NEW: THE CIVIC COMMITTEE’S ANTI VIOLENCE INITIATIVE WILL FAIL WITHOUT A RESTORED CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT AND A SCHOOL SYSTEM FREED FROM CTU DOMINATION.
By Paul Vallas
July 24, 2024
There are few business communities as generous as Chicago when it comes to donating to worthy causes and the latest effort by the Chicago Civic Committee is no exception. But this investment will do little to stem the violence if the problem of the severely degraded Chicago Police Department (CPD) and failing Chicago Teachers Union dominated Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are not addressed. Both subjects were avoided at the press conference last week announcing in the Civic Committee had reached its $100 million fundraising goal for violence reduction initiatives.
Former US Education Secretary Arne Duncan led off the press conference lecturing the same contributors by stating that “If we’re honest with ourselves, our collective response has clearly been wildly inadequate.” Programs like CRED are and continue to be one of the major beneficiaries of the business communities generosity. The Civic Committee would do well to require that there be accountability in the awarding of monies and conduct ‘independent’ long term longitudinal studies of program effectiveness.
Governor JB Pritzker, who at the same press conference boasted that the state itself had begun distributing another $175 million in violence reduction funds, took no time to blame Republicans for the violence which I am sure was well received by donors, most who are likely Republican. “When Republicans defund programs like the ones that we’re talking about in this room … you end up with more violent crime,” Pritzker said. “It’s Republicans that have caused this problem, and Republicans don’t want to deal with it.”
Not to be outdone was Mayor Brandon Johnson who returned to his go-to excuse for all his challenges and failings, especially violence-systemic racism. Economies have been built around Black death,” Johnson said. “The tragedy began before the bullets were fired. The tragedy began in the fact that we have AK-47s on the streets of the city of Chicago. The tragedy, of course, is the fact that we don’t have enough to really fully provide our people with the quality of life that they deserve.”
Over the past five and a half years, the Pritzker administration, as has Chicago, budgeted hundreds of millions of dollars toward violence prevention groups that specialize in mediating street conflicts and connecting people most prone to violence, either as a victim or perpetrator, to therapy, job training, substance abuse counseling and other social services. Yet, during this time overall violent crime has continued to rise and the murder rate, while dropping, lags behind the decline in murders nationwide.
As the Chicago Civic Committee is looking to reduce violence it must understand the reasons why violence has surged. Those reasons can be found in the degrading of the Chicago Police Departments capacity to keep all communities safe and the Chicago Teachers Union dominated Chicago Public Schools direct contribution to the current crime pandemic.
The degrading of the police department.
Clearly the limits and often punishment of proactive policing combined and the growing tendency of the criminal justice system to view criminals as victims has had a significant impact on effective policing. It’s seen in the 45% increase in the number of violent crimes committed by felons on pre -trial release and as many as one in six shootings and murders being committed by individuals out on pre-trial bail. However, diminishing police strength has been the most critical factor in the escalation of crime as violent crime is at a six-year high.
Is there any surprise that with the CPD having almost 1,700 fewer officers than in 2019, has been an over 50% drop in annual arrests for violent crimes leaving thousands of violent and often habitual prisoners back on the street. Arrests for violent crimes in 2023 was only 5%, and so far this year it is 4.1%. Unfortunately for Chicagoans, the overwhelming majority of perpetrators will never be caught, even in murder cases, and will continue to walk the streets. Meanwhile, the SAFE-T Act’s elimination of cash bail leaves more violent criminals on the street.
Lack of police officers is also directly to blame for the dramatic increase in the number of “high-priority” 911 calls for which CPD had no squad car available – up to 52% in 2023 from 19% in 2019. This suggests officer shortage and historically low arrest rates are contributing to a significant underreporting of violent crimes. Often, there’s no witness or victim when police finally respond and many victims have given up calling 911, fearful of reporting crimes as they fear that police cannot protect them.
