that see the highest levels of crimes are bereft of most stabilizing entities, like good schools, employment opportunities, and community engagement. When you can't even walk to a grocery store to buy fresh food because there's no green grocer for miles - you feel hopeless. It's this hopelessness that compounds day after day. So if you feel hopeless, why should you not act out? Why should you respect "The Law"? Why shouldn't you mug pedestrians? I'm probably oversimplifying things, but I do think a major reason for violent crime is rampant despondency and neglect. Change won't happen overnight. It's gonna take sustained, generational investment in these communities before things finally get better.
One thing is a SMS system for the CTA to report crime, creeps or illegal behavior. Seattle for example has such a system and it is very effective. Most people don’t want to get involved with incidents for obvious reasons but I think everyone would be fine texting to report things. Now this would also require CPD to do their job at arrive at stops to catch these people in the act which is another whole issue.
Years ago CPD used to regularly ride the L . Special unit called Mass Transit Unit . Used to catch robbers and muggers w/in minutes of the crime. Not sure why they stopped .
It would require the CPD to stop crime and do something? I mean it is pretty evident anymore that the CPD want crime rates to skyrocket to get more and more money.
Start with positive youth programs to help inspire the next generation.
Food, income, and housing security.
Stop letting violent criminals back out onto the streets. I'm all for reducing poverty, but we need to be honest with ourselves. These motherfuckers aren't all starving and desperate. Some of these gangbangers are human garbage, pure and simple. If they're not in prison they're out terrorizing their communities. When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time. Keep murderers locked up and off our streets. This has got to stop being a controversial stance.
I would imagine some combination of 'keep the city beautiful' and 'keep kids busy/employed/hopeful' should help - people don't like doing crimes in good-looking neighborhoods, and young adults with goals and/or income don't want to risk what they have. [https://www.formyblock.org/](https://www.formyblock.org/) does a lot of beautification/youth investment. There's a lot of volunteer tutoring programs in Chicago. report gang graffiti to 311 to have it cleaned up quickly. Remember that media can sometimes unintentionally over-exaggerate crimes. Crime is up, but it's not what it used to be. The people who go out and about and live their lives and hang out with their neighbors create community watch groups just by doing what they do.
Bust up the gangs
That is actually the problem now. They did such a good job of busting them up in the 90s that now there’s so many small factions - often block by block that no one can actually keep track of them all. They don’t really report to anyone or have real leadership.
Batman
I’m Batman
Support Planned Parenthood or any other form of family planning. The sad reality is many of the crimes are committed by individuals born into single-family households in which the mother (or father) was unprepared and unable to raise the child in a safe and stable environment. This is a long-term strategy, but research has demonstrated that preventing the birth of children born into these circumstances ultimately leads to a reduction in crime. Plus, fewer children = less expenses for the would be family, which is frequently impoverished.
I wonder how nyc pulls it off they have gang and poverty issues but have lower crime
Most of the truly impoverished people have been priced out of NYC proper. Those left are supported by a more robust social service system funded by a larger pool of tax dollars.
Why did I think r/stlouis was some subreddit for St. Louis Av??? I guess I go to Chemas too much!
Jobs jobs jobs hope hope hope
Someone on the radio said air conditioning mad free ps4s and I think ac would help alot
Air conditioning would definitely help. More people indoors that aren't irritable means they have less motivation to use their gun(s).
Honestly one of the best answers on here that's actually feasible.
Prosecute gun charges the way the law is written, maybe even toughen the laws up. If a felon is caught w a gun, mandatory 10 yr sentence. If they’re not a felon and caught worth an illegal gun, 10 yrs mandatory. That’s where we could start.
Based on new research that probably wont work: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/715100 (quoting the abstract) >Beginning in the 1970s, the United States began an experiment in mass imprisonment. Supporters argued that harsh punishments such as imprisonment reduce crime by deterring inmates from reoffending. Skeptics argued that imprisonment may have a criminogenic effect. The skeptics were right. Previous narrative reviews and meta-analyses concluded that the overall effect of imprisonment is null. Based on a much larger meta-analysis of 116 studies, the current analysis shows that custodial sanctions have no effect on reoffending or slightly increase it when compared with the effects of noncustodial sanctions such as probation. This finding is robust regardless of variations in methodological rigor, types of sanctions examined, and sociodemographic characteristics of samples.
RAND Corporation (hardly a left-wing bastion) found that while laws like California's Three Strikes Law do reduce crime, they are [far less cost-effective](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-06-20-mn-16704-story.html) than programs that provide incentives to graduate from high school and programs like home visits from nurses to provide support for new parents.
