CHICAGO (WLS) — Mayor Brandon Johnson did not mince words over his frustration to gun violence plaguing Chicago.
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The mayor said expanding financial resources to victims of gun violence is a step in the right direction and could help mitigate the problem.
“This crisis did not show up with simply a bullet. This crisis showed up when previous administrations decided to give up on these communities,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.
Johnson shared his anger on Thursday over the senseless loss of life to gun violence in Chicago.
The city announced the expansion of Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund program to help shooting victims and their families.
“In a time of great loss and trauma, these funds provide much needed relief and stability for residents and families,” the mayor said.
The fund provides $1,500 to families whose loved one dies to gun violence to help cover funeral and burial expenses.
Shooting victims can also receive $1,000 to help cover basic needs like medical bills, groceries, and even relocation expenses.
The program started in 2022 with just five communities but it’s now expanding to 15 across the city.
The city is reinvesting $10 million over the next three years to help cover the cost the mayor said.
Gun violence survivor Kevin Edwards has received the funds.
“It was terrible. I couldn’t do anything else. I thought I was over with. I thought I was going to die,” Edwards said.
He received $1,000 after he was shot multiple times last year on the city’s West Side.
Edwards said he used the money to help pay down medical bills.
“It can cease. I believe what he said. Hopefully everyone can get on board and it can decrease,” Edwards said.
The announcement comes amid a violent week in Chicago: at least 71 people were shot, nine of them killed, across the city from Friday evening to Monday morning, police said.
A 7-year-old boy was killed Tuesday evening, and a 22-year-old woman killed Wednesday night near 31st Street Beach.
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“It’s not just about having police officers surveil neighborhoods. It’s about making sure we surround neighborhoods with love and the best way to demonstrate love is to invest in people,” Johnson said.
The mayor’s office said it plans to invest another $3 million in hospital based violence prevention by working with victims hospitalized after a shooting to stop the cycle of violence.
The city’s goal with the funds is to ease the financial burden and trauma caused by shootings.
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ABC7 Chicago Political Analyst Laura Washington spoke on what more the mayor needs to do to decrease gun violence in the city.
ABC7 Chicago Political Analyst Laura Washington spoke on what the city needs to reduce gun violence; Trump possibly staying in Chicago during the RNC; Biden’s legal protection for some undocumented people.
Washington also spoke about Former President Donald Trump’s campaign denying he will stay in Chicago during the RNC in Milwaukee.
When it comes to President Joe Biden’s recent move to provide legal protection to undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens and DACA recipients, Washington said it’s all about the Latino vote.
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