National

Violence Wanes in Chicago, but Fear Looms Over Mayor’s Race

Published

10 years ago

March 31, 2015

In this Oct. 15, 2013 file photo, Cleopatra Pendleton, the mother of slain teen Hayida Pendelton, speaks at a news conference about gun violence in Chicago. Looking on from left are Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. Fifteen-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed Jan. 29, 2013 in a park during a gang dispute she had nothing to do with. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

DON BABWIN, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — A few years ago, violence on Chicago streets thrust a recently elected mayor into the national spotlight as shootouts in some of the city’s most troubled neighborhoods fueled nearly constant bloodshed.

Rahm Emanuel spent nearly $200 million over two years to flood those streets with police working overtime. His police department also collected a trove of information about individual gang members and set up meetings between gang members and the parents of homicide victims to illustrate the high human cost of gunfire.

Since then, the city’s overall violence has declined, but the number of slayings in some minority neighborhoods actually jumped. And while police boast of historic drops in the homicide rate, many frustrated families in those areas say their communities have seen little to no improvement or have actually deteriorated.

“It’s worse,” said Anthony Jackson, a 62-year-old retired maintenance man as he made his way to his home in the heart of a neighborhood that last year saw a dramatic spike in homicides — to about half the number of the entire city of Washington, D.C. “We’re just out here on our own.”

The stubborn violence contributes to the mayor’s overall challenge in his bid for a second term and puts him in the somewhat awkward position of simultaneously touting his success against crime while acknowledging that much more needs to be done.

“The truth is that as much progress as we’ve made over the past four years, we simply have to do better,” Emanuel said in a speech.

The total number of homicides in Chicago fell from more than 500 in 2012 to just over 400 last year, the lowest level in a half-century. But the number of shootings climbed 12 percent, from 1,866 to 2,084, during the same period.

The discontent goes beyond the bullets. Despite Emanuel’s success in attracting companies to the thriving Loop district, the only businesses that seem to survive in many minority neighborhoods are dusty markets, fast-food restaurants and dollar stores.

The result was that Emanuel did not receive enough votes last month to avoid an April runoff with Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. Much of the support the mayor had from black voters four years ago vanished in the primary. Though Emanuel was the clear winner in every majority-black ward, he received fewer than half the votes in them. Four years ago, he received more than half the votes in every single one.

A Chicago Tribune poll published Tuesday shows that Emanuel has opened a 28 percentage point lead over Garcia — largely by making gains among white voters. There was little change among black voters for Emanuel or Garcia and, while Garcia has the support of 52 percent of Hispanic voters, Emanuel has 36 percent. The poll has an error margin of 3.7 percentage points.

Jackson said he voted for Emanuel in 2011, but he doesn’t know who he will support in the April 7 election.

In the Harrison police district, where Jackson lives, the number of homicides climbed from 35 in 2013 to 51 last year, and the number of shootings climbed at more than double the citywide rate. Police have not offered a definitive reason other than to point to what Superintendent Garry McCarthy calls “severe gang conflicts.”

And Emanuel’s decision to close dozens of schools added more boarded-up buildings to streets already littered with them, with residents complaining that the schools became larger versions of the abandoned houses that are magnets for gangs and drug dealers.

“What people see is these parts of the city have been abandoned, and the investment has gone elsewhere,” said Marshall Hatch, a prominent minister on the city’s West Side, standing near the shuttered Goldblatt Elementary School.

Statistically, there is plenty of evidence that the city’s crime-fighting strategies are paying off. Since 2012, reports of every major crime have dropped, some significantly.

The 504 homicides that caught the attention of the nation in 2012 have fallen to a level not seen since the mid-1960s. It’s the same story with robbery, aggravated battery, burglary and motor-vehicle theft. There were fewer reports — sometimes hundreds fewer — of those crimes than two years ago, including in Jackson’s community and other largely black neighborhoods.

For example, in the Grand Crossing district on the South Side, 2014 ended with 18 homicides — less than half the 42 recorded in 2012.

Still, even in that area and in other nearby communities, Emanuel did not receive nearly the percentage of votes that he did in 2011.

In his campaign, the mayor has addressed the fears stirred up by the death of an 11-year-old girl who was killed by a bullet that pierced a wall while she made s’mores during a sleepover. And he acknowledged the slaying of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old honor student killed shortly after returning from President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

“Too many families still have their kids off the porch when it gets dark. Too many families … do not let their kids go outside because they’re scared,” the mayor told the audience after an introduction by Hadiya’s mother, who praised Emanuel as someone who feels the pain of those who have lost loved ones to gun violence.

Garcia has pledged to hire 1,000 police officers. Without the added police presence, he said, the city “will never be able to end the heartbreaking violence that has taken the lives of so many of our children.”

Emanuel also finds himself courting black votes in the wake of a study by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which found that the police department’s “stop and frisk” practice disproportionately targeted blacks.

Hatch said he fully expects Garcia to cite the report as another example of Emanuel’s failure to help the black community.

“Everybody holds the mayor accountable because, like we say in the black church, he’s got all the power in his hands,” he said.

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Harris Dominates First Presidential Debate as Trump Struggles to Defend Record

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Vice President Kamala Harris positioned herself as a problem-solver, taking on issues like housing, childcare, and the economy. In her opening statement, she outlined her “opportunity economy” plan, which focuses on bolstering the middle class. “I was raised as a middle-class kid, and I am actually the only person on this stage who has a plan that is about lifting up the middle class and working people of America,” Harris said. She detailed a $6,000 child tax credit as part of her plan to support young families.

Published

1 week ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris during their first presidential debate Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Photo: Screen capture from ABC News feed of the debate.

