Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson believes reparations for descendants of slaves will help improve his city's rising crime rate.
Murders are down 13 percent this year and 20 percent in three years, but all crime is up 17 percent, especially car theft and theft.
Johnson's 2024 budget includes $100 million for violence prevention, as well as $500,000 for the formation of a Commission for Recovery and Restoration.
The commission will study the issue and make recommendations on whether and how Chicago's descendants of slaves should be compensated.
“These are the first dollars being spent in this city to begin the process of studying both restoration and reparations,” Johnson said last month.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson believes reparations for descendants of slaves will help improve his city's rising crime rate
“When residents who have experienced generations of neglect and disinvestment speak of their pain and their trauma, we listen to this administration and the Black Caucus.”
Johnson claimed on Wednesday that reparations would also help reduce violent crime, although he would not immediately explain how.
“I have added half a million dollars for restoration and reparations to once again address the cycle of violence,” he said on CNN.
The mayor moved on to other parts of his budget in the same breath, linking the “cycles of violence” to “school closures, the closure of mental health facilities, which I have now invested in.”
Johnson argued that tackling crime required investment to tackle its root causes, and that was the main focus of the public safety section of his budget.
“My comprehensive community safety plan not only addresses the root causes of violence in the city of Chicago, but we are also making critical investments,” he said.
“These investments are similar to what I presented in my last budget: a quarter of a billion dollars to address homelessness, and $100 million for violence prevention.”
Surveillance video shows armed suspects entering Joyería Molina in Chicago and stealing valuables after threatening staff
Johnson also discussed his plan to increase employment opportunities for young people so they would be less likely to turn to a life of crime.
“We have added an additional $80 million to our youth employment program, of which we have already hired 25,000 young people this summer, which is a 20 percent increase over the previous year,” he said.
'This summer I will hire 4,000 extra young people.'
The mayor also wanted to 'welcome' former prisoners back into society after their sentences, so that they would not commit more crimes.
“We have created an entire office dedicated to reentry so that individuals returning to our communities who have been incarcerated due to failed policies have a welcoming space for them,” he said.
Johnson was asked about the latest crime statistics in Chicago, which showed that crime is up 17 percent this year.
Under his predecessor Lori Lightfoot, crime exploded in Chicago last year, from a total of 46,572 complaints to 65,421 – although this was almost entirely driven by the massive increase in car thefts, burglaries and robberies.
This year has not reversed the city's fortunes as crime is up 64 percent from two years ago, 68 percent from three years ago and 55 percent from four years ago.
Murders and shootings have been declining for three years: both are down 13 percent this year and 20 percent from 2020, while shootings are down 25 percent over that period.
However, both are up compared to before the Covid pandemic, with homicides up 24 percent in 2019 and shootings up 15 percent.
The number of thefts has increased by 23 percent compared to last year and by 39 percent compared to 2019, while theft has been stable this year, but increased by 41 percent since 2019 and by 94 percent since 2020.
By far the biggest increase in crime was in vehicle-related thefts, with crime rising by 38 percent this year and a whopping 227 percent in 2019.
Noting that there were fewer murders and shootings, Johnson pointed out that rising crime was something all major American cities were experiencing.
“And as you pointed out, homicides are down, shootings are down, but yes, what we experienced in the city of Chicago, cities across the country are experiencing,” he said.