CHICAGO (WLS) — Mayor Brandon Johnson didn't mince his words about his frustration with the gun violence plaguing Chicago.
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The mayor said expanding financial resources for victims of gun violence is a step in the right direction and can help alleviate the problem.
“This crisis did not appear with just a bullet,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “This crisis arose when previous administrations decided to abandon these communities.”
Johnson expressed outrage Thursday over the devastating loss of life due to gun violence in Chicago.
The city announced the expansion of its 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 to residents and families,” the mayor said.
The fund provides $1,500 to families whose loved one died due to gun violence to help cover funeral and burial expenses.
Shooting victims can also receive $1,000 to help cover basic needs such as medical bills, groceries and even transportation expenses.
The program began in 2022 with just five communities but is now expanding to 15 communities across the city.
The city will reinvest $10 million over the next three years to help cover the cost, the mayor said.
Gun violence survivor Kevin Edwards received the money.
“It was terrible. I couldn't do anything else. I thought I was done. I thought I was going to die,” Edwards said.
He received $1,000 after being shot multiple times last year on the city's west side.
Edwards said he used the money to help pay medical bills.
“It can stop. I believe what he said. I hope everyone can join in and it can go down,” Edwards said.
The announcement comes amid a violent week in Chicago, where at least 71 people were shot, nine of them fatally, 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 was also killed Wednesday night near 31st Street Beach.
Read also | Chicago police said two women were shot, one of them fatally, near 31st Street Beach.
“It's not just about police officers monitoring neighborhoods,” Johnson said. “It's about making sure we surround neighborhoods with love and the best way to show love is to invest in people.”
The mayor's office said it plans to invest another $3 million in hospital violence prevention by working with victims hospitalized after shootings to stop the cycle of violence.
The city's goal with these funds is to ease the financial burden and trauma caused by the shootings.
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Laura Washington, a political analyst for ABC7 in Chicago, spoke about what the city's mayor needs to do to reduce gun violence in the city.
Laura Washington, a political analyst for ABC7 in Chicago, talked about what the city needs to reduce gun violence; Trump will likely remain in Chicago during the Republican National Convention; Biden's legal protection for some undocumented people.
Washington also spoke of former President Donald Trump's campaign's denial that he would remain in Chicago during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
When it comes to President Joe Biden's latest move to provide legal protections to spouses of undocumented U.S. citizens and DACA recipients, Washington said it's all about the Latino vote.
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