Filed under: gangs, violence | Tags: amar aslam, chicago, england, gang, shakelia taylor, teens, violence, west yorkshire
The death of 15-year-old Shakelia Taylor this past Monday is another sad reminder of the problems with violence that have recently been lately gaining more attention. Taylor was a former Chicago Public Student, who had been enrolled in school in Indiana. Although her death doesn’t add to the headline of “another CPS student “killed,” it is no less important or tragic.
Equally tragic was the murder of 17-year-old Amar Aslam in England. Aslam was beaten to death in a park in West Yorkshire. It is unknown whether his death was gang related, but gang violence has been a growing problem in parts of England, some attributing it to racial tensions.
It is interesting to compare the racial element in gang violence here and in a country like England. Whereas race seems to be at the center of the gang violence in England, gang violence in the U.S. is examined by the racial makeup of the gang members and victims. For example, all of the CPS students killed by gun violence this school year were black or latino. Out of that, all but one were male. Local-area groups like CeaseFire recognize this element; the make up of their staff and outreach workers is predominately male. But this shouldn’t overlook the problem of violence and teen girls. What problem is that? More to follow…
Filed under: legislation & initiatives | Tags: ammunition, blagojevich, foid, gun control, guns, illinois, legislature
An update on various gun legislation from the Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence:
SB 1007 SET FOR HOUSE VOTE THIS WEEK!!
Senate Bill 1007 is scheduled to be debated and voted on this week in the Illinois House of Representatives. This bill would ban the sale, possession and manufacture of a large capacity ammunition magazine. These magazines hold up to 100 rounds of ammunition.
LOST & STOLEN GUN LEGISLATION MOVES INTO HOUSE
House Bill 2760 sponsored by Reps. Madigan, Currie & Molaro is quickly moving through the Illinois House and will be coming up for a vote in the coming days. The bill is similar to HB1696 and allows the State Police the ability to revoke the FOID Card of anyone failing to report a lost or stolen firearm within 72 hours of discovering it had been stolen or lost. Reporting these weapons lost or stolen gives law enforcement the tools to identify individuals engaging in, profiting from such trade and distribution while making gun trafficking more difficult for criminals.
HB 4628 PASSES BOTH HOUSES;
AWAITS GOVERNORS SIGNATURE
House Bill 4628 which deals with a person 18 years of age or younger committing a felony with a gun that was sold or given to them by an adult. The bill would allow adults who are responsible for “selling or giving a concealable firearm” to a person under 18 years of age that use a firearm to commit a felony be charged with a similar felony charges. Currently, adults can face up to three years in prison.
The bill would also provide that if an adult provides a firearm to someone under 18 who does not have a FOID Card and the weapon is used to commit or attempt a forcible felony, that adult could face felony charges.
The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 54-0 and is expected to be signed into law by the Governor.
Filed under: Miscellaneous, violence | Tags: chicago, chicago public schools, community, psa, students, video, violence
A public service announcement from The Violence Project
Runtime: 01:17
Filed under: article, chicago, violence | Tags: chiago tribune, francis oduru, ghana, murder, student, truman college, violence
Francis Oduro (Chicago Tribune)
A native of Ghana, Francis Oduro came to America 18 months ago to study engineering. Sadly, instead of following in his father’s footsteps, he became another victim of gun violence that has taken too many lives this year.
Oduro was shot and killed Wednesday, one block from Truman College where he had been attending for the past year. Police believe another man, who was shot at the scene, was the intended victim, calling the shooting gang related.
His parents said that Oduro wanted to find a city less violent than Chicago after finishing school. Unfortunately, he won’t get that chance. More unfortunate, one less person is gone who might have decided to stay here and help make things at least a little better in their community. The Violence Project’s thoughts and prayers go out to the Oduro family.
Filed under: article, schools, teenagers, violence | Tags: chicago, college, cps, engelwood, medill, violence
This week marks a week since the murder of student Marcus Greer. Why is this notable? Because that means a CPS student has died in a month. This has been something left out of the wall-to-wall coverage the rise in violence has been receiving lately. Although it is a small accomplishment, it is one worth noting. It will be small victories like this that lead us on the way to taking back communities and bringing about real change.