There is an indisputable direct link between the number of police officers and violent crime, particularly murders. Chicago’s most violent year on record was 1992, when there were well below 12,000 officers, with 940 or 33.1 murdered for every 100,000 residents. As police strength was built up to a historic high of 13,500 officers and roughly maintained at that level, the number of murders fell almost every year, reaching a modern-day low in 2014 of 411 or 15.22 murdered for every 100,000 residents.
The same link between police strength and murders was seen during Mayor Emanuel’s administration. With murders at a modern-day low, he moved to balance his budgets by not filling police vacancies, eventually eliminating over 2,000 positions. Murders jumped to 784 or 28 murdered for every 100,000 residents by 2016. In his second term, he restored police positions and rapidly filled vacancies, raising police strength to almost 13,500 by the time he left office. Murders fell to 506 or 18.6 for every 100,000 residents in 2019, the year Lightfoot took office.
The Chicago Teachers Union role in the worsening crime pandemic.
Everyone is familiar with Chicago’s rising crime, but not everyone realizes the outsized role of the CTU in the escalating crime pandemic. Chicago’s surge in youth violence coincided with CTU-forced closure of Chicago Public Schools in response to COVID-19 long after science, and the experience of schools, demonstrated that schools could open safely. At the same time, CTU leadership prioritized undermining support for police, despite rising crime.
The University of Chicago Crime Lab reported a 50% increase in shooting victimizations of school-aged youth 17 years and younger since 2019. Over 90% of victims were not enrolled in school.
Earlier analysis by the Crime Lab documented 8% of those arrested were for homicides, 9% for shootings, 32% for robberies and 49% for carjackings were youth 17 years and younger.
What’s driving young Chicagoans to commit more crimes? While the causes of crime are complex, there is widespread agreement – from the FBI Director to former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot – that young people being out of school plays an important role. No single act was more responsible for keeping students out of school than the closing of Chicago Public Schools campuses for 17 months beginning in 2020. CPS has lost 87,000 students since 2010, when a radical wing of the Chicago Teachers Union took power.
The CTU-forced school closings swelled the ranks of young adults both out of school and jobs. The University of Illinois Chicago Great Cities Institute reports that in 2021, more than 92,000 Chicagoans age 16-19 were jobless, and 36,758 20-24 year-olds were both out of school and jobless. Meanwhile, Illinois State Board of Education data shows that of the remaining students, an astonishing 45% compared to 23% in 2018. Not to be outdone, Wirepoints reports that chronic absenteeism among Chicago Public School teachers was 43% last year.
In 2020 and 2021, the teachers union, ignoring the clear harm they were doing to children, deployed the rhetoric of safety to oppose in-person learning, and even went so far as to call efforts to reopen schools “racist,” “sexist” and “misogynist.” While other essential workers returned in-person to protect them, deliver food for them and pick up their garbage, CTU leadership denied real education to those workers’ children.
School closures were not just an issue that affected teachers, children and parents—this policy will have decades-long ripple effects that will reverberate through every aspect of society. While middle class and affluent families opted for charter and private schools nationally as a solution, the poorest and most vulnerable children remained trapped in a failing system. Children who never catch up will grow into damaged adults who struggle in the labor force, plagued by social dysfunction and will fill the crime statistics.
As if that were not enough damage, the CTU and their supporters’ all-out assault on the police undermine their ability to contain crime as the CTU are major public supporters of the anti-police, defund the police movement. This included their successful push to remove CPS officers from all schools despite the surge in school shootings nationally and near city schools. This despite a violent surged in CPS’ by 26% as arrest rates plummeted from 43% of crimes committed to just 8%.
Anti-police organizations deliberately mislead the public by claiming that nearly 40% of the budget is for police, looking only at the city’s Corporate Fund which finances general operations. The fact is spending on CPD is only around 12% of the total city budget and any savings from not filling police positions or eliminating them is offset by overtime which reached a record $300 million last year. Meanwhile CPS reimbursement has never exceeded 1% of the district budget.
