Racism is everywhere these days, figuratively and literally. Between a racist virus, a racist depression and several public murders of Black people, systemic oppression has been impossible to ignore.
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Commentary: Chicago’s violence brings despair, but there is hope for our young men
It’s been a rough 2020 for Chicago. At the halfway mark, more than 1,200 people have been shot and nearly 300 killed, an enormous increase over last year at this time and on track to erase much of the gains we have made in reducing gun violence over the previous three years.
Read the commentary from Senior Director Eddie Bocanegra in the Chicago Tribune here.
Memorial Day Weekend Violence ‘Unacceptable,’ Strategy a ‘Fail’
With 49 shot and 10 killed over Memorial Day weekend, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is ripping her new police superintendent’s strategies.
“I know that there was a lot of energy and coordination among a variety of groups,” Lightfoot said at a press conference. “What I said to the superintendent this morning is, ‘This was a fail and whatever the strategy is, it didn’t work.'”
Blue-ribbon Panel Calls for Federal Spending on Gun Violence
More than a year ago, the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan research organization, assembled a bipartisan task force of 14 experts drawn from law enforcement, politics, advocacy, and academia.
Community Justice Programs Face New Pressure in Health Crisis
In criminal justice circles, most talk about the pandemic has focused on the devastating threat posed by the coronavirus to prisons and jails as well as the nation’s police forces. Less appreciated is its impact on justice programs that work in communities, including nonprofits that help those on probation and parole and inmates who are released from custody.
When the Shootings Don’t Stop
In many cities, gun violence is dealing a double blow to black communities already ravaged by the pandemic. Community outreach workers are struggling to keep up.
How One Local Chicago Organization Is Working to Stop the Spread of Gun Violence During COVID-19
Since Illinois’s stay-at-home order went into place in late March, gun violence in the Chicago area has reportedly increased 11% compared to this time last year. Though overall crime rates have dropped during this time, gun-on-gun crime in perpetuating.
Off Kilter Podcast: COVID-19 Doesn’t Care What’s in Your Record. We Shouldn’t Either.
COVID-19 doesn’t care what’s in your record. We shouldn’t either. That is why we need to move past the U.S.’s obsession with the “violent/nonviolent” dichotomy and Heartland Alliance Criminal Justice Campaign Manager, Quintin Williams, is joining Center for American Progress to discuss just that. Listen today as they talk criminal justice reform, protecting people behind bars from the spread of COVID19, and the “second chances” response we need to ensure the 1 in 3 Americans with criminal records aren’t left behind.
Could America’s slump in crime be the beginning of something?
For years, activists, police and others hoping to reduce gun violence in cities have asked if creating a temporary firebreak—a way to pause tit-for-tat killings—could help in the long term. Police departments in violent cities have talked of making a firebreak. Now they have one.
The Stay-At-Home Order Has Not Slowed Gun Violence In Chicago. But It Is Slowing Anti-Violence Workers.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s stay-at-home order has not slowed gun violence in Chicago. Chicago Police Department data show shootings are up 10% compared to the same time period last year. But the order, and the social distancing methods in general, have hamstrung frontline anti-violence workers.