After a violent extended holiday weekend in Chicago, civic leaders, including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and state legislative leaders, demonstrated a strong political and private commitment by announcing $100 million to finance community-based violence prevention initiatives. The Chicago business community raised the funds to support on-the-ground programs, which typically take the form of nonpolice interventions in communities at risk of violence, in a first-of-its-kind effort from the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. In addition, the state is distributing $175 million for similar programs, Pritzker said, reports the Chicago Tribune. More than 100 people were shot in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend. Nineteen people died, including an 8-year-old and two family members in a mass shooting in the South Side Greater Grand Crossing community.
The weekend violence, while notable, was not out of line with long summer weekends of years past. The funding for violence prevention programs is part of a holistic approach Pritzker has emphasized in addressing crime in Chicago as alternatives to traditional law enforcement, a position shared by Johnson and his predecessor, Lori Lightfoot. The business leaders raising money for the public safety efforts, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, announced in February they had hit $66 million raised of an initial $100 million goal. On Wednesday, they said that goal had been reached. The state has offered grants to support dozens of violence prevention, youth development and job training organizations in neighborhoods and cities most affected by gun violence. Lawmakers also created the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention under the Illinois Department of Human Services.