Mayor Plans Speech to Address Crime in Chicago

Mayor Rahm Emanuel will deliver a speech on public safety and is expected to lay out his plan to hire hundreds more police officers—but has pushed the speech back a few days.

The speech will be delivered at Malcom X College and will include recent crime victim Rhymefest among the guest list. The mayor has suggested he wants to hire more than 500 police officers—which would cost the city $50 million—drawing commentary from the City Council.

“This is far too important to play politics on,” Ald. Rod Sawyer said. “This is an issue where we have to all get together and find out what we can do to stem the violence and create an environment where kids can feel safe again.”

Emanuel says he will call on the fathers in the black community to take a more active role—but others are suggesting the need to address the high unemployment rate.

“We need to give them something to do,” Sawyer said.

Emanuel wants to expand teen mentoring programs like “Becoming a Man,” in hopes of lowering crime in certain neighborhoods.

“There’s a significance, our kids have the right kind of role models and values in their lives, so they can make decisions today that will impact their lives,” Emanuel said.

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