Chicago teams give $1M to stem violence

CHICAGO — The Chicago Sports Alliance, a collective formed by the Bulls, Blackhawks, Bears, White Sox and Cubs, has announced it will donate $1 million in grants to support an anti-violence initiative.

“These kids don’t know when they go to school, the route they take, whether it’s the last day of their lives,” Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf said Friday at a luncheon at the MB Ice Arena.

It’s the second year of the Alliance, which funded training for crime lab analysts last year.

This year’s grant money continues its support of the partnership by the University of Chicago Crime Lab and Choose to Change, which employs mentoring by Youth Advocate Programs and therapy by Children’s Home and Aid.

“We don’t want to just write a cheque, get a photo op and walk away,” Bears chair George McCaskey said. “We want to be invested in it, (and) not just financially.”

New this year, the Alliance is also helping fund READI Chicago (Rapid Employment and Development Initiative), an 18-month job training and behavioural therapy program, based on research that indicates the combination of therapy and jobs helps participants make better decisions during high-stakes situations.

The collaboration by Chicago’s five sports teams echoes a trend by some of the major sports leagues to increase their involvement in community and social justice efforts.