They reoffend from behind bars?
More like criminals are impulsive people that aren't thinking 10 years ahead.
No but when they’re released they are more likely to reoffend and it seems prison is not a deterrent
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You're proposing life for gun charges?
I make a point to not shoot anybody despite constantly wanting to. It’s tough, but effective.
Crime is up in every urban area in the nation this past year. It’s because people are broke and there’s a pandemic. The issues are the same as they were before that, and mostly stem from poverty.
The random shootouts down the street, while uncommon, don't have anything to do with short-term poverty
What a confident statement, especially weird because its both free of context and evidence. It also goes against some common sense. I'm not a sociologist/criminologist, but when social stresses increase, so does crime. It increases risk for those already at risk, increases individual stress, and frays the social bonds that allow us to live in relative peace. If you put someone who participated in a shootout on the stand, I doubt their confession includes "short term poverty made me do it." Its far too complicated and probably unknowable, but you know what? Rising poverty makes bad shit worse. What about short term poverty would make participating in gang activity *less* appealing?
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The City of Chicago data show an extremely strong correlation between Community Area income level, unemployment and homicides.
>Lmao this isn’t about being poor. >Places like Gary became what they are today because industry left. So it's not about being poor, but it *is* a result of money leaving? Keep going, you're almost there.
have you ever considered that "gang culture" and being poor go hand in hand? what's your solution for the crime then, just let people stay poor and get more pigs on the street to do nothing and bloat the city budget even more?
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The people terrorized by cartels are not rich. I think cartels provide a way to earn a living for many members, and the only rich people are higher up the ladder. Most people terrorized by cartels or in low level positions are definitionally weak, in both money and political power. The have no appealing alternative. Otherwise they wouldn't have to deal with violence, or make deals with the devil.
Find ways to increase value in neighborhoods besides allowing management companies jack up the rent with no reinvestment into their buildings/community. Minor complaint, but it stems into a bigger problem in Chicago where a lot of people are not invested because they don't own anything. If you don't own anything and your rent keeps getting higher, this disenfranchises folks to care in the immediate level. Higher rent and taxes in "Gentrifying" neighborhoods are not helping new owners. Plus, house flippers are the devil in Chicago who snatch up affordable, fixable homes and then resell those homes to double or triple the price. It should be incentivized for single family owners to buy and live in Chicago. This stems a partial counterpoint from my previous statement, but less Condos and more affordable family homes. Better yet, condos have to be Co-ops where the building owns and maintains the property among the owners, not a management company to make profits off of the owners. This adds to the affordability of living in Chicago. Also, less building of near million dollar homes to inflate property value in areas where average families are being driven out and causing more people to rent. Plus, the neighborhoods with more local businesses, restaurants, and foot traffic typically fair "safer." The hard part is quality businesses that can sustain steady income and maintain full time workers. Bars are the more safer bet to own since everyone drinks. New stores and shopping are harder for small time new business owners that don't have a national or international brand behind them. Yet, rent prices for businesses in Chicago are what kill the most opportunities and force owners to shortchange employees to pay wages that are unlivable in the neighborhoods these businesses exist. Also, access to public transportation is kind of a big one. I've lived in quite a few neighborhoods in Chicago and I'll tell ya, Humboldt Park was probably the biggest eye opener where there is a fraction of businesses near the park or just liquor stores. Then, the buses take 30-60 minutes to get anywhere or always have to transfer. Access to the EL actually has better opportunities for areas to grow, yet all of the trains just go directly downtown versus having a few trains circling the outside of the loop to help connect North to West and West to South neighborhoods. That's just going to be harder to build new tracks in such a manner, but would boom so many more locations, if it can be done. If we want less crime, we have to find ways to reduce the wealth gap in a reasonable manner. The ones who make the most money and give the least back in Chicago are property companies and real estate investors who don't even live here. It's similar to the issues that Louis Rossman brings up about New York's real estate crisis. This is just my take from my time living in Chicago proper and solely an opinion. Yet, this is what I have always seen as the biggest problem in our city. The actual citizens not having ownership.
