Mayor Lightfoot Tries to Chart a New Course on Public Safety


In spite of heavy rainfall that kept many indoors and 1,200 additional police officers on the streets of Chicago, 43 people were shot, seven fatally, over the Memorial Day weekend. Last year, 39 people were shot.

In preparation for what is typically a violent holiday weekend in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot rolled out the new initiative, “Our City. Our Safety,” which looks to city resources and partner organizations to increase community engagement across the city. 

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“I had no illusions that we were going to have a wave a magic wand and everything was going to be perfect,” Lightfoot said Tuesday. “But I think we definitely made some progress in some areas and in other areas, we clearly have more work to do.”

In 2016, Chicago saw the highest number of shootings in recent years when 71 people were shot, six fatally, over the Memorial Day weekend, according to statistics kept by the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago experienced a surge of violence in 2016 when 762 people were killed and 4,331 people were shot, according to Chicago Police Department records.

Lightfoot ran on and won decisively on a platform of reducing violence.

Joining us to talk about the violence in Chicago and how to curtail it:

• Mimi LeClair, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago

• Vaughn Bryant, Communities Partnering for Peace at Metropolitan Family Services, E.D.

• Franklin Cosey-Gay, executive director of the Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention


Related stories:

Family: Chicago Police Vehicles Caused Deadly Weekend Crash

Shooting on Popular 606 Trail Leaves 1 Dead, 2 Injured

Lightfoot Outlines Memorial Day Weekend Safety Plan


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