On that note, I wanted to spotlight more positive acts local teens doing. Joshua Pollock recently wrote about John Hope High School senior LaTreal Peterson. Peterson was recently a recognized as a Gates Millenium Scholar and plans to attend the University of Wisconsin Madison in the fall to study business. He sees providing more opportunities for young people in their schools and communities as a way of curbing violence.
Filed under: chicago, event, violence | Tags: abc, abc 7, chicago, special, television, violence
ABC 7 Chicago will host a special program entitled Stop the Violence: Conflicts & Resolution. The program is the third effort put together by the station that focuses on the violence plaguing too many young people in Chicago. I’m crossing my fingers that channel 7 does a better a job than the CBS2/WBBM violence special that left out the youth voice in its debate.
Stop the Violence will air tomorrow, May 22, at 6:30 p.m., with an encore presentation on Saturday, May 24, at 2:00 p.m.
Filed under: Miscellaneous, article, event, organizaion, research, teenagers, violence | Tags: career, fair, malcolm x college, poetry, slam, spoken word, tap roots, violence
Courtesy of MySpace
I wanted to share with readers the spoken word poetry of Tap Roots, Inc. They are a West Side group who performs for students, offering an uplifting, positive message that they hope will spark the minds of at least one child in the audience. Recently, they performed for public school students at the 10th annual Citywide Health Careers Fair. The following piece was dedicated to the parents of young victims of violence and the victims themselves.
Filed under: article, chicago, legislation & initiatives | Tags: chicago, child abuse, cook county, funding, illinois, legislature, medill, tom dart
More funding is needed to assist the estimated 1,100 abused and neglected children who are at risk of growing up to be violent criminals, a group called Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Illinois said Tuesday. It recommended an increase in home-visiting programs to assist 28,000 children in the state who are victims of abuse annually.
Filed under: chicago, violence | Tags: chicago, funeral, ishma stewart, journalism, loyola university, murder, student
Ishma Stewart (Chicago Tribune/Legacy.com)
Video Courtesy of CBS 2 Chicago
Earlier today, funeral services were held for slain Loyola journalism student Ishma Stewart at Johnson Funeral Home on the city’s West Side. Stewart, 20, was the innocent victim of a drive-by shooting last week on the 4800 block of South Indiana Avenue. No suspect has been caught at this time. To view or sign her obituary guestbook, you can go here.
The Violence Project’s thoughts and prayers are with the Stewart family and all of the families who have suffered such an unspeakable tragedy.
Filed under: Miscellaneous, chicago, gangs, schools, violence | Tags: chicago, chicago police, gangs, outreach, violence, youth
Dr. Ron Rufo is a crime prevention speaker with the Chicago Police Department. His police work mainly focuses on juvenile crime and speaking to various students about the dangers of joining gangs. In March, Rufo was stationed at Crane Technical High School the day student Ruben Ivy was killed.
Below, Rufo talks about a boy who learned the consequences of gangs the hard way.
Transcript:
So then I talk about paralyzation. I talk about dying. I talk about paralyzation. Then I talk about a young man that I actually tried to help when I was in the ninth district. I get a little choked up sometimes telling this story because it’s true. This young man was a good boy, but he lived in the heart of a gang on Morgan Street.
He said to me, “Officer Rufo, I don’t want to join a gang, but they’re pressuring me.”
One September when I was going to a school I happen to see this young man and his mom was pushing him in a wheelchair. He had got shot
He said, “Didn’t you hear what happened to me?”
Because that was my old beat.
He said, “Didn’t you hear what happened to me?”
I said, “No I didn’t. Can you tell me?”
He said, “Well, a couple guys got shot.” A rival gang, which is down the street, came over and started shooting.
The one guy he mentioned got killed, and I didn’t know about that. Another kid got shot in the leg…or like the lower leg by his ankle. And he got shot in the back. He said, “I’ve been paralyzed since.”
That’s what I tell these kids.
He asked me what I was doing. I said I was in preventive programs. I go out and teach kids about not joining a gang. He said would you mention my name and mention this to them:
“I didn’t listen to you and look where I’m at. My mom has to clean me, bathe me, and do everything else. My so-called gang, my so-called family never came to see me at the hospital, and they walk across the street while my mom is pushing me. “
Now, he’s got to be about 21.
He said, “Where are they now? I gave my life for them, and look what I have to live for: Nothing, and this how I’m going to be the rest of my life.”