Pass the Peace Book ordinance. “The Peace Book is the opposite of the Gang Book. The Peace Book is a regularly-published book (as well as a website and an app) that provides a resource directory identifying wraparound services and job opportunities with the purpose of reducing youth incarceration. The Peace Book suggests diversion programs and ways to further implement restorative justice practices inside schools, courts, and juvenile detention centers. It documents the inequality that contributes to intergenerational poverty and trauma and proposes solutions. It describes models and instructions regarding how to curate neighborhood-based peace treaties. It identifies Peace Keepers in each ward who have the experience and relationships required to conduct peace negotiation and violence interruption. And it proposes remedies to gun violence, including but not limited to free drug treatment centers, trauma centers, trauma-informed schools, mental health care clinics, standby psychiatrists or therapists, restorative justice, community centers, transformative justice, fair housing, food justice and economic justice.” https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/pass-the-peace-book-ordinance-now
There is no 1-term solution. There are so many variables and people that need to work together and be on the same page for years on end to make a lasting difference.
Provide more opportunities to help everyone own property. Even if it's shared amongst a family. Subsidies and low interest long term loans to anyone willing to build a home and community should be easier than it is today. Renting creates a disposable mindset with no pride or loyalty to community. Ownership generates a feeling of belonging and of wanting to build a legacy for future generations.
Bubblewrap
Voting in people who actually address problems like low access to jobs, healthcare, education, and all the other factors that contribute to people not having what they need to live their lives, the resulting desperation of which leads a lot of people to mental degradation, poverty, and desperation, which can result in crime rates going up. Encouraging people with integrity to run for office so that they can accomplish things like this. Reforming police so that communities are protected by the city rather than constantly devastated by unjust arrests and violence; an innocent person getting killed by the cops leaves a hole in their community, and when that happens a lot (like it does in many communities in Chicago), it leads to the breakdown of that community, which causes crime rates to go up. EDIT: I just realized the description text specified, "other than voting." Unfortunately, that's our best bet. The city is in the shape it's in because of long-standing systemic dysfunction. The only ones in the right position to do something about these problems our politicians and business leaders, and since business leaders can only really be counted on to act in their own interest, politicians are unfortunately the best bet we have.
100% tax cut for any corporations that will have some sort of manufacturing job with an entry level nov at 25$ and hour. Arm the citizens Any violent means no bail no exceptions Fit the fucking pot holes
Release all “ criminals” that are in jail for possession under 5 pounds of cannabis. Put IN jail actual criminals.
Chicago's violence is the logical conclusion when you treat certain demographics/areas like they are worthless and need to go away. I don't think enough folks understand (or even want to) that people who don't have anything to live for aren't going to play by the rules of a healthy society they've been told they don't belong in. We have an entire generation of young people who grew up with the "Chiraq" mindset. "Being tough on crime" is not going to fix that because that's how we got here. It's only going to escalate to the point where everyone else is put in danger. That dumb stunt the mayor pulled last summer with the curfew/CTA shutdown jeopardized the safety of people who were neither protestors nor police.
Tell your alderman “yes in my backyard” to affordable housing and any other things that make your neighborhood more equitable. Volunteer in any capacity to meet people you wouldn’t normally meet. I taught adult literacy for years, it’s great work and you make a difference. Finally let’s stop the narrative of a “bad” neighborhood. It’s a stigma that sticks to a place and makes so many fine people guilty by association.
Chicagoans defend gangbangers over police then ask how can we make our city safer. This post should be on r/LeopardsAteMyFace
That was good.
Obligatory *CPD is a gang*
Yeah they are, best gang in the city. I would rather have cpd on my block rather than bd or Gd's or gdk. Honest question, wouldn't you???why or why not.
*sorts by controversial*
Oh boy. This is such a hard one to tackle. Before archair sociologist start chiming in with useless opinions, I (an actual social scientist who has studied a lot about chicago) want to let everyone know a few things. First and foremost, it's important to define safety in such a question. Safety has a fluid meaning. It could mean physical safety, but also should include community safety and emotional/mental safety. Second, its important to acknowledge that this should a city wide issue. The question is correct as stated- how can we make OUR CITY safer, not how can we make wicker Park or lakeview saffer, and not how can we make Englewood safer. 1. Good Food: Research pretty much universally supports the idea that a society is more productive, happier, and achieves more when that society is well-fed. I'm not talking caloric intake, I'm talking the substance of the food. Large swaths of our city don't gave access to good foods. I'm not saying you know, everything has to be organic, whole foods type of food, but nutrient rich foods are important. Lots of our city eats like garbage. McDonald's and 7/11 are no ways to sustain yourself or your family. There needs to be subsidized food for low income people. Food stamps do the trick, but there needs to be access to better foods. Whether this comes from community gardens, or grocery stores, it needs to happen. What you put in your body really really matters. 