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CHICAGO - Four months into 2020, there were 103 people killed. Already four months into 2021 and 142 have been shot and killed.
Chicagoans are now asking: what’s the city’s summer safety plan?
Community activists Eric Russell and Tio Hardiman are calling for Chicago’s Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Police Superintendent David Brown to step down.
"We are equally disappointed in Mayor Lightfoot and Police Superintendent David Brown to enact a comprehensive public safety plan to curb the violence," said Russell.
On Tuesday, April 6 alone, one-year-old Kayden Swann was shot on Lake Shore Drive and 18 others were wounded in separate shootings. In addition, five people were killed.
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More than 140 fatally shot so far in Chicago this year; What’s the summer safety plan?
Community activists Eric Russell and Tio Hardiman are calling for Chicago’s Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Police Superintendent David Brown to step down.
That same day, the mayor was asked about the city’s summer safety plan specifically for downtown. She addressed Swann’s shooting and crime in general.
"Anytime anyone is shot in Chicago, it’s tragic," said Mayor Lightfoot.
At a press conference a day later, the mayor said part of the crime issue falls on federal legislation surrounding gun control.
"If you can go over to Indiana and buy military grade weapons, any quantity you want if you have the money to pay for it, what does that mean? Public safety isn’t just something the police department owns," Lightfoot said.
Crime stats from the Chicago Police Department show in January through the first week of April in 2020, 521 people were shot. For the same time period in 2021, 743 people have been wounded.
Pastor Corey Brooks is working with CPD to fight crime. Brooks’ non-profit "Project Hood" has a team of 12 on the South Side hitting the streets daily. They work with the community and police with a goal of trying to curtail crime by 20% in the Woodlawn community.
"I live in Woodlawn, I live on 'O' block, that’s not the mayor’s responsibility," said Pastor Brooks.
"That’s my responsibility and I take it seriously and I want to transform it. I think if all of us took our neighborhoods, I think we could transform it and things could be a lot better."