Funeral Held for 15-Year-Old Demario Bailey

A funeral was held Saturday morning for 15-year-old Demario Bailey, who was shot to death during an attempted robbery last week.

Bailey died on Dec. 13 when he was shot in the chest by a gunman after a group of robbers tried to take his coat. Bailey was on his way to a basketball practice with his twin brother in the 0-100 block of West 63rd Street when the incident happened.

Four teens have been charged in the shooting death.

Members of the Johnson College Prep basketball team and cheerleading squad gathered at the funeral wearing t-shirts that said, "I will live and not die."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Diana Rauner, the wife of governor-elect Bruce Rauner, were among the attendees at the funeral who spoke.

"When you see the love, when you see the passion and you see the strength, this room is stronger than what is out there, than the hatred," the mayor said.

Diana Rauner spoke about the violence plaguing Chicago youth.

"We've lost this beautiful boy, but we've lost the boys who hurt him too," Rauner said. "And we can't afford to lose all these children."

Demario Bailey's mother also spoke at the funeral service and urged attendees to hold their children close.

"If you want to be here for me today and you stand up for me today, I want you to stand up and hold your child," Delores Bailey said. "Be there for your child. And no matter what they do, love them anyway."

On the eve of the boys' 16th birthday, Bailey's twin, Demacio Bailey, played in a basketball tournament in his brother's honor. Demario, a sophomore at Johnson College Prep, was not on the basketball team, but his family members say he attended every game and every practice for his brother.

After Bailey's death, the boys' mother vowed to protect other children in Chicago from violence.

"I'm going to make sure that every last boy gets a basketball, and I'm going to make sure that every girl gets a pom-pom if i can," Delores Bailey said. "I'm going to get a bus, I'm going to use every dime I got and I'm going to drop them off and pick them up, and I'm going to make sure they get back to their mamas myself. Devil, you took one. I'm going to take 101 and let them live."

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