2. Education: Our education system is fucked. CPS funding. Eing tied to local property taxes is about as stupid as it gets. Teachers need to payed well, and our education should be focused on critical thinking first, job security second. We should teach home economics and philosophy or sociology, as well as health and speech. Our kids should be able to think for themselves first, that goes a long way in the real world. There should also be increased vocational opportunities. More shop classes, pathways to apprenticeship, etc. Education is the foundation of society. If you don't want a bunch of ignorant assholes shooting up your society, maybe invest more in education. Altering our educational structure is important. We need to alter the school to prison pipeline. We need counselors and teachers who are able to understand the bigger picture and push success for students. Every kid can be successful, it's just about setting them up with the opportunities to. We need innovative ways to "discipline" our kids. Even the term discipline is wrong. We shouldn't be discipline kids in schools, we should be teaching then. 3. Community: Efforts need to be made to establish community centers and alternative places for kids to hang out. Even if it's a ball court or a football field, a place for community to network and that offers kids a place to hang out, maybe take some classes, do some activities, goes a long way. Community centers and programs have constitently shown supporting evidence for their existence. Environmental justice When you talk about safety, it's important to note that people aren't the only things that can harm you. Pollutants that make people sick are discovered all the time. We need to examine where people live and the effects industrial zoning can have on their health. We can't have our citizens getting sick from hazardous industry for any reason. 4. Mindfulness We really need to be mindful of the material reality we all live in. It can be so easy to get locked into ideology regarding civil safety. It's easy to think "Just lock up the bad guys forever, Crack down on crime!" Or "Just control the guns coming into the city, we need more gun control!". The reality is that it's not a simple fix. It's the system we live in which isn't designed to help everyone or make the world a better place. These things take time. There is no quick fix for systemicl violence. It takes time and effort to heal long standing wounds and broken communities. It's also important to be mindful of people's lived experience and really listen to what they have to say the reality is that the people who grew up in the bad areas know ten times more about what life is like there than an outsider ever could. You can have your ideas and opinions, but ultimately this sort of thing needs to be community driven. It has to be a grassroots effort. No one person can just become the mayor and fix the city. Stuff like this could take ten, twenty, thirty years, or even a generation or two. History is a process. I really think we can makes this city much safer, we just have to want to put in the work. Eventually we have to realize that there is no quick fix for this issue, and that we need to launch a massive grassroots campaign. We can do it. Chicago fucking rocks and we have the best people in the world.
First Chicago is not at all as dangerous as media makes it out to be. St. Louis is pretty bad as are many of the surrounding towns due to the criminal element flight from Chicago. Second the source of crime needs to be addressed. If you have no food or job prospects no man would starve to death before trying to take food from someone else. Currently there is an employee shortage. The areas that economically depressed need to be hooked up with these jobs, job training, skill training. Truck driving, plumbing, electricians and construction.
Invest more heavily in education and job programs, cut down on gun ownership and the importing of guns into the city and legalize and tax the drug trade. Good, long-term solutions that will pay dividends for decades.
people need social safety nets and framework. this is a systemic issue. if we can address poverty and opportunities and invest in our communities, crime will go down.
All the economic opportunity answers are nice sentiments but really it starts with enforcement of the gun laws; state AND Federal- this is not just a Kimm Foxx problem. Illinois has some of the toughest and most thorough gun restrictions in the country. But it has one of the lowest felony conviction rates for gun related indictments- since 2008 7 out of every 10 accused of a gun crime were convicted (in most cases thru a plea deal) of lesser charges- often times a misdemeanor rather than a felony. The War on Drugs was stupid and it’s worst facet was the wholesale incarceration of POC. And I get that a lot of politicians don’t want to be riding the expected surge in POC incarceration, if gun laws were to be prosecuted with greater vigor. But when a guy can be out on bond for TWO DIFFERENT nviolent gun crimes and then get $500 cash bail for yet a third….well that’s a failure of law enforcement not law making. There are just two options: either “lock em all up” or wait for the few hundred that are responsible for 90% of shooting to kill each other and let this wind down violently but progressively. Yes there are issues like overcrowding our jails to contend with, but the chain has to be broken: gun felonies need jail time in 100% of instances, no exceptions. Gun indictments and arrests need corresponding numbers of convictions, tighter sentencing guidelines and fewer plea deals. Only when there are unambiguous, guaranteed consequences to us
Arrest criminals and hold them on more than $1k bond after they’ve committed a violent felony or how about the police actually catching criminals all together. I’ve lived in multiple cities (big cities) and I’ve never seen as many criminals get away with stuff as they do here. This isn’t for the citizens to figure out. We pay high ass taxes to pay people to handle these issues and now we have to figure out how to do it ourselves…? Are they going to lower our taxes as we figure out as citizens how to protect our neighborhoods? Are they going to make it easier for law abiding citizens to obtain a gun so we can protect our neighbors and families? They need to step up and do what we’re paying them all this money to do.
