Chicago... The Solution isn't Black and White...
Rod Blagojevich
George Ryan
Dan Walker
Otto Kerner
William G. Stratton
Lennington Small
Joel Matteson
This is a list of the former governors of Illinois that are either in prison now, were convicted of crimes, were indicted, or had to resign because of their scandals.
That is an incredible list, and it speaks to the major problem with Chicago. Chicago is corrupt. Its corruption has been a matter of civic pride to Chicagoans since Al Capone. They reveled in it. They have a perverse pride in being the most corrupt city in America. But, it has come at a price. Instead of serving the public good, they have stolen from the public coffers, enriched themselves in the process, and failed their communities.
Because of this corruption, a belief that, we will talk about the problem, but never fix the problem, there have been casualties. One of those casualties is in the South Side of Chicago.
Well the South side of Chicago Is the baddest part of town And if you go down there You better just beware Of a man named Leroy Brown ~ Jim Croce 1973
That song, released in 1973, was a point of pride amongst Chicagoans. They were bad. They were tough. They did know what it took to survive in the toughest part of the toughest town.
Then, somewhere along the way, things got real. In 2016, there were 4316 shooting victims, according to the Chicago Tribune. http://crime.chicagotribune.com/chicago/shootings/
This is a map of the shootings in Chicago since 2010. Most of the shootings occurred on the South Side of Chicago.
Most of the deaths occurred in black neighborhoods.
Most of the deaths occurred in black on black crime.
What happened to Chicago? What made this “Chiraq”?
In Chiraq, a person is shot every 2 hours and 1 minutes. A person is murdered every 11 hours and 3 minutes.
That is not acceptable. The level of violence is reaching a point where Chicago is becoming a punchline…a sick punchline.
What’s the solution?
Before you can come up with a solution, you have to identify the problem. The problem is that, because of the “culture” of Chicago, there is a certain level of hopelessness. There is a certain level of angst. Teens commit crimes, because they don’t think that they will live to the age of 20. They believe that there are no consequences, because they will soon be dead. There is no public disapproval of the violence, the people committing it, and no accountability.
What is the solution? Hope.
Not “Hope and Change” as evidenced by a former president that caused more problems than he fixed.
Hope, based upon reality.
The hope that comes from an expectation that things are hard right now, but, with proper dedication, hard work, and putting in a lot of study, that things will get better.
That hope is Education.
Education is like a rocket ship that can transport you into a new world. The best part is, all you have to do is to drive. The rocket ship has already been paid for (mostly), and if you are willing to drive it, it can take you anywhere.
In order to radically change Chiraq from the worst city in the world, to one of the best cities, the leaders will have to stop stealing from the poorest of their citizens, and actually work to make Chicago into the most vibrant city in the world.
What will it take?
Make education a priority. This means that the communities must not accept thuggish behavior, but mandate that school is for students. If you do not study, you will be expelled, or put into a sheriff’s camp for recalcitrant kids. Education is a privilege, not a right. Treat it as such.
Increase public standards. Make it unacceptable for kids to be out of the house causing trouble. If they are not studying, they should be sleeping. The local community must introduce the concept of accountability. If young people get out of line, they must be arrested, and not excused. (Kids will always test the boundaries. It will be hard, but it must be done, to save the city.)
Churches must do their part. Kids should be studying, going to church, and acting in a responsible manner. If they do not, the church should provide volunteers to help guide them.
Parents must do their part. Your kids are not angels. They are demons, but, they can act angelic, if you encourage them to act like angels, and punish demonic behavior. If your kid robs a store, the parents are responsible, and should face jail time as well.
The news should report the news. Remove the political correctness. A person that commits a crime is a criminal. Make them feel shame for their actions, if they acted incorrectly. Peer pressure, and the fear of public shaming should be brought back into the community.
Put pressure on public officials to stop being thieves. The leaders of the community should have their bank accounts audited, publicly. They should be under constant scrutiny. If they are living above their means, they should be investigated, indicted, and convicted, if found guilty. Remove the corruption from Chicago, by taking out the corrupt leaders.
Gun control has failed. Chicago has the most stringent gun laws in America, which prevents good guys from having guns. Allow veterans, policemen, and upstanding members of the community to carry guns (open carry). The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is to have a good guy with a gun that is willing to step up. When criminals worry about being shot in the head before they get out of the store, they will stop robbing stores. By changing it from a “Gun free zone” to a “Good guys with guns zone”, the city will see a rapid decline in murder rates…of good guys.
There are no easy solutions.
The criminals will cry that it’s unfair that people fight back.
The politicians will cry that it’s unfair that they can’t steal from the public.
The parents of bad kids will cry that it’s unfair that their child can’t rob and kill other kids.
Hey, it’s Chicago. You’re tough. You can do it…if you want.
Reed Sawyer is a Senior Editor at LorinsPOST.com. This article was sponsored by LORINS.Biz.