Rising Violence Leads to State of Emergency Declaration

West Side residents gathered at a June 8, 2019 community meeting to discuss solutions to combat violence and high unemployment in their neighborhoods. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson
West Side residents gathered at a June 8, 2019 community meeting to discuss solutions to combat violence and high unemployment in their neighborhoods. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson

Rising Violence Leads to State of Emergency Declaration

By Wendell Hutson, Contributing Writer

One Chicago neighborhood has experienced more murders within the last six months than any other and now state Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-8th) has declared a state of emergency for the West Side.

“Austin has been patient but the community refuses to sit back and wait for state resources while people are dying,” said Ford. “Austin is in a state of emergency and the community demands action now.”

According to Chicago police data, 23 people were murdered in Austin, which is more than any other neighborhood suffered during that same period. And besides murders, Austin leads all other neighborhoods when it comes to infant mortality and opioid overdose rates.

The West Side neighborhood is Chicago’s largest community with a population of 97,611, according to census data, but is also plagued by poor schools, high unemployment, crime, and low economic development, said Ford.

The community has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the city at 10.5 percent compared to Chicago’s overall rate of 7.9 percent, according to the Chicago Health Atlas. The predominately black neighborhood has also become an epicenter of the opioid overdose crisis in Illinois. In 2017, the last year data was available, 67 people died from an opioid overdose, according to the Chicago Health Atlas.

One way to combat crime and drugs is through resources like grants for nonprofits that provide social services to the community, contends Ford.

“We [state lawmakers] just passed a progressive agenda in Springfield with a $40 billion budget,” he said. “A casino license and legalizing recreational use of cannabis are both coming to Chicago, which will bring in billions of dollars to the city and the state.” But gun violence is not just happening on the West Side but the South Side too.

It’s been a year since the Rev. Anthony Williams, pastor of Avalon Park Community Church of the United Church of Christ, 8100 S. Dante Ave., lost his son to gun violence. The case remains unsolved and no suspects have been arrested, according to Chicago police.

“This was my oldest son who was killed on Feb. 21, 2018, the same day Malcolm X was assassinated,” said Williams. “Violence and mental health go hand in hand. All of these shooters have some mental issue because you cannot be in your right mind if you going around shooting innocent people like my son.” But violence is not limited to adults and children are affected too.

Over the last few years, 10 children at the West Side Child Development Center, 4920 W. Madison St., witnessed their parents getting shot including three this year, according to Tamera Fair, chief executive officer of the development center.

“We have an in-house counselor who works with children affected by violence,” said Fair. “These are kids who suffer physiological and emotional damage from these shootings.” And the root cause of so much violence is poverty, said Fair.

“A lack of jobs, education and access to capital is hurting ‘our’ people. If we can fix these problems, then violence would go down and the economy would improve,” explained Fair. “But until that happens, people will remain in survival mode and do whatever they have to in order to provide for their families even if that means illegal activity.”

Ford said he plans to mount more pressure on state lawmakers until they give the West Side their fair share of state resources.

“There’s enough money (from the state) to help combat these problems,” said Ford. “It’s just a matter of getting my colleagues to ‘play’ ball and help make a difference.”

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