CTU’s radical leadership, along with their mayor, are simultaneously undermining the two social levers to reduce crime: Education and the criminal justice system. In the process they are demonstrating a callous indifference to wrenching daily tragedies in the city’s Black communities. Almost 80% of those murdered in Chicago are Black. Meanwhile the CTU and the Mayor’s explanation for murders, shootings, carjacking, auto thefts, retail theft, and armed robbery is “inequity.”
It’s important that we recognize that the dramatic decline in crime from the 1990s that saw the homicide rate fall by nearly half was a period in which police vacancies were filled, the detective ranks were expanded and the State’s Attorney’s made removing dangerous criminals the priority. It was also a time when student safety was made a priority by opening school campuses beyond normal school hours, offering ever expanding school choices to all families and the opening of alternative schools for students expelled, returning from incarceration or who had simply dropped out.
If Civic Committee leaders are serious about addressing the violent crime pandemic it will take more than violent interveners to address the problem. It will take a revived Chicago Police Department with the numbers, proactive strategy and support from the States Attorney and the Judges. It will take a system free from CTU domination that will make children’s education and safety, not union member benefits and job protections the top priority. The Civic Committee would do well to allocate a portion of its charitable largesse to support elected officials including local school candidates who are of that mindset.
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Paul Vallas formerly ran the public school systems in Chicago, Philadelphia and the Louisiana Recovery School District. He was a candidate for Mayor of Chicago.
Comments 26
Excellent commentary! Elections have consequences and you’re seeing this play out now.
There is NOT a teachers union leader, and most members that belong in prison for child abuse. Disgusting.
You speak the truth that those in power don’t want to hear. The dollars spent on so-called violence interrupters is nothing more than a slush fund for gang bangers.
The CTUs mission is not to educate our children as much as spread socialism and socialism’s indoctrination to impressionable children.
It amazes me that these politicians of supposed intelligence cannot figure out that people of all colors can make more money for less effort from crime then having any type of career, other than crime. Crime is an economic activity too. These politicians, with their high taxes have driven all the businesses out of Illinois. There are no starting jobs for youth, there is no incentive for anyone to hire the criminals, and the minimum wage increases have made hiring the uneducated more expensive than the benefits they produce. The State provides all that they need in various subsidies and giveaways. The criminals are smarter than the politicians. They have figured out what works for them. The teacher’s union only success is in raising costs out of sight, both economically and socially. With the rare exception, students that do succeed are driven more from outside influences, not the education system. They drive the students away and want raises and more teachers for a shrinking student population. The rules of economics do not change. Governor Moneybags hasn’t worked a day in his life and sure does not worry about paying his bills, just running up the costs for the taxpayers of this state. One party rule has destroyed Illinois, and the one party is run by clueless idiots.
Trust me they know EXACTLY the true causes of crime.
Thank you,Paul.
Great article Paul. The residents of Chicago really screwed up by not showing up the last election cycle and leaving the election in the hands of the criminals at the CTU. We are all only left to wonder how different things might have been.
“When Republicans defund programs like the ones that we’re talking about in this room … you end up with more violent crime,” Pritzker said. “It’s Republicans that have caused this problem, and Republicans don’t want to deal with it.”
I missed the part where Republicans have any power in Illinois.
Gov. Jabba is one for the ages. A talentless moneybags heir who looks for ghosts to blame for his worthless governance. Does anyone believe this guy? Illinois deserves better. Chicago deserves better.
Voter apathy and government giveaways are the Dems friend. Sadly Mr Vallas, a common sense EXPERIENCED administrator with good track record was defeated. On the national level we have a candidate that is left of Obama. She did nothing at the border — to Lester Holt “I haven’t been to Europe either !” Stated proudly. She championed sanctuary cities and as the AG in and Senator from California and as president of the Senate did extreme damage to law and order that protects ALL of us. The lemmings will only see a woman of color who is big on abortion As a means of birth control. Forget about her view of the US as a nation. She like her boss threw open the border. Now the tightening is window dressing. Millions have come here and a rising violent crime rate against citizens occurs. Taxpayer dollars go to support the illegals. You hear of Trump’s conviction for 30 plus felonies. A corrupt prosecutor and judicial system did that to keep him from being elected. Bottom line he paid back the loans with interest on time. But that is lost to the lemmings. Folks hate Trump because he’s brash and tough. Well Putin and Xi and Kim understand that. Do you think they will take Cackles seriously? Someone who speaks in meaningless word salads. I doubt it. Thanks Paul for your valiant effort. The voters let you down.
