Chicago Murders

Hello:  I have something to say about the Chicago shootings and murders.

I grew up on the southside of Chicago, just like Michelle Obama. But now, some of the streets I walked as a child have been dripping with blood. My kind of town is the murder capital among America’s big cities. Every weekend we can hear shocking statistics on the number of shootings and killings, which will get undoubtedly get worse during the warm weather.

The murder rate has gone down over the past two years, but last year there were still 555 people shot dead. The Chicago police say the violence is due to gang warfare.  But a study by the University of Illinois says the high number of homicides is due to race and poverty

You can visit Chicago and see all the sights and conduct business and never see or hear anything related to the murders.  That’s because the crimes are confined to a few scattered neighborhoods on the southside and westside of the city. The residents are mostly black and mostly poor. The shootings are not happening on the Gold Coast, or the enclaves of luxury condos and expensive shopping, or the quiet white ethnic neighborhoods on the northside.

 Do I believe that if the victims were white, more would have been done to stop the killing?  Yes, I do. Do I believe the problem persists because 75 percent of the victims are black?  Yes, I believe that too. It seems black lives still don’t matter that much in Chicago.

Until next time.