Elected officials and Chicago community leaders took part in a news conference Monday, responding to the impact widespread looting has had on the city's neighborhoods.
Several businesses in the city were damaged and more than 100 people were arrested following hours of looting and unrest in the overnight hours.
During a Zoom discussion, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, of the city's 25th Ward, said city leaders want to make sure they are proactively bringing solutions to all neighborhoods and areas of Chicago.
Others admitted that help is desperately needed.
"If there was ever a time, we need urgent, well thought-out practical solutions that deal with the core of the issue. Now is that time," said Jitu Brown, national director of the Journey for Justice Alliance.
In the aftermath of the chaos and looting, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Supt. David Brown suggested a too-lenient justice system was at least partially to blame.
But not everyone shares the same opinion.
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"It's those young people that have been treated like criminals by police who are paid to serve and protect," Jitu Brown, of the Journey for Justice Alliance, said. "They are basically rejecting following mandates of this system, so the question becomes 'what is the response?'"
Additionally, the city plans to restrict access to downtown starting at 8 p.m. Monday night until early 6 a.m. as part of a multi-layer plan that was also used when looting and unrest unfolded in the city earlier this summer.
Part of Lake Shore Drive will be closed, several expressway ramps blocked, bridges up and rail service suspended as part of the restrictions.
