Community leaders to unveil $600 million, 15-point plan to reduce violence in Chicago

Is it possible to be sincere and sarcastic at the same time? If so, good luck.

Michael Johnson to announce $600 million plan to reduce Chicago violence https://t.co/0UJpqukR2T via @CapTimes

— Peter Nickeas (@PeterNickeas) February 21, 2017

Gun violence in Chicago is no joke: according to the Chicago Sun-Times, there were around 780 homicides in the city in 2016, an increase of nearly 60 percent from 2015 — enough to skew the entire national average. Sorry, Shaun King: you can’t warp time enough to lay that at President Trump’s feet.

So, could $600 million put a dent in violent crime in Chicago? Abigail Becker of the Capital Times reports that Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County CEO Michael Johnson will unveil a 15-point plan Thursday at Chicago Police Department headquarters, and they’d like President Trump and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to invest.

Some of the 15 points:

• Re-purposing $100 million over four years from the correctional system to employ thousands of inner city men
• Engaging youth in providing solutions with Chicago Peace Project
• Employing thousands of youth during summer months
• Lobbying for policies that address social justice issues
• Providing mentoring and executive coaching for inner city men in the workplace
• Providing alternative sentencing for nonviolent offenders
• Building new community centers in targeted neighborhoods

Recommended

Buyer’s Remorse? Scott Jennings Lays to Rest Notion that MAGA Voters Are Leaving Trump Over Tariffs

Warren Squire

Advertisement

Obviously, jobs are central to the plan, as are mentoring and counseling for inner-city men.

this is a pitch, right? the money isn't there yet right?

— Charlie J. Johnson (@Charliemagne) February 21, 2017

yup

— Peter Nickeas (@PeterNickeas) February 21, 2017

Becker reports that Mayor Paul Soglin dedicated $400,000 in Madison, Wisconsin’s 2017 operating budget to implement a similar 15-point plan proposal.

Any chance that current leadership will come up with $600 million for Chicago? President Obama, who purchased a house there, did give Chicago a lovely parting gift in January in the form of a $1.1 billion grant … for work on its Red Line elevated train.