Posted on 05/30/2009 2:53:16 PM PDT by STARWISE
U.S. attorney says business could help cut murder rate, hire teens as interns
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald stood before a room packed with business officials Thursday and asked them to do something they probably have never considered:
Hire felons
Not exactly the kind of request you'd expect from the area's top federal law enforcement official, who's better known for locking up criminals.
But Fitzgerald told the audience that while law enforcement targets the worst of the worst, the community needs to get more involved -- especially the business community -- to help drive down murder numbers and keep kids out of gangs.
Fitzgerald, speaking at a City Club of Chicago luncheon, said on any given day there are 4,000 Chicago Police officers on the streets and an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 gang-bangers in the city.
"How in the world can we incarcerate our way out of the problem when we are outnumbered that much?" Fitzgerald said.
Part of the answer, he said, lies with corporations, who can help sponsor after-school programs or enlist teenagers from the projects to be summer interns -- or even hire felons.
He urged business officials to reach out and invest in some of the most economically depressed areas of the city, such as Englewood, Back of the Yards or North Lawndale.
They can do that, Fitzgerald said, by getting involved in Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program run through the U.S. attorney's office in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies.
As part of its mission, Project Safe Neighborhoods aims to help get parolees back into society without returning to prison by helping hook them up with jobs and providing other support.
Fitzgerald said research has shown that parolees who have attended a one-hour forum held by Project Safe Neighborhoods are 30 percent less likely to return to jail. The forum gives parolees job options and warns them that they'll be thrown back in prison if they cross the line.
While there are felons who don't want to return to the gang life, Fitzgerald said, they're released back into a neighborhood lacking infrastructure and support. They see no other opportunities, he said. "When they got there, they tried to open the door, and it was locked," he said.
But Fitzgerald said there are plenty of businesses that have been hiring felons to do labor or other menial work for more than a decade.
He said that these companies are doing it because working through various programs to hire the labor, they find it to be a smart business decision.
~~~
Chicago ... murder capital of the US ... hire criminals to make Chicago safe (from the regular felons, not the IL politicians).
Wait. Obama's says closing Gitmo will make us safer. I've always believed Fitzie possessed some unique and wacky quirkiness ... as evidenced by his wrongheaded Scooter Libby actions.
Must be in the water.
Maybe Fitz can set up a mid-night basketball league.
How bout we just give them a stipend. A few hundred dollars a week not to hurt us. I’m sure they’ll be nice.
I’d try carpet bombing first!
Is this guy running for office or something?
He should lead by example and hire one to be his family’s butler or maid.
just curious to the responses so far... why would we not want these people “re-integrated” into society? what good does ostracizing someone for life, someone who has paid the price designated by society? is that a “liberal” viewpoint??
does it make me “liberal” to think that a 19 yo who had sex with his 15 yo gf should not be labeled a “sex offender” for life?
if so, explain the conservative viewpoint to me, because i consider myself very conservative. thx.
~~It’s in the water ... PING!
No .. he recently specifically responded that he has no interest in politics, when asked.
He’s hired too many snitches lately and know the benefits of doing so. ?You tell me what you know and I’ll only keep you out of jail, but get you a job.”
CCA has done this with limited success.
Not only that, if we could get our uneducated guys to work a little, we wouldn’t need illegal immigrants.
Sounds believable.
I agree. You at least have to try the “carrot” and give them some incentive to get/stay on the straight and narrow.
I can see not trusting an ex-con 100% right off the bat, but allow him to earn it back.
How about eliminating Davis-Bacon, the minimum wage, and most licensing requirements first?
Plus, school kids cannot work without permission from the school board. Drug dealers have no such limitations.
He also left out single motherhood as the major cause of poverty and absentee fathers as the major cause of crime.
He’s been breathing Chicago air for too long. It affects the mind.
So, you’re saying you’re 19 years old?
Ahhh Fitzie....they make more money selling dope. Why would they want to take a pay cut and actually work long hours???
For at least the last three years, from what I can tell.
The Chicago police have first dibs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.