Great article Paul. I wish you would have won the election for mayor.
I hope you’re still around to run for mayor again in 2027. Chicago needs you!
No, Charles. Paul should cut and run. Just ask Kasso. Right?
Hey, the view is great from “east of the border”! Also, agree about the two major blocks to less violence, but can we add a third?:
the thousands of gang members from the Great Invasion?
Chicago was the best place to grow up, but I am 70+…..and have been a happy Hoosier for 21 years.
Paul, your facts are concise and accurate. That same information needs to be fed into the mouths of voters. If you think you have it in you to do this one more time it can get done. When we spoke many years ago things were different and it wasn’t your time yet. It is time now. Call me and I will be on board to assist with the launch of your platform. We can make this happen.
Very well written, with statistics that prove his points. Every Chicago and state pol should be given this article,
I get your point, but do not think it would do any good. Do not bother the politicians with facts or logic – their minds are already made up.
Well written, thought out and informative as always. Great column.
I voted for Paul. I’ve known him a long time. He’s an honorable, capable man. He lost the election to Johnson by about 27,000 votes. It’s regrettable that far more voters stayed home than voted. I suspect that if the election were held today, knowing what people now know about the incumbent, Paul would win handily. The current Mayor and his bosses in CTU are a disaster.
Thanks Paul! Excellent column.
I for one am fed up and tired of them thinking we’re stupid. Pritzker putting the blame on republicans is laughable. He’s of the school if he can’t fix it blame someone.
Tsk tsk Pritzker. Hope he’s not chosen to be VP.
I don’t think he will be. The Democrats will get lots of money from him even if he is not the Vice President nominee, so take the benefits and leave the liability behind.
“I for one am fed up and tired of them thinking we’re stupid”
Unfortunately, they’re correct. The fact that no one (except readers here) question the ruse of ‘nameless Republicans are the reason’ makes me think people indeed are stupid. I imagine said people look under their beds every night for Republican boogie men.
I’m not sure if we can convince Chicago citizens to require that their masters name the bad guys. Brandon Johnson at least named a dead Republican (Nixon), so I guess that’s a start. Perhaps they’ll find a way to start naming live Republicans before 11/24, or they’ll just wait for Trump to come back and then start naming him for everything, providing expose-pictures of institutional abuse during the Obama and Biden administrations as proof of Trump wrong-doing.
Considering that Chicago hasn’t had a Republican mayor since Big Bill Thompson in 1931 — 1931! — and that the Democrats hold EVERY seat in the City Council, and that ALL top state officials as well as supermajorities in both state legislative branches are Democrats, they have giant balls blaming the city’s problems on Republicans. The city’s residents are too stupid to see that Democrats are the problem and have been for decades. They deserve what they get.
Joe Trippi, sent by Preckwonkle.
Sad to read but can Chicago rise out from the ashes and how can its people vote in leadership willing to take it on?
Paul, you are correct on everything you say and point the fingers where they deserved to be pointed. But can we stop using the word “pandemic” please. That’s like nails scratching a chalkboard. Along with the overused terms “racist,” “sexist” and “misogynist“ used at every turn by the righteous lefties, the crime and school problem could be better described as a serious crisis rather than a pandemic.
Thanks.
Paul,
Spot on again, as usual. However, all our commentaries fall on deaf socialist ears, with blinders firmly affixed. Their montra is “don’t bring me no bad news!” It’s everyone else’s fault -blame it on Trump. Well, as we’re all seeing daily that dog don’t hunt no more! As Chicago and Illinois descend into oblivion, there won’t be anyone left to rescue the slide – they’ve all left!
Salient points Mr. Vallas. Hope you have another mayoral run in you.