Jackson calls out Trump on violence in Chicago He says solution goes beyond sending police
Civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson called on President Trump to back up his promise to fix Chicago’s violence problem with a surge of investment in some of the city’s most impoverished neighborhoods.
Speaking just hours after Trump offered his latest criticism of Chicago, Jackson said some of Chicago’s neighborhoods hit hardest by the violence are in desperate need of jobs, improved schools and housing. He also cautioned Trump that law enforcement alone will not solve the rise in violence, which saw more than 760 murders and 4,300 shooting victims last year.
“His solution seems to be bring in more police,” Jackson said. “We need him to bring in the federal housing authority, federal labor, federal education and federal health care.”
Trump has repeatedly harangued Chicago officials over the spike in shootings and murders, aiming much of his criticism at Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former Democratic congressman and White House chief of staff in President Obama’s administration. Chicago saw more murders than New York and Los Angeles combined last year, the deadliest the city saw in more than two decades. This year, Chicago has recorded at least 54 murders, police department data show.
On Tuesday, Trump again singled out Chicago in a meeting at the White House with sheriffs from around the country.
“If you ran Chicago, you would solve that nightmare, I’ll tell you,” Trump told the sheriffs.
It marked the fourth time in less than three weeks that Trump has publicly criticized Chicago’s handling of the surging violence. The president has described the violence as “out of control” and as “horrible carnage” while warning that he would “send in the Feds” if the violence didn’t stop.
Last week, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed it is examining options to address Chicago’s crime surge, including shifting a number of its agents to the city permanently.
But Jackson noted that a few predominantly African-American neighborhoods with high poverty rates, low youth employment and few job opportunities account for a disproportionate amount of the violence. “Don’t bring in 20 more ATF agents,” said Jackson, who spoke at a news conference in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, an area that saw more homicides than any other community last year. “Bring in more federal resources beyond police.”
Ira Acree, a Chicago activist and pastor, called on Trump to visit the Austin neighborhood and see for himself.
“Hiring more police, stopping the proliferation of guns and stiffer penalties for those illegally carrying guns will never drastically reduce violence in Chicago,” Acree wrote in a letter to the president. “That only addresses the symptoms of violence with minimal impact. What good is it to pour a cup of water in an ocean, when the levee is broken?”