Violence in Chicago

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Violence in Chicago

        From the early mobsters of the 1920s to the pistol-toting gangsters of today, the city of Chicago has been notorious for its high crime rate and gang activity. The prohibition during the 1920s made way for the mob to seize control of the bootlegging industry. After nearly a century, Chicago has once again become a hub for high crime and murder rates. The city has been dubbed “Chiraq” comparing it to the war-ravaged streets of Iraq. This nickname also references the fact that there have been more murders in the city of Chicago in the past decade than there have been casualties in the entirety of the war in Afghanistan. While violent crime has always been prevalent in Chicago, these issues have been thrust into new light recently due to increased media coverage.The emergence and popularity of drill music and rappers such as Chief Keef glorify the gang lifestyle as they rap about murders and violence. Whether or not this music actually has an effect on Chicago’s youth can be questioned, but anyone that wants to pass off all the city’s violence issues on rap music is clearly overlooking the many other socioeconomic factors involved. There is no one solution to the end the cycle of violence, but as a community, residents of  Chicago can do more to combat these issues.

         The solution is complicated, and not something that can be solved overnight. Many inner city children believe the only way to protect themselves from their harsh realities is to join gangs. Humans are made to adapt to our surroundings. If a person’s surroundings are filled with guns, drugs, and crime, it is only natural for him or her to adapt to this lifestyle. Chicago needs to show its children that they can thrive in an environment free of violence. By improving young people’s quality of life and showing them that there are other options besides crime, the community may be able to create a generation of less violent residents.

        Gun control has long been subject to debate on how to slow violence nationwide. Gun advocates often cite Chicago as an example of why gun control does not work. A city with arguably the country’s strictest gun control laws still has an extremely high rate of gun violence. Chicago’s gun situation, however, is unique. Phillip Cook from the University of Chicago Crime Lab found that 60% of the guns recovered from arrests were acquired from out of state. Illinois gun restrictions are fairly inconsistent, so guns can be purchased easily in different counties outside of the city where gun dealers are widespread and gun shows are legal ("The Problem with Using Chicago to Make the Case against Gun Control”). The author of this article seems to be unbaised, as the facts for and against gun control are both presented in a straightforward fashion. The author does not seem to be specifically for or against guns, but is instead presenting a case as to why gun laws in Illinois as a whole seem not to work .The author is saying that Chicago has a different crime landscape from many other major cities, and instead of blaming the guns themselves, he takes into account the high rate of gang activity and inconsistencies throughout the state. He is clearly annoyed with politicians exploitation of the city’s violence epidemic for political gain.  The article was concise, but still presented numerous evidence and explanations in order to make it easier for someone who may not live in the city, or someone who is not familiar with the political landscape, to understand. Instead of imposing harsher laws on the city itself, laws need to be unified throughout the country as a whole. If guns are more regulated, numbered, and tracked throughout all of America, they will be harder to get, their owners easier to track, and their prevalence on the streets would be lowered.

        The second article pertaining to gun violence in Chicago, titled “Gun Violence in Chicago” written by Dr. James Garbarino, starts out by saying that he cannot offer a perspective on gun violence in the city without mentioning President Trump. This is similar to the previous article in which the author speaks on Trump’s mention of the same issue. Garbarino, in his article, talks about the steady stream of killings in Chicago, as well as how this violence has increased in the past two years. Chicago is quick to change, with even the most minuscule changes in legislation, public opinion, or police and gang activity making big waves in terms of violent crime. Similar to the first article discussed, the author of “Gun Violence in Chicago” writes about how the gang culture and overall cultural landscape of the city affects violence. This author, however, puts Chicago’s epidemic of violence in perspective by comparing it to El Salvador, which is also notorious for its high rate of violence. He also puts this into the same objective perspective as the first author, not blaming the people of the city but instead the socioeconomic and cultural factors involved. The fact that the author has a PhD makes this document slightly more credible than the former. Overall I think the article was well written and scientific in its approach, but did not explain as much as the first article, which, while brief, offered more of an insight as to why these problems exist in Chicago.