Daley calls for City Hall summit to curb gun violence
Determined to stop the bloodbath on Chicago streets, Mayor Daley has summoned police, school, religious and community leaders to his City Hall office on Friday to search for solutions to gun violence.
In less than a week, 40 people have been shot in Chicago and 12 have been killed, five of them in a Chatham home.
(John H. White/Sun-Times)
Daley has tried rolling back curfew by 30 minutes -- to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends -- and pressuring parents to take responsibility for their kids.
He has also asked University of Chicago researchers to interview victims, offenders and parents -- with a particular emphasis on single moms -- to get to the heart of youth violence and devise “out of the box” strategies to prevent it.
Now, the mayor is holding a City Hall summit. That’s what he did in 1992 after the sniper shooting of 7- year-old Dantrell Davis outside Cabrini Green.
“We’ve got to get to the bottom of what’s going on here. We need as many voices, as many experiences, as much input as we can possibly get to try and reach that goal,” said mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard.
“Obviously, we have no expectation we’re gonna solve this problem in this meeting. But, at the very least, perhaps we can come out with a new approach to add to all the ones we’ve tried—something that might be more effective.”
Heard insisted that Daley’s decision to sound the alarm is not tied to a concern that continued bloodshed could damage Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
“He thinks what everyone else thinks: It’s astonishing. It’s worriesome. And something’s got to change — now. When kids are dying, seemingly at random, it’s alarming no matter what else is going on,” she said.
The Rev. Dr. Walter Johnson, pastor of Wayman A.M.E. Church, 509 W. Elm, said he was not among those invited to the mayor’s summit. But, he believes the gathering will do some good, provided it results in more year-round after-school activities for young people and more jobs.
“We run an after-school program in Cabrini. Over 100 youth attend every day. We’re opening it up to have a dialogue to ask them, ‘What do they want? What do they feel?’ They want employment — not just during the summer, but year-round. They need money. They need some work,” Johnson said.
Earlier this week, Johnson joined school officials at a meeting tied to the federal program known as Project Safe Neighborhoods to talk about solutions to the vexing problem of youth violence.
“They’re dealing with a crisis with truancy and drop-outs. That’s contributing to this problem. They’re not in school. They’re not working. So, the likelihood of them getting involved in anti-social behavior or violence is great. There’s nothing else to do,” Johnson said.
“A lot of these young people are angry or fearful. Angry because of some of the things they’re having to deal with in life. Fearful because they’re travelling through gang territory and afraid of being targeted by other groups. It shouldn’t be the case that young people are picking up weapons to defend themselves. But, that’s exactly what’s happening.”
In 1992, Daley was harshly criticized for leaving town for an extended weekend at his daughter’s Connecticut college in the days following Dantrell Davis’ murder.
He cut the weekend short to hold a Sunday summit meeting. It produced a plan to sweep and secure Cabrini high-rises — by hiring 270 off-duty police officers for one week at a cost of $500,000. Daley rejected a request by then-CHA Chairman Vince Lane to call out the National Guard.
“We will not surrender. We refuse to stand by in a city when a 7-year-old can’t walk from his home to his school without fear of death,” Daley said then.