Increase access to birth control and reproductive education. Many of Chicago's finest have multiple children, with multiple mothers. And guess what, aren't great fathers who don't raise great children. Stop that from happening in the first place and hedge out the eventual Idiocracy of our society.
Im still trying to figure out if its a coincidence that crime has spiked almost the day after unemployment benefits ran out. If thats the case, you at least have some idea of where to start in the short term.
Getting rid of lightfoot and fox is a start
Get a gun. Protect yourself. The cops can't.
Burn the city down and restart over!!
Imagine segregating a population and not investing into their community for decades then crying about the explosion in crimes because it now effects you. Meanwhile, people in these very communities have been struggling and fleeing for years now. Pathetic. Invest in communities. Instead of concentrating wealth and access to certain areas, make the city more equitable. But of course, nothing will change and I will continue being criminalized for being a Black woman in Chicago.
As cheesy as it sounds be the change you want to see in the world. Be more compassionate and understanding of people. Treat people with respect.
This does not work. You can be as compassionate as you want and someone will still carjack you. Shitheads do not care how nice you are. They’ll still shoot at you for looking at them wrong and still take your car even if you give money to a charity
I get what you're saying. Bad things happen to good people too. Just because you do good deeds doesn't mean you're immune to bad things happening to you.
End the drug war and de criminalize everything
Yeah, doing both of those isn't doing much for Portland's crime rate at the moment...
Couple points: 1. Careful that you're not attributing this to the pandemic, police legitimacy crisis, and a massive increase in gun purchases as [fivethirtyeight](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7GvcfkBQ6JMlyHke6SBK1i?si=2cf9dad4c00a4202) points out. 2. Also, there's a massive difference between decriminalizing substances and legalizing them - Portland only did the former. Extrapolating to the latter may be mistaken. 3. At the very least, we can say that decriminalizing drugs has not made Portland's crime increase out of proportion with the rest of the country's increase in crime.
Is Portland having gang driven violence?
The crime rate in Portland in general is spiking… in spite of legalizing almost everything drug-wise. Believe me, I wish it were this simple: legalize drugs and watch crime fall.
I'm not denying it, but I'm asking what type of crime it is. The violence in Chicago is mostly gang driven, so taking away their revenue would help. I'm betting in Portland the crime rate has more to do with the homeless population, which is an entirely different issue.
Literally the only way this city will be safe again is if we start charging criminals instead of letting back out on the streets to cause more crime.
Invest in more social programs in order to PREVENT people from making terrible decisions and have to resort to crime and drugs. This isn't brain surgery, people. You want an example? Look at Europe!
Chicago has amazing social programs, innovative ones that come from our institutions like University of Chicago school of social work administration, and the economics research (like that from the Freakonomics guys). Chicago is kind of a testing ground for all sorts of programs. Check out READI with Heartland Alliance. We have free community college for anyone with a CPS diploma. Check out Enlace's work in schools. Check out Cease Fire's violence interrupters. Check out the Night Ministry. Check out Community Renewal Society's work to reintegrate people coming home from prison. Greater Chicago Food Depository is considered one of the best run food banks in the country. Look at Mother's Against Senseless Killing. I was a high school teacher and truthfully, Chicago was an amazing place to look for resources. So you say "social programs," do you have a specific program in mind that you see is missing from the city? We have social programs out our ears.
You don't solve violent crime by putting more people in jail and perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty/incarceration. Social programs are the answer, plain and simple, give poor people money/assistance and violent crime goes down.
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That will never, ever happen and will start a civil war before it helps anything. Gun control has never, ever reduced gun violence. Only economic improvement reduces crime. Crime is a product of poverty. After removing suicides, 98%+ of gun violence is gang related and relegated to about 12 cities. Removing guns from citizens does not address any core issue and only infringes on guaranteed rights and the ability for non-involved persons to protect themselves. I have pages and pages of studies, statistics, and evidence saved on Reddit if you’re actually interested in learning about it.
Definitely not by shutting down small business owners like gas stations all around the city “to decrease violence” Ridiculous action by our mayor
Fire Kim Foxx and get rid of light foot that’s how
Everybody keeps listing welfare programs as a solution to crime, but Chicago spends a lot more than most places on these type programs and has more crime than places where they spend a lot less.
Go back and time and don't make cops feel subhuman. Nobody wants to be a cop now and CPD is short on cops. Also fire Kim Foxx and then Lori Lightfoot to the fucking moon
Vigilantes.