An 'Antiviolence' Boondoggle in Murder-Plagued Chicago

Wall Street Journal ^ | August 8, 2014 | Claire Groden

[Second Amendment First]

Two summers ago a home invasion by gang members on the city's South Side went wrong when one of the robbers shot another one in the back of the head, according to Chicago police. Sixteen-year-old Douglas Bufford was killed, and 19-year-old Jermalle Brown was charged with first-degree murder. His trial begins on Aug. 15, and it may attract more attention than usual in a city plagued by violent crime, just as his arrest did. Why? Because at the time of the shooting, Douglas Bufford and Jermalle Brown were also on the Illinois state payroll, earning $8.50 an hour to hand out antiviolence pamphlets.

Such are the bitter ironies of Gov. Pat Quinn's Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, a now-defunct $54.5 million program whose failures are under new scrutiny as the Illinois governor, a Democrat, campaigns for re-election in November. Mr. Quinn launched the anticrime plan four years ago to "take on the root causes of violence in neighborhoods all across the city of Chicago." That didn't happen. Over the first two years of the initiative, the Chicago murder rate rose 20%, and the murder rate within city limits today is triple the national average. A state audit of the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, or NRI, suggests that as much as 40% of the program's funding was simply wasted.

The NRI program was instituted in fall 2010 after three Chicago police officers were killed in two months and an 8-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet in a gang shootout. Mr. Quinn found much of the program's $54.5 million in his discretionary budget, money that was supposed to be directed to the Second City's most violent areas.

[Second Amendment First]

And the city continues to be plagued by violent crime. As of Thursday, 99 people had been murdered in Chicago since Memorial Day, 15 of them children.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Don’t blame these poor kids. $8.50 an hour wasn’t enough; if they were paid a living wage, they wouldn’t have had to turn to crime. /S

[originalbuckeye]

‘Gov. Pat Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative’

Is there any end to which the Democrats won’t go to confiscate taxpayer money for folly?

[Vehmgericht]

Let’s get at those “root causes:” racism and poverty. There is also a shortage of Koolaid.

[yldstrk]

the “root” cause is the economy sucks and there are no jobs

[DJ MacWoW]

Did You Know?

The Current FReepathon Pays For The Current Quarters Expenses?

Now That You Do, Donate And Keep FR Running

[Fantasywriter]

I hope the prosecutor is independent, not corrupt, and as aggressive as a Great White on the hunt.

[BCW]

I have 3 weeks left..and I am out..turned in my resignation and leaving....and I work in the Loop for a major employer with its own building...not worth it....traffic commute in and out is dangerous enough on the Dan Ryan 90/94...people texting...people looming at wrecks...people doing evrythung but driving....

[Alberta's Child]

Actually, no. The truth about violence in an urban sh!t-hole like Chicago is that most of the people affected by it — including the perpetrators and the victims — would be unemployable even in the best of times.

[onedoug]

So, poverty causes crime?

[from occupied ga]

What Chicago needs is more gun control. If they just make it even harder for the law abiding to protect themselves that will do the trick. This is sarcasm, but the black democrat mondset that rules Chicago think exactly this way as do the Chicago JBTs. The Chicago government cant (or won’t for political reasons) do anything about the ongoing crime wave, so they will typically come down on things they can find.

[yldstrk]

duh yeah

[Lurker]

“A state audit of the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, or NRI, suggests that as much as 40% of the program’s funding was simply wasted.”

It bought votes for Quinn. Therefore it wasn’t wasted. The cash served its intended purpose.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Chicago stats, year to date:

Shot & Wounded: 1279
Shot & Killed: 210
Total Homicides: 247

Race of Victim:
Black 191 79.6%
Hispanic 33 13.8%
White/Other 16 6.6%

(data from heyjackass.com, that includes other stats, such as “shot in the ass” and “shot in the junk”.)

http://heyjackass.com/category/2014-chicago-crime-murder-stats/

[fatman6502002]

BS. The “root” cause of the violence in Chicago and the other sh!t hole big cities around the country is the utter destruction of the traditional nuclear family. Most of the young sociopathic criminals in Chicago and other big cities responsible for the majority of violent crime, were born to single mothers many of whom were drug addicted or alcoholic or both and lived very risky and dangerous lifestyles. Thus they have not the time or even the inclination to provide a household that nurtures and protects and socializes their children. Instead these kids grew up in a dog eat dog and on the strong survive rule of the jungle kind of life where they are only concerned with day to day survival. Most of these sociopathic criminals were created by the environment in which they grew up. That is not to say they are not responsible for the crimes they commit, they are 100% and should face the maximum punishment, for if we want to end the violence in the big city urban areas, the first step is to get all those created criminals off the street forever because they are ruined beyond repair and will never be able to live like normal human beings.

[hal ogen]

No.

[windcliff]

Good luck.

[IncPen]

The problem in Chicago is not guns or poverty, it’s people.

Poor parenting, laziness and entitlements; people who’ve fed at the trough so long they can’t imagine any other way.

If you want a single politician to lay it on, his name is Mike Madigan. He’s run the state for 30 years. He’s the guy.

[JAKraig]

the root cause of violence in inner city neighborhoods has nothing to do with the economy or lack of jobs.the single most important factor is single parent families. Contributing factors include our media which glorifies the hip hop culture and our news media which glorifies single motherhood. Once we denigrate this insane culture of violence we call Hip Hop and similarly denigrate single parent families we will see a decrease in violence.

[yldstrk]

I agree that no fault divorce and sex outside marriage have devastated the American family.