On Feb. 1, an event of great significance happened at the South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago. Community violence intervention (CVI) groups, philanthropic foundations, business leaders and elected officials came together — with clergy, activists and practitioners — to announce an ambitious initiative. This effort has the capacity to radically change violence throughout our city.
The new initiative, known as Scaling Community Violence Intervention for a Safer Chicago, or SC2, has set as its long term goal a 75% reduction in shootings and homicides within a decade. The precision of the plan, its basis in rigorous evaluation and the breadth of support it enjoys mean SC2 is some incredibly welcome news that could transform life (and death) in Chicago.
This effort is the result of years of hard, determined collaboration. In 2016, with funding from local philanthropists, CVI groups began serving individuals at highest risk of shooting others or being the target of a shooting. Their approach includes intervention from outreach workers and a menu of services from trauma treatment to education and job training.
Amazingly, and uniquely to Chicago, the philanthropic community and CVI organizations have worked hand in glove for eight straight years. The Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities is the funders’ roundtable partnering with CVI providers, researchers and more to support solutions to gun violence. This collaboration has made a major contribution to the more than 30% decline in shootings since 2021. This work makes a real difference.
With SC2, the table working to counter gun violence in Chicago grows larger. The business community has joined the effort with a pledge of more than $100 million in funding and thousands of jobs for people from the neighborhoods affected by gun violence. The state of Illinois, through its Office of Firearm Violence Prevention, funds CVI initiatives and offers community guidance. Civic institutions also play their part. As one shining example, the Crime Lab at the University of Chicago created the CVI Leadership Academy to expand the field; its first graduating class of 31 leaders is so significant that Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed the graduates to the White House.
This is big news to be celebrated. There’s a reason Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared, “Illinois is leading the nation in finding new approaches to public safety.” This work, as Vaughan Bryant of the Metropolitan Peace Initiative put it, “is rare, if not unprecedented. No other city in America has put together such a broad partnership to achieve a transformative reduction in gun violence.”
We agree. But we also know this effort demands widespread support from Chicago’s citizens, support that must be maintained when political headwinds storm. This is an effort all of us must get behind with pride. If we all stay committed and support each other, SC2 can make Chicago a shining star among other American cities.
Speaking of cities, we would be remiss, even in the midst of celebrating important news, not to mention that the city of Chicago is the most junior partner at the table. Chicago — under Mayor Brandon Johnson — has committed little on paper or in dollars to the project. City Hall is merely following the lead of the philanthropic, business, activist and CVI communities.
City Hall has some catching up to do. Chicago’s violence stands out among big cities in the U.S.; it is the defining issue for every mayor here. No mayor has a chance at succeeding — or at being reelected — if violence isn’t tackled honestly, thoughtfully and comprehensively.
There’s no running away from it: Chicago cannot be a great city until it is a safe city. City Hall should not be outsourcing the work of violence reduction.
The city can start to regain its leadership role in violence reduction with funding. The Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, after eight years of funding, announced new pledges of an additional $66 million. The business community is working toward $200 million over 10 years. The city? The mayor did allocate $100 million in the 2024 budget, but it remains unclear if that funding is from the city or COVID-19 relief funds.
The mayor’s inability to commit to more funding is especially troubling because City Hall’s fifth floor has the money, specifically in federal COVID-19 relief funds. Of the approximately $84 million budgeted in COVID-19 grants for violence prevention, only about $26 million has been spent. If the remaining $60 million goes unspent, it must be returned. The philanthropic and business communities are dedicating dollars to SC2; the city budget should as well.
Johnson has not exercised leadership when it comes to gun violence in Chicago. Despite his campaign pledges to our group, he has not stepped forward to create, by ordinance, an office of gun violence prevention. Our governor has. The president of the United States has.
So much of Chicago is hard at work at addressing gun violence. The fruit of that labor should be enjoyed, even as the effort is far from finished. The deep lesson of the Sabbath — whether observed on Saturday or Sunday — is that we need days of rest to reflect on our work. This weekend, as we faith leaders observe our Sabbaths each in our own way, we reflect gratefully on the progress Chicago has made. We pause to celebrate some truly incredible accomplishments and partnerships.
And, tomorrow, we all need to get back to work and play our role in reducing gun violence.
Chicago faith leaders Rabbi Seth Limmer and the Rev. Otis Moss III, the Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain and the Rev. Michael Pfleger joined the Tribune’s opinion section in summer 2022 for a series of columns on potential solutions to Chicago’s chronic gun violence problem. The column continues on an occasional basis.
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