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Vice President Kamala Harris decisively took control of the first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, delivering a performance that put Trump on the defensive for much of the evening. Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC News kept a tight handle on the debate, significantly improving from CNN’s June handling of Trump and President Joe Biden.

The debate began with a surprise as Harris approached Trump to shake his hand and introduced herself as “Kamala Harris,” an unusual move that set the tone for the night. Trump’s trademark scowl stayed in place throughout the debate, as Harris pressed him on his legal woes and diminished his record. Displaying her prosecutorial skills, Harris consistently turned the conversation toward Trump’s convictions, his business fraud case, and his role in the January 6 insurrection.

Harris positioned herself as a problem-solver, taking on issues like housing, childcare, and the economy. In her opening statement, she outlined her “opportunity economy” plan, which focuses on bolstering the middle class.

“I was raised as a middle-class kid, and I am actually the only person on this stage who has a plan that is about lifting up the middle class and working people of America,” Harris said. She detailed a $6,000 child tax credit as part of her plan to support young families.

Trump, by contrast, criticized the Biden-Harris economy, calling it “the worst period of time” he had seen. He defended his tariff policies and took aim at Harris, labeling her a “Marxist” while also accusing her of copying his economic policies. “I was going to send her a MAGA hat,” Trump quipped.

Abortion rights were another major focus of the night. Trump, when asked if he would veto a federal abortion ban, declined to answer directly, stating, “I won’t have to,” and arguing that the end of Roe v. Wade had satisfied everyone. Harris, in turn, vowed to restore Roe’s protections through federal legislation if elected.

“I pledge to you: when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade as President of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” she said.

As the debate went on, Trump repeated several conspiracy theories, including a claim that migrants were eating pets in U.S. cities, which Muir quickly fact-checked. Trump doubled down, citing “people on television” as his source. Harris largely let Trump’s more outlandish statements pass, opting to stay on policy while allowing the moderators to address his factually inaccurate remarks.

In one of the most heated moments, Harris invited viewers to attend a Trump rally for themselves, commenting, “He talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter and windmills causing cancer. You’ll notice people start leaving his rallies early—out of exhaustion and boredom.”

Trump, visibly irritated, retorted that he holds “the most incredible rallies in the history of politics,” but the debate soon returned to more substantive issues like crime and inflation.

The night clearly contrasted Biden’s earlier debate with Trump, as Harris managed to keep Trump on the defensive. Trump continued to fixate on conspiracy theories and past grievances, while Harris stayed focused on presenting her vision for the future.

With fewer than 60 days until the election, the debate sets the tone for what will likely be a hard-fought campaign. As the debate ended, Harris closed with a message to the American people: “This is about who we are as a country. The choice is clear—between chaos and leadership, fear and hope.”

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Opinion: In First Presidential Debate, Harris Exposes Trump’s Inadequacies

She’s still calling herself the underdog, but the biracial woman from Oakland, half Black and half Asian American, just changed the race for the presidency of the United States. If you ever doubted Kamala Harris’ ability to be our nation’s leader, everyone who watched Tuesday’s debate saw how fully capable she is of the job. She belongs in the White House.

Published

1 week ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

Screenshot from Presidential Debate.

By Emil Guillermo

She’s still calling herself the underdog, but the biracial woman from Oakland, half Black and half Asian American, just changed the race for the presidency of the United States.

If you ever doubted Kamala Harris’ ability to be our nation’s leader, everyone who watched Tuesday’s debate saw how fully capable she is of the job.

She belongs in the White House.

Harris not only bested Donald Trump in arguing the facts; she showed how totally inadequate Trump is to again be our country’s Commander-in-Chief.

Harris deftly made her case on issue after issue, while baiting and manipulating Trump on the economy, on abortion, and on immigration.

Imagine how Putin and other world leaders play Trump. Harris exposed Trump for all to see. It wasn’t exactly an “emperor has no clothes” moment. It was more like “the twice impeached, convicted felon on 34 counts” has no business running for president. Trump is unfit mentally for the job, if not unfit morally.

It must have been a disappointment for deep MAGA to see their candidate so incapable of holding his own against Harris. At one point, she had him defending the crowd size at his rallies after she said people were leaving because he was boring.

And then instead of real policies that impact our lives, the former president spoke passionately about… his crowd size.

When that happened, I think everyone could see: Harris ate his lunch.

Going into the debate, the consensus in this tight race was that it was a virtual tie with Trump one point ahead.

But after their first meeting ever in a head-to-head-match up, CNN’s instant poll showed Harris winning the debate well beyond any margin of error, 63 percent to 37 percent.

There’s more distance between the two than previously understood. The debate exposed that.

TRUMP’S LIES

At the beginning of the week, I said the only way Trump could win the debate was if he “played nice.”

But the bully just couldn’t do it.

Acting presidential was just one lie Trump couldn’t pull off in another debate night mired in Trump lies.

Did his administration really do “a phenomenal job in the pandemic” when over a million Americans are dead? Is Kamala Harris “a Marxist and everybody knows it”? And what about those cat-eating immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, where every local official confirmed to news organizations that the story was false. There was even a lie on that Trump lie, when the former president said the immigrants were eating cats AND dogs. No, it’s just one lie. Just cats is enough.

And all that was just a fraction of the lies Trump told in the 90-minute debate.

Still, even with all that, I wouldn’t say Kamala Harris “whooped” Donald Trump.

It was more like general domination.

In fact, she had him at “Kamala Harris.”

When Trump seemed to dismiss the possibility of an opening handshake, Harris forced the issue. She walked toward Trump’s podium, reached out her hand, and introduced herself by name.

That gesture put Trump on the defensive all night.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See his micro talkshow on YouTube.com/@emilamok1