Daley asks where is the money for gov's anti-violence plan
Saying he’s on “a crusade to help Mayor Daley,” Gov. Blagojevich staged a West Side rally Tuesday to unveil his $150 million plan to curb youth violence and “stop the killing.”
But Daley, who was attending a separate event at a North Side school, didn’t exactly jump on the bandwagon.
(AP/Sun-Times)
“It’s a good proposal. But, you need the money. You need the beef,” Daley told reporters. “At least he’s proposing this. But, where are you gonna get the money?”
The mayor’s statements echoed those by several lawmakers in Springfield, who questioned whether the governor’s plans to create 20,000 youth jobs and bolster after-school programs across the state are realistic.
The governor wants his so-called Community Investment Works Initiative to be part of a larger, $25 billion statewide construction program, but lawmakers have yet to embrace his strategies for financing that massive proposal.
Blagojevich’s rally at the Martin Luther King Jr. Boys & Girls Club on the West Side followed a series of actions by Daley to combat violence. City Hall this summer plans to spend $1.5 million to provide 1,000 jobs for young people in violent neighborhoods. In addition, the mayor has enlisted University of Chicago researchers to study the violence and devise prevention strategies.
Flanking Blagojevich at the rally, state Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) said enough research has been done. “We don’t need no damn research,” Hendon shouted, drawing thunderous applause. “We know what our children need: They need jobs and opportunity.”
Playing to the crowd, Blagojevich said later, “We don’t need studies from the University of Chicago or Ivy League schools like Harvard telling us that between certain hours there’s more violence with kids.”
But while the governor appeared to take issue with that component of Daley’s approach, he said he wants the mayor’s help curbing violence. “I want to thank Mayor Daley for his leadership. I believe Mayor Daley is doing everything he possibly can to get his arms around this problem . . . but he can’t do it alone,” Blagojevich said.Hendon and state Rep. Kenneth Dunkin (D-Chicago) encouraged the crowd to call House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) to build support for the anti-violence plan.
But, in Springfield, Madigan sounded less than enthusiastic about it. When asked if the funding exists, he replied “We haven’t gotten to that question yet.” Then, as he entered a closed-door meeting, Madigan paused and said, “But, mark me down, I’m